As a co-founder and Chair of the Minnesota Senate’s first ever Reproductive Freedom Caucus, I am unapologetic in my defense of our state’s constitutional right to reproductive freedom and choice for all Minnesotans. To ensure that right is protected, I will continue to fight for its codification in state statute. I will also fight to ensure all Minnesotans have access to contraception, reproductive healthcare, and abortion services.

My goal is to strive for an economy that works for us all. To help get us there, I will continue to support stronger worker protections, a higher minimum wage, paid sick leave and family leave, and consequences for employers that discriminate against, retaliate against, or take advantage of their employees. I will also continue to oppose legislation designed to strip workers of their right to bargain collectively or weaken unions’ bargaining power.

For the health of our democracy, we must eliminate the influence of big money in politics at the federal, state, and local levels. I will continue to advocate for the regulation of campaign spending by artificial entities such as corporations. I will also continue to mount a fight against efforts to undermine existing Minnesota campaign finance laws.

I support legislation to require background checks on all gun sales and legislation allowing extreme risk protection orders (“red flag” laws). I also support a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as funding for education on the safe storage of firearms and ammunition. The time for this overdue.

I voted in support of a $500 million investment in public safety that included $300 million to cities, counties, and tribes to address the unique public safety needs of their communities; a Juvenile Justice Act focused on prevention, intervention, and reducing barriers for addressing youth violence; and funding for community violence reduction, emergency safety grants, local policing grants, and more.

In our community, we are lucky to already have community safety standards that other cities are pushing to receive through reforms. Most of the police officers in our local departments live in our communities, raise their families here, and interact and build relationships right here as our neighbors. That means we are already in relationship with those whose job it is to enforce laws and protect our communities, which is a great place to start. We can always do more to make our communities safer, to support our first responders, and to ensure transparency and accountability from those who serve our communities.

I support increased funding for mental health services in our schools and for adults in our communities, for drug treatment so we are combating the continued devastation of the opioid epidemic with sound science and medically appropriate responses, and for investments into affordable housing so we are not criminalizing poverty but are instead addressing the root causes. These types of investments take pressure off of our police forces and help to address the root causes of these issues, which ultimately helps to increase overall community health and safety.

Students deserve to have access to a high-quality education, regardless of their zip code. Due to chronic underfunding of our public schools, local communities have been burdened with levies and referendums, hurting seniors and families with modest incomes. Even so, districts struggle for resources. This year, numerous districts faced deficits requiring cuts to staff and services. Inevitably, class sizes get bigger and educational quality suffers.

In order to fulfill that promise of the Minnesota Constitution, I call for the state to fully fund public education. It’s in the state’s interest: well-educated graduates help Minnesota businesses prosper. Our state’s general education funding formula is over thirty years old; it should be revised to better account for inflation and increased costs due to mandated services.

That’s why I have consistently voted–and will continue to vote–in support of investments in early learning, full-service community schools that support students and their families both inside and outside the classroom, and recruiting and retaining the best qualified educators.

I will also continue to work to expand skills training programs to bring more technical education into high schools to make sure every student gets a good start in life and a high-paying job.

Every Minnesotan deserves a safe home, and the lack of adequate housing is affecting our state’s competitive advantage in the working economy. More than 580,000 Minnesotan households pay more than 30% of their income towards their housing, which doesn’t leave enough money for necessities. Stable housing is critical to the development of children and the ability of workers to hold jobs. We have to prioritize making smart investments in housing to ensure we are able to address our current shortage of homes and meet the demands of our growing economy.

I support tax incentives for builders who produce affordable homes and grants to builders to produce affordable homes. Apartments and housing developments being planned can be required to include some affordable homes. Non-governmental organizations that focus on affordable housing should be encouraged and supported.

The state must also invest in programs designed to assist families at risk of homelessness. I am a strong supporter of the Housing First model, to get Minnesotans experiencing homelessness into permanent affordable housing as soon as possible and to give them access to rental assistance and support services that will allow them to keep that housing.

Those with poor living conditions are more likely than others to have poor health. Community health can be improved through housing-based strategies that focus on neighborhood stability, soundness of construction, management of toxins in and around the home, and community safety. Also, partnerships between the healthcare and housing industries can generate innovative approaches that yield positive results for both sectors.

Our state is already feeling the effects of climate change, with higher-than-normal temperatures, more extreme storms with intense flooding, and changes to our unique ecosystems. Not only is this a detriment to the habitats we cherish so much, it also accelerates the deterioration of our infrastructure and forces us to complete early and costly repairs. We need to step up and enact bold solutions to address the climate crisis before us, so the cost of inaction doesn’t fall on the shoulders of future Minnesotans.

I support DFL led efforts to pass a 100% carbon-free standard for electricity generation by 2050. This proposal would require all electric utilities in Minnesota to use only-carbon free energy resources by 2050, while allowing each utility the flexibility to choose how and at what pace they meet the standard. In addition, transportation is the number one source of climate pollution, so I also support a large, sustained investment in statewide public transit, including light rail, buses, and more bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. We need a diverse plan that takes into consideration the needs of the aging populations outside of the metro as well as the daily commutes many of us take to work.

As Minnesotans, we are stewards not just of our own communities, but of the largest area of freshwater in the world: the Great Lakes. Protecting the clean water of the Boundary Waters and the Great Lakes is absolutely vital, and we must not let short term economic gain for multi-national mining conglomerates confuse this issue. Investing in green economy jobs, telework careers, and increasing tourism to our beautiful state can help build a stable economy for all Minnesotans without risking our most sacred resources.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to clean energy will create good-paying jobs and strengthen our state’s economy. As we make this transition, I support measures that will prioritize workforce training, local jobs opportunities, and prevailing wages for all infrastructure projects.

Minnesota’s economy is strengthened when Minnesotans can afford essential goods and services like childcare, healthcare, and prescription drugs.

I support lowering the cost of childcare by increasing funding for the state’s Child Care Assistance Program and issue childcare tax credits.

To make healthcare more affordable, I support legislation to immediately establish a MinnesotaCare Buy-In program, allowing all Minnesotans and small businesses to buy into MinnesotaCare, a bipartisan program that has provided high-quality, low-cost insurance to thousands of working Minnesotans for more than 25 years. This measure would provide access to health care for thousands additional Minnesotans and allow us to build a sustainable model to transition to a MinnesotaCare for All health care system in which every Minnesotan has access to health insurance, regardless of zip code and income level.

I also support enacting a price-cap on lifesaving prescription drugs like insulin, asthma medication, and EpiPens.

I’ve been leading the charge the MN Senate to enact legislation that will protect Minnesota consumers and level the playing field for small businesses against unchecked corporate greed. As Minnesotans struggle amid supply shortages and skyrocket prices for essential goods, such as baby formula, we must put a stop to those who are exploiting the situation to line their own pockets.

That’s why I’ve authored and pushed legislation to prohibit illegal price-gouging during disasters and emergencies. I have also sponsored legislation to breakup monopolies, enact strong consumer protections, and level the playing field for small businesses.

I support eliminating the state’s income tax on social security benefits, as well as other tax measures that will improve the cost of living for lower- and middle-income Minnesotans. That includes increasing the family tax credit, small business relief, housing tax credit, and childcare tax credits. I support paying for these tax cuts by enacting a <1% tax on investment income for those whose income exceeds $250,000.