City/Town: Columbia Heights

Legislative District: House District 39B

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 human right, and it shouldn’t be about developers and Wall Street making money off people having a place to live. Too many Minnesotans, especially communities of color, people with disabilities, rural residents, and seniors, are still shut out. I will focus on three actions.

First, protect renters with reasonable limits on rent increases, so working families aren’t displaced and can put down roots. Second, build more affordable homes by directing state dollars to projects that serve historically underserved communities, including accessible homes for people with disabilities and affordable homes in rural areas that market-rate development has passed over. Third, connect housing to the rest of people’s lives. Wages, health care, child care, and transportation decide whether someone can afford to stay where they live.

I would also make sure community voices, including renters, people with disabilities, older adults, and neighbors who have been left out before, help design and evaluate these solutions from the start, not at the end. Everyone deserves the chance to succeed, and a stable home is where that begins.

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?

As mayor of Columbia Heights, I’ve learned that how we treat our most vulnerable neighbors defines us as a community. Every person deserves a home, and supportive housing also makes fiscal sense: stable housing paired with services costs less than the emergency rooms, shelters, and crisis responses we pay for when people have nowhere to go.

My approach has three parts. First, listen first. People with lived experience of homelessness know what works and what harms, so I will make sure they help lead policy discussions, not just take part in them. Second, honor cultural identity. Columbia Heights includes Somali elders, Eastern European retirees, Latinx families, and LGBTQ youth, and each faces different barriers. Services need to speak people’s languages, respect their traditions, and affirm who they are. Third, follow the evidence. Research shows that pairing permanent housing with wraparound services helps people stay housed, and I will champion proven models.

At the statehouse, I will advocate for:

• Expanded permanent supportive housing
• Culturally responsive case management
• Stronger eviction protections and eviction prevention funding
• When we support people facing the most complex challenges, we show that nobody is disposable. Together, we can build a state where everyone belongs.

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?

In District 39B, too many neighbors are locked out of homeownership, not because they lack drive, but because the system wasn’t built for them. Working families and seniors deserve a real path to owning a home, and to keeping the one they have.

Here’s what I’ll fight for:

• Down payment assistance that reaches first-generation buyers, multigenerational households, and families with nontraditional credit histories.
• Cooperative and shared-equity models, like community land trusts and limited-equity co-ops, that let working families build modest wealth while keeping homes affordable for the next family.
• Protection against speculation, including right-of-first-refusal policies, so investors and Wall Street firms don’t outbid working families for homes in our neighborhoods.
• Property tax relief aimed at working people, seniors, and small businesses, so older neighbors can stay in their homes as costs rise.
• Insurance reform, because families can’t buy a home they can’t insure. I’ll push the state to step in when private markets pull out of neighborhoods like ours.

A look at what makes condos hard to build and finance, since they are often the most realistic first home.
Homeownership builds schools, small businesses, and civic leaders. When working families, seniors, and underserved neighbors become owners, our whole community gets stronger.

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?

As mayor of Columbia Heights, I’ve heard from tenants struggling with rent, small landlords worried about maintenance costs, and homeowners facing rising costs. Good zoning reform balances those realities.
Here’s my approach:

Allow more housing types. Duplexes, triplexes, and accessory dwelling units where single-family homes dominate let extended families live near each other and give seniors and owner-occupants on fixed incomes a way to earn modest rental income.

Speed up permitting for projects that meet clear baseline standards, paired with strong enforcement to hold bad actors accountable. Honest homeowners and responsible builders shouldn’t wait months for approvals.
Reduce parking minimums, which drive up costs for renters, buyers, and families building an ADU for an aging parent.

Offer density bonuses and expedited review to developers who commit to permanently affordable homes.
Keep enforcement fair, with graduated compliance periods so small landlords and homeowners can fix minor violations before fines pile up.

These changes also strengthen city tax bases. More homes on land we already serve with streets, water, and sewer bring in more revenue without new infrastructure costs, and more neighbors nearby bring customers to local businesses.

In District 39B, home to Somali elders, Latinx families, and immigrant entrepreneurs, we need housing that fits how people actually live.

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?

Reliable housing funding should ask the most from those who can afford it while protecting working families and seniors. With only 0.3% of the state budget going to housing, stop-and-start funding has left us short of homes people can afford.

I support the Our Future Starts at Home constitutional amendment. It would give Minnesota a dependable, dedicated source of housing funding, and voters deserve the chance to decide whether to make it permanent.
Alongside it, here’s what else I’ll champion:

Progressive revenue. Luxury property transfers, commercial real estate transactions, and closing corporate loopholes can raise significant revenue without affecting 39B’s working households.

Expanded state bonding for housing. Community land trusts, shared-equity developments, and co-op conversions need upfront investment that pays off through lasting affordability.

Dedicated revenue streams. Other states have funded affordable homes through housing levies and developer fees, and Minnesota needs a dependable source too, not funding that changes from year to year.

Federal partnerships. We should maximize federal housing dollars.

Protection for small property owners. New fees should exempt owner-occupants and small landlords, and I won’t support policies that push responsible homeowners into foreclosure while speculators face no consequences.

Housing affordability is a choice. We can fund what keeps families housed, seniors secure, and communities vibrant, or keep paying for emergency rooms, shelters, and displacement. Affordable housing isn’t charity; it’s infrastructure for thriving communities.

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

Three priorities stand out for our district. First, helping seniors stay in their homes. Many older neighbors want to age in place but face rising taxes, insurance, and repair costs, so I will push for property tax relief and home repair help aimed at seniors and working families.

Second, protecting renters with reasonable limits on rent increases while supporting small landlords who keep their properties safe and well maintained, through fair and predictable inspections.

Third, accessibility. Too few homes are built so people with disabilities and older adults can live in them comfortably. I will support universal design and accessible units in new housing, and homes near transit, shops, and services.

Cities like Columbia Heights, New Brighton, and St. Anthony need a real state partnership, not unfunded mandates, to keep these efforts going. I will work with cities, nonprofits, builders, and residents to make sure the people most affected help shape the solutions.