City/Town: North St. Paul

Legislative District: House District 44B

Party: Independent

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?

Legislators cannot ‘fix’ the disparities in housing by passing more legislation. We need them to cut legislation and regulation(s) that hinder the building and operating costs to the housing providers. Every single time a state, or the federal government at that, tries to smash out a problem, another one pops up like whack a mole. The PEOPLE of our state will fix this problem, not elected bureaucrats. I would persuade legislators to remove statutes and also agencies that are controlling the human action of our communities. No one in St. Paul should be deciding what kind of building can be built in Oakdale, let alone Bemidji.

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?

Yet another virtue signaling term, “Supportive Housing”…if bureaucrats actually wanted to fix the homeless problem in Minnesota, they would work on creating better opportunities for people to make and keep their living. Continuing to ‘provide’ what they think is necessary while ignoring the root problem(s). Throwing other peoples’ money at a problem does not fix it. Creating “Supportive Housing” is not giving the people meaning…

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?

See answer to question #1. Remove controlling agencies and regulatory statutes.

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 would like to remove the words “Allow” and “Require” from statutes. The state should not be the abature of allowing its citizens to do what they want on their own property. Along with requiring something to happen too. Let THE PEOPLE decide what they want to do on the property they earned.

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?

When the state becomes the means for housing, we have ALL lost.

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

When the state becomes the means for housing, we have ALL lost.