City/Town: Richfield

Legislative District: House District 51A

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?

Minnesota faces a massive housing shortage – our policy and funding priorities must be focused on ways to build more homes of all types, in all corners of the state. First, we need new, dedicated revenue to help build affordable homes. Second, we need policy reforms that remove barriers to build the kinds of homes that Minnesotans want, but too often are blocked by honerous rules and regulations at the local level.

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?

With federal action putting fiscal uncertainy on our supportive housing providers, we need the state to step up with new and creative ways to ensure our vital housing supporters can continue to provide the safe and stable homes that Minnesotans rely upon.

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?

First, land use and zoning reforms are critical to make it easier to build more affordable home ownership options. Second, we need more resources to help build affordable ownership units, and to invest in down payment assistance programs to help first-time home buyers.

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?

I support the full Yes to Homes agenda and see it as vital to our work to address Minnesota’s housing shortage.

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 am the author of the constitutional amendment and see it as as a vital way we can ensure that housing receives a level of investment in our state budget that is necessary to address our housing shortage. We should explore other options as well, but the key we must acknowledge is that bold action and permanent revenue sources is required for us to to meet the moment.

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

As Chair of the Housing Committee, I will continue to advocate for housing as THE priority we must address to ensure that Minnesotans have the economic security they need to thrive.