Vision: People are safe and the justice system restores our community.
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Safe communities are well-resourced with strong connections between neighbors. Taking action to make our district a safer place has been a constant focus of mine as a community leader. When it comes to making our city and State safer, I'm guided by the saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” While serving on the Minneapolis Capital Long-Range Improvement Committee, I have championed and supported Vision Zero programming and funding to eliminate traffic related injuries and death, in addition to advocating for new approaches to make our city safer for pedestrians. I’ve also shown up consistently for gun control, attending the March for Our Lives, because under-regulated access to weapons makes sacred spaces in our communities increasingly less safe.

We must:

• Ensure that our cities are fully funded. Minneapolis is facing a $20 million budget deficit. In order to keep city services intact, we need state solutions that will resource our city. Local Government Aid (LGA) is a critical tool at the State level that supports city government by providing funds for local public safety responses. I want to finds ways to increase LGA to our city and also work to grow our tax base by keeping our district a livable and affordable place for anyone to call home. By fully funding our cities, we can make sure local decision makers have the resources needed to advocate for appropriate responses for people in crisis, and focus efforts on prevention. 

• Address safety on public transit. With the newly implemented transit ambassador program, we have an opportunity to evaluate novel approaches and strengthen areas needed to maintain safety, reduce disruptions, and help people in need navigate available resources.  

• Take action on gun violence. The gun violence epidemic has taken too many lives, brought terror into our lives in places that have been trusted as safe spaces. Last year, our Minneapolis community tragically experienced this in our own backyard. We must continue to pass legislation that prevents gun violence by banning AR-15s, strengthen safe storage laws, and fully passing universal background checks. 

• Protect our most vulnerable community members. With the rise of extremism and targeted attacks on the queer community, I believe our State should continue to lead the nation on protecting LGTBQ+ rights. We must also prioritize student safety. That means keeping guns out of our schools, protecting kids from bullying, supporting mental healthcare, and ensuring that adults, including School Resource Officers, are prevented from using dangerous restraints on kids.

• Invest in prevention. Public safety begins by ensuring people’s everyday needs are being addressed and by putting market structures in place that drive the outcomes we want. This includes fully funding our schools, investing in positive youth development programs for teenagers, and regulating copper recycling such that stealing wiring from light poles and other infrastructure is less attractive. I will work with the City and County to support their programs that conduct on the ground violence prevention in our communities.