Education is the foundation of a healthy democracy and functioning civil society. Every child deserves the right to a high quality education in a school that is safe, nurturing, and competent toward their cultural needs. The attacks by right-wing hardliners have eroded trust in our public school system; the Covid-19 pandemic further exposed the cracks and inequities within our children's schooling; and the entire system of public education is long overdue to evaluate how it can equitably serve children of all cultures and backgrounds.

A “business as usual” approach simply will not give our children the education they need to navigate the world.

As your legislator, I will champion policies that increase school funding so that our children can continue to access quality education, while simultaneously increasing protections, resources and compensation for teachers and school staff. Teachers and staff are the backbone of our public education system and without proper compensation the field is experiencing alarming brain drain, which has put even more stress upon the environments in which our children learn. We must ensure that teaching remains a desirable profession by ensuring quality compensation and working conditions.

I will help leverage the power of the state government to require a curriculum that is culturally competent, adaptive, and malleable as the demographics of Minnesota grow and change over time. Creating standards of curriculum that embrace the cultural diversity within our schools and emphasize cultural competency within faculty, staff, and administration are must-do’s if our schools are to become places where all feel like they belong. Likewise, I support strengthening media literacy to the curriculum so that our children are able to navigate an increasingly complex information environment and are able to successfully identify and dispel the mis- and disinformation they will encounter.

With climate change an inevitable threat, we must do what we can to protect our ecosystems and environment. It is imperative that we invest in both climate change prevention and adaptation measures, as recent global warming projections continue to put us on increasingly perilous ground. We must ensure that Minnesotans have clean air to breathe, clean waterways, and that we do our part to reduce global emissions.

I support legislation that transitions our economy to one supported by clean energy and green infrastructure. Investing in solar, wind, and water energy will help us create a comprehensive network of energy sources that can match our state’s energy consumption needs while minimizing environmental impact. As other options for clean energy become available, I am eager to evaluate each of them on a case-by-case basis.

Gun violence is an epidemic. It feels like every day we hear a new story about a mass shooting in a school or supermarket, a deadly dispute between teenagers, or lethal domestic violence due to the presence of a firearm. There are so many horrific stories, it is easier to allow oneself to become desensitized to it than to take action.

Our communities and our children deserve better.

As your legislator, I promise to continually seek policy solutions that will curb gun violence in our state as the courts’ jurisprudence around firearms evolves over time. Immediately, I will support policies that keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of those most likely to cause harm, such as violent offenders, individuals with restraining orders on them, individuals with a history of violence, and repeat criminal offenders. In my first term, I will propose safe storage laws that penalize gun-owners, especially gun-owners with children, who fail to comply with common-sense storage standards.

Healthcare is a human right. While Minnesota has taken strides toward achieving health equity, there still remains large gaps in the health outcomes of Minnesotans. Disparities present across a variety of factors including race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and/or gender identity, disability and geographic location. Prohibitive prescription costs leave Minnesotans struggling to afford life-saving medications. Inadequate staffing makes hospitals, health care facilities, and elder care facilities less accessible. These factors create substantial barriers to the provision of quality care, already stressed by the effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

BIPOC members of our community should not have to suffer higher mortality rates because doctors discount their pain at a statistically significant rate. Senior citizens in care facilities should not have to wait two hours for assistance due to negligent staffing practices caused by corporate greed. Absolutely no one should have to choose between paying for a life saving medication or putting food on the table.

Addressing these concerns requires acknowledging and addressing the interconnected faults within our state’s healthcare system holistically. The following policy priorities surrounding Minnesota’s healthcare system are the first steps toward solving these issues, but certainly not the last. It will take continued monitoring and discussion with stakeholders to evaluate the ever-changing needs of both healthcare workers and healthcare recipients.

As a legislator, I would support moving Minnesota to a universal healthcare system, while staunchly defending our Medicare and Medicaid programs. No Minnesotan should have to be concerned about their insurance coverage.

I would follow the example of the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act, by supporting legislation that would institute a monthly cap to the cost of other life saving drugs, including prescription drugs that treat asthma, diabetes, and other chronic diseases for eligible individuals.

I would support legislation to require health care professionals to undergo regular cultural competency training in order to stay in touch with the needs of the changing demographics of our state.

I would take on large medical companies within the state to pass the Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act in its full force and to pass other legislation that would ensure safe staffing and reduce the corporatization of the healthcare field. Our nurses require safe working conditions and proper support in order to provide quality care to their patients.

I would support increasing funding for elder care facilities and at-home care. Including supporting our at-home care workers by being an ally to SEIU during future contract negotiations. Our Seniors who require medical attention deserve to feel safe, nurtured, and enriched. Increasing funds to elder care facilities and supporting workers within the field will ensure our Seniors the highest quality care possible.

These are the first and necessary steps to addressing the health needs of our state.

Housing is a right for all - not a privilege for the few. Housing insecurity is perhaps the largest barrier to self-advancement that a person can face; it makes obtaining stable employment incredibly difficult, decreases access to public benefits, and takes a massive toll on a person’s mental health. We must ensure safe, quality, and affordable housing for all Minnesotans.

As a legislator, I will support legislation that provides incentives for residential property developers to provide affordable housing options. I will work with municipal governments to craft legislation that ensures that state law allows and, in fact, incentivizes reformation of zoning codes to foster affordable housing development. I will use my position as a legislator to build a coalition between local government, developers, and local stakeholder groups to make sure that our state’s housing policy is responsive to a dynamic housing market.

Labor Unions are the core building block that allows for a fair economy, where our workers have a meaningful voice. Wages have not kept pace with the cost of living, let alone the colossal profits experienced by corporations and their shareholders. To make matters worse, millions of corporate dollars are funneled into our political system every year so that the ultra wealthy can shape policy to their desires. I believe that Labor Unions are a necessary countervailing power to corporate interests and are key, not just to ensuring an equitable economy, but to ensuring a prevailing democracy.

As a current SAG-AFTRA member, former UNITE HERE Local 17 member, and the son of a public school teacher, I have experienced firsthand the power of unions and collective bargaining. Because of these affiliations to unions throughout my life, I know what it’s like to have a union wage be the sole factor keeping food on the table. As a legislator, I will take every opportunity to strengthen the collective power of workers through labor unions.

My coming out story as bi/pan-sexual was not a traumatic one; that is a privilege not shared by many. Even today, the rights and safety of my community are under assault by those who would seek to undo all the progress we’ve made in our attempts to attain equal rights. Furthermore, members of the LGBTQIA+ community still experience violence and discrimination at disproportionately high rates. These rates increase even more for BIPOC members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Our state has done incredible work organizing to increase the rights of members of the LGBTQIA+ community, but more work needs to be done.

I will support legislation that affirms the rights of my community and combats discrimination against it, provides further resources to LGBTQIA+ folks experiencing domestic violence, and legislation that requires training for first responders to increase their competence when working with members of my community.

All Minnesotans deserve to live in a state where they feel safe. I believe in a future where everyone can walk around their neighborhoods without fear. This future can only be achieved by taking an inclusive and multifaceted approach to achieving public safety.

Policing in this country and in this state have a history of racially-discriminatory practices that often make encounters with law enforcement a traumatic or even deadly experience for many Minnesotans. Law enforcement professionals must be educated on their own history and how they have been used as an apparatus to propagate and uphold White Supremacy. Reconciliation within law enforcement about their own past is key to fostering healthy relationships with historically marginalized communities.

At the same time, policing is one of the most taxing jobs on a person’s mental health, as is evidenced by law enforcement professionals suffering much higher rates of PTSD than the average person. Mental health resources must be simultaneously provided to and destigmatized by members of law enforcement within our community.

Police are important for responding to clear and present danger to the community. However, the necessity of a police response is indicative of failures to prevent crime in the first place. More must be done to address the root causes of crime. Housing instability, low wages, social exclusion, and a lack of upward mobility – especially when experienced by youth – all increase crime within a neighborhood.

Public safety isn’t just the police. Public safety is the interlocking of various systems that we create within our society that makes the public safe. As such, public safety requires a more equitable housing environment, higher wages, spaces for meaningful social interaction, a chance to improve your own life, and when interactions with law enforcement become necessary, public safety demands more resources that lessen the likelihood of a violent encounter with an individual in crisis; more unarmed public safety officers, greater emphasis on de-escalation and community policing, and coalition building with community organizations.

As a legislator, I will support policies that address the determinants of crime, provide more resources to unarmed public safety officers, increase access to mental health resources, institutionalize relationships between police forces and community organizations, and invest in youth populations.

The fall of Roe V Wade has created an exceptionally unsafe environment for those seeking reproductive healthcare in this country. Your body, your choice. Full stop. I will support policies that affirm a person’s right to choose what to do with their reproductive health. I will defend this right to choose from any attempt to undermine it. I am proud of the work we have done in the State of Minnesota to affirm this right after the fall of Roe v. Wade and I will passionately carry on this work as your legislator.