City/Town: St. Louis Park

Legislative District: House District 46A

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?

Some ideas:

• Statewide housing reform to make it easier to build more housing especially in places that are close to transit, commercial centers, and existing housing density. This would help to slow down the increase in home and rental prices that are making it so difficult for people to live where they want to live.
• Increase the investment in housing programs like Bring It Home Minnesota, that give recipients vouchers so they can have a safe and quality place to live.
• Ban private equity from buying up homes, driving up prices, and crowding out local investment.
• Ban source of income discrimination by landlords.

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 really support the concept of “housing first” – meaning that outcomes are better when you start by getting folks housing and then putting services around them to support their other needs. The alternative of trying to address their other issues as a condition of getting housing, has been shown to be much less successful. I supported the investments we made in supportive housing last legislative session and will continue to support them going forward. These should be viewed as high priority investments, because it seems to me to be the only way to effectively and compassionately address folks that are unhoused. Otherwise costs and negative outcomes surely rise elsewhere.

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?

• Statewide housing reform to make it easier to build more housing especially in places that are close to transit, commercial centers, and existing housing density. This would help to slow down the increase in home and rental prices that are making it so difficult for people to live where they want to live. Include in this support for a variety of housing types, including ADUs, duplexes, town homes, and more.
• Ban private equity from buying up homes, driving up prices, and crowding out local investment.
• Invest again in a First Generation home buyer rebate program
• Support the community land trust model with some kind of a grant program from the state
• Add restrictions to condo defect laws that have contributed to a decrease in the amount of condos being built

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?

All of the above, including:

• Multifamily in commercial districts by right
• Limiting or eliminating parking requirements
• Allowing ADUs on all single family lots
• Encouraging duplexes, triplexes, town homes, and more diversity of housing choices
• Encouraging more density near transit

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?

I support a constitutional amendment and in general support more investment in Housing. Getting people a safe and decent place to live is such a foundational element to being successful in society. I believe that these kinds of investments can often pay off in reduced needs for investments in other areas.

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

Energy efficiency and weatherization to make people’s utility bills more affordable
Hardening of homes and buildings to help prevent impacts from extreme weather and reduce home insurance premiums, which have been skyrocketing.