City/Town: St. Paul

Legislative District: Senate District 65

Party: DFL

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?

We need to build more housing! The answer is simple but getting there is not easy. I support the vast majority of policies MHP advocates for. I also support legislation allowing cities and counties to use a portion of their cash reserves to invest in affordable housing projects in their communities through vehicles like the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust. I believe the state should be required to use 5% of its reserves/investments for such projects. I also support Amy Klobuchar’s entire agenda on housing as advocated for during her campaign this year.

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 will work with MHP and the Coalition for the Homeless to work on this issue. I support nearly all of the policy priorities offered and know the biggest issue in getting action is funding. I support raising taxes on the wealthy and streamlining state services to fund efforts related to housing and housing stability. There is also room for private philanthropy- I have been distressed to see the decline in giving to United Way programs over recent years which have historically been invaluable in supporting our safety net non-profits and hope to work with our federal delegation to restroe the tax incentives for non-profit giving that existed before the Trump administration.

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?

We need policies that raise wages and build more housing to reduce costs. I support both and plan to offer legislation to raise the minimum wage statewide to $16 an hour and hope to support increase Local Government Aid to help cities and counties hold down property tax increases. I am also committed to working with MHP on legislation during my term to advance affordability efforts.

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 generally support missing the middle policies and generally support statewide reforms that set a baseline that allows multi-family buildings, limits parking requirements and allwing smaller homes on smaller lots. . While I do not support statewide policies that expand the ability to build housing, I oppose policies that prevent cities from going further for the residents. For example West St. Paul has a prevailing wage ordinance and any statewide legislation that prevents cities from advancing policies like this I will regretfully oppose.

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 do not support a regressive tax like sales tax to support housing. I do support raising taxes on the wealthy or big corporations for such efforts but generally think the best way to increase government funding is to allow cities counties and to require the state to use cash reserves and investments to invest in affordable housing projects.

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

I would love to connect and learn more about your agenda for the 2027 session. I think making a difference on housing would be one of the best things we could do for our state and I am committed to partnering with you in this work.