City/Town: Brooklyn Park

Legislative District: House District 38A

Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party

Candidate responses in italics.

Q1: Housing plays a critical role in economic stability, health, and quality of life for individuals and families. However, disparities in housing continue to affect communities of color, people with disabilities, rural communities, and other historically underserved populations. What meaningful actions should be taken to acknowledge, address, and eliminate housing inequities and advance housing opportunities for all Minnesotans?

Housing is a foundation for economic stability, health, education, and generational wealth. Yet Minnesota continues to experience significant disparities in homeownership, housing stability, and access to affordable housing, particularly for communities of color and historically underserved Minnesotans.

We must address these inequities through both targeted investments and broader housing solutions. That means expanding first-generation homebuyer and down-payment assistance, increasing affordable homeownership and rental housing, preserving existing affordable housing, strengthening homelessness prevention and rental assistance, and ensuring people with disabilities and seniors have access to safe, accessible housing.

We must also confront discriminatory barriers in lending, appraisals, tenant screening, and other systems that have historically prevented families from accessing housing and building generational wealth. At the same time, Minnesota must increase our overall housing supply and work with local governments, developers, labor, and community organizations to reduce unnecessary barriers to building housing at a range of price points.

Most importantly, the communities experiencing these disparities must have a meaningful voice in developing the solutions. Housing equity is not simply about where someone lives…it is about whether every Minnesotan has a fair opportunity to build stability, wealth, and a future for their family.

Q2: Supportive housing combines affordable housing with support services that help people who face the most complex challenges to live with stability, autonomy, and dignity. Supportive housing provides better outcomes and is fiscally responsible. What will you do to ensure community members who are unhoused or unstably housed receive the support they need to obtain or keep their own homes?

I believe housing is a basic foundation for stability, dignity, and opportunity. We cannot effectively address homelessness by simply moving people from one temporary situation to another; we must invest in solutions that help people obtain housing and remain successfully housed.

I will continue supporting investments in supportive housing, homelessness prevention, emergency rental assistance, and programs that connect housing with mental health services, substance-use treatment, disability supports, employment assistance, and other community-based services. We must also ensure providers have sustainable funding to retain the skilled workforce necessary to deliver these services.

Prevention must be part of the strategy. Helping a family with rental assistance, case management, or other stabilization services before they lose their home is often more humane and cost-effective than responding after they become homeless.

I also believe we must increase Minnesota’s overall supply of deeply affordable and accessible housing while strengthening partnerships among state and local governments, counties, housing providers, nonprofits, and people with lived experience.

Ultimately, our goal should not simply be getting someone housed…it should be giving people the support, choice, and stability necessary to remain housed, live independently, and build a better future.

Q3: Homeownership is a way to build generational wealth, provide family and household stability, and support community vibrancy. More and more Minnesotans are priced out of owning a home because of rising housing costs, including purchase price, homeowners’ insurance, and property taxes. What steps will you take to increase opportunities for renters and first-time homebuyers to purchase homes, condos, or cooperative ownership models?

Homeownership remains one of the most powerful tools for building generational wealth, yet too many Minnesotans, especially first-time buyers, working families, and communities historically excluded from homeownership are being priced out.

I will continue supporting first-generation homebuyer programs, down-payment and closing-cost assistance, affordable homeownership development, and financial education that helps renters successfully transition into ownership. We must also increase the supply of starter homes and support diverse pathways to ownership, including condominiums, cooperatives, community land trusts, and other shared-equity models.

Increasing supply is essential. I support reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers and encouraging development at a range of price points while maintaining appropriate health, safety, accessibility, and environmental standards.

We must also address the ongoing costs of owning a home. Rising property taxes, homeowners’ insurance, maintenance, and association costs can make ownership unsustainable even after a family purchases a home. Minnesota should continue strengthening property-tax relief and exploring ways to address escalating insurance costs.

Finally, we must confront disparities in lending, appraisals, and access to credit. Our goal should be clear: a person’s income, race, ZIP code, or family wealth should not determine whether they have a meaningful opportunity to own a home and build generational wealth in Minnesota.

Q4: In the last several years, bipartisan action to streamline building of new homes and apartments has passed in several states, including: allowing for multifamily buildings in select commercial areas, limiting parking requirements, allowing smaller homes on smaller lots, and more homes per lot in residential areas like duplexes, fourplexes, and accessory dwelling units. What reforms do you support to modernize zoning to both enable homes to be more affordable statewide and improve city tax bases?

Minnesota needs more housing at every price point, and thoughtful zoning reform can help us increase supply while maintaining strong, vibrant communities. I support a balanced approach that respects local decision-making while addressing regulations that unnecessarily restrict housing production or increase costs.

I support expanding opportunities for duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, accessory dwelling units, townhomes, condominiums, and other “missing middle” housing where appropriate. I also support allowing residential development in appropriate commercial and mixed-use areas, particularly near jobs, services, and transit.

We should examine minimum lot sizes, excessive parking mandates, and aesthetic requirements that can unnecessarily increase construction costs without improving health or safety. At the same time, reforms must preserve important building, accessibility, environmental, and safety standards and recognize that communities across Minnesota have different infrastructure and development needs.

Increasing housing density strategically can also strengthen local tax bases by bringing more residents and investment into existing developed areas while making more efficient use of infrastructure.

Ultimately, this should not be a choice between local control and housing affordability. The state and local governments should work together to establish reasonable standards, remove unnecessary barriers, and give communities the tools and resources they need to build more housing and expand opportunity for Minnesotans.

Q5: Despite housing being the largest cost in the average household budget, housing receives only a small fraction of the total state budget at just 0.3%. A lack of ongoing reliable funding for housing in Minnesota’s state budget has resulted in an undersupply of stable homes affordable to our workforce, our elders, and our families. In recent years, a constitutional amendment for housing, which would dedicate revenues from a sales tax increase to housing, has gained momentum at the legislature. What revenue options will you champion to more adequately meet our need for reliable funding for homes we can afford?

Minnesota cannot address our housing shortage through one-time investments alone. We need reliable, ongoing, and dedicated funding that allows communities and housing partners to plan for the long term.

I support advancing a constitutional amendment for housing that would give Minnesotans the opportunity to dedicate sustainable revenue toward affordable housing, while ensuring that any revenue mechanism is structured equitably and does not disproportionately burden lower-income families. I also support maintaining strong General Fund investments, bonding for housing infrastructure and preservation, and leveraging federal, local, philanthropic, and private-sector dollars to maximize every state investment.

New revenue should support the full housing continuum: homelessness prevention and supportive housing, deeply affordable rental housing, workforce and senior housing, preservation of existing affordable units, and pathways to first-time and first-generation homeownership.

I also believe we must evaluate existing housing-related revenue streams and ensure they are being used effectively before asking Minnesotans to contribute more.

Housing is infrastructure. Just as Minnesota makes long-term investments in transportation, schools, and public facilities, we must make sustained investments in the homes our workforce, seniors, families, and communities depend on. A stable housing system strengthens our economy, our communities, and Minnesota’s future.

Q6: If you have other housing policy priorities, especially specific to your district’s housing needs, please share them here.

In Brooklyn Park and Osseo, my housing priorities reflect communities that are growing, diverse, and home to working families, seniors, renters, and first-time homeowners. We need a housing continuum that allows people to live, work, raise families, and age in the communities they call home.

My priorities include increasing affordable and workforce housing, expanding first-time and first-generation homeownership, preserving naturally occurring affordable housing, supporting seniors who want to age in place, and ensuring people with disabilities have access to affordable and accessible homes.

I will continue prioritizing housing stability and homelessness prevention, including emergency rental assistance and programs that help families remain housed before they reach a crisis. We must also address rising property taxes, insurance costs, rents, and other expenses that are putting pressure on household budgets.

Brooklyn Park is one of Minnesota’s most diverse communities, so closing racial disparities in homeownership and creating opportunities to build generational wealth are particularly important to me. That includes down-payment assistance, culturally responsive homeownership programs, and addressing discriminatory barriers in lending and appraisals.

Finally, as our communities grow, housing policy must be connected to transportation, jobs, childcare, schools, and economic development. My goal is simple: growth should create opportunity without displacing the people who helped build our communities.