Priority Issues + Impact

As violent federal attacks on immigrants continue to escalate, local leadership is increasingly the last line of protection. To our immigrant communities: I will never stop fighting for your safety, your dignity, and your right to belong. 

Accomplishments:

• I publicly defended immigrant rights and condemned the increase in violent immigration enforcement, as federal policy grows hostile.

• I helped expand the Immigrant Legal Defense Fund, ensuring residents have access to free legal representation regardless of immigration status. 

• I strengthened Adult Representation Services, increasing capacity for immigrant legal support and culturally responsive council. 

See my full governing record on this issue here.

With the undeniable crisis of democracy in our country, leadership in this moment means naming the crisis honestly and acting with courage. I believe we must absolutely refuse to normalize the erosion of our rights and we must choose to be brave together so that shared humanity will prevail.

Accomplishments:

• Helped to protect $170M in federal funding through court orders, helping maintain critical services and safeguard vulnerable residents during federal funding cuts. 

• Advanced a historic county investment in the 2020 Census by proposing $1.2M for outreach and securing $320,000 in the county budget to support an accurate, inclusive count. 

• Distributed $5.7M in federal CARES funding for election resources, expanding absentee voting capacity, staffing, and safety measures during the 2020 election. 

• Expanded voter access countywide by securing $1.3M for voter registration support, absentee voting education, and upgraded ballot-scanning infrastructure.

• Implemented automatic voter registration and Restore the Vote updates, ensuring more eligible residents – including people returning from incarceration–can participate in elections. 

See my full governing record on this issue here.

With federal instability and rising housing costs outpacing wages, local government is the first and last line of defense against displacement. I am committed to ensuring that every resident – regardless of income, background, or circumstance – can live with dignity and stay housed in the communities they call home. 

Accomplishments:

• Launched a 10-year, $91 million strategy through the Housing & Redevelopment Authority to build 1,000 deeply affordable homes (≤ 30% area median income) with on-site services. 

• Helped effectively end veteran homelessness in Hennepin County, meeting federal benchmarks so veterans are moved into permanent housing in under 90 days on average. 

• I eliminated the pay-to-stay model in shelters, ensuring people experiencing homelessness can keep their resources and rebuild stability. 

• Expanded renter supports: emergency assistance in housing court, tenant-based rental assistance, and an affordable housing stabilization fund to keep people housed. 

• Advanced Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing, converting properties into low-barrier units aligned with public health needs.

• With federal instability and rising housing costs outpacing wages, local government is the first and last line of defense against displacement. I am committed to ensuring that every resident – regardless of income, background, or circumstance – can live with dignity and stay housed in the communities they call home. 

See my full governing record on this issue here.

As reproductive rights face growing attacks at the federal and state levels, local government must serve as a defender. Safety from harm and full bodily autonomy are inherent human rights, and I will never stop working to ensure Hennepin County protects access to care, safety, and dignity for all.

Accomplishments:

• Alongside Commissioner Conley, I authored a resolution that directed staff to produce a report that outlines Hennepin’s current efforts to address Domestic Violence. Hennepin County is focused on long-term strategies for preventing, reducing, and mitigating the impact of Domestic Violence on survivors, their families, bystanders, and our community-at-large.

• Secured continued county funding for reproductive health, birth justice, and gender-affirming providers serving marginalized communities. 

• Supported the Protect Reproductive Options Act, ensuring that every Minnesotan now has a fundamental right to make decisions about their own reproductive health, including the right to use or refuse reproductive health care, to continue a pregnancy and give birth, and to obtain an abortion. 

See my full governing record on this issue here.

With federal cuts and rising health needs, local leadership is crucial to protecting safety-net healthcare and addressing health disparities that have been ignored for generations. We must continue to fight and invest more to achieve health equity for all.  

Accomplishments:

• I helped strengthen Hennepin Healthcare, helping preserve and stabilize Minnesota’s last public safety-net hospital during a period of major financial troubles and leadership transition. 

• Expanded culturally specific reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare, securing continued county funding for providers serving marginalized residents. 

• Commissioner Conley and I declared racism a public health crisis, committing the county to addressing inequities in outcomes, access, and investment. 

• Invested in youth behavioral health, including funding a new regional youth crisis stabilization center. 

• Ensured widespread access to NARCAN for county staff, expanding overdose prevention and life-saving capacity. 

See my full governing record on this issue here.

Affordable and accessible transit leads to more equitable health access, educational opportunity, career pathways, connections to human services, as well as dining, retail, entertainment, and family & civic celebrations. Every resident deserves access to safe, affordable, and reliable public transit across Hennepin County.

Accomplishments:

• Led the new direction for the Blue Line Extension, restarting the stalled project and ensuring it centers North Minneapolis residents, workers, families, and affordability. 

• Commissioner Lunde and I created the first anti-displacement workgroup of its kind, ensuring the Blue Line Extension protects current residents and businesses. 

• Advocated to increase the wheelage tax, securing $10M annually for safer, well-maintained county roads. 

• Secured funding for the Highway 55 Bus Rapid Transit study, expanding safe, reliable multimodal transportation options. 

See my full governing record on this issue here.