PRIORITIES & ACCOMPLISHMENTS

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

I campaigned on the premise that housing is a right and the promise of working toward ensuring that every Minneapolis resident has access to safe, stable, and affordable housing throughout the city.

When our administration took office, Minneapolis had lost 10,000 units of affordable housing over the prior 10 years and had no clear action plan for redressing the intentional segregation and racial injustices promoted by more than a century of our city’s housing policies.

My administration’s affordable housing agenda has focused on 4 pillars:

1. Production of new affordable housing units
2. Presentation of existing affordable housing units
3. Protection of renters’ rights
4. Creating more pathways and opportunities for affordable homeownership

Some of our administration’s top achievements include:

• Investing record amounts of city funding--over $100 million across four budgets--in affordable housing, in addition to prioritizing state and federal dollars for housing.
• Increasing the Affordable Housing Trust Fund by more than $40 million over the past three and half years to provide gap financing for the production and preservation of affordable rental housing for households earning less than 50% of area median income, with priority financing for affordable rental units for households earning less than 30% of area median income.
• Allocating $3.5 million to provide emergency funding for Minneapolis renters amid the economic downturn resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Launching the city’s 4d Program which has already helped to preserve thousands of affordable rental units across Minneapolis by assisting apartment building owners to obtain property tax reductions in exchange for maintaining 20% or more of their units as affordable.
  • Our 4d program is the first in the state to create energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives, making it a model that is now being adopted in other cities across the country. These incentives both lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce utility costs to renters.
• Investing $3.3 million of pilot funding to develop the city’s flagship Stable Homes, Stable Schools initiative, a collaborative effort by the City of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA), Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), and Hennepin County Health and Human Services to connect families of MPS students at risk of or experiencing homelessness with funding and permanent resources and supports necessary to maintain stable housing.
  • Stable Homes, Stable Schools has prevented homelessness or stabilized housing for more than 2,500 MPS students from close to 900 families as of November 2020. Because of its overwhelming success, the 2021 budget allocates $2.2 million of ongoing funding to make the initiative a permanent city program.

Creating the More Representation Minneapolis initiative which provides funding to LegalAid and the Volunteer Lawyers Network to provide direct, pro-bono representation for Minneapolis renters facing eviction or seeking to enforce their legal rights against landlords.

• Creating the More Representation Minneapolis initiative which provides funding to LegalAid and the Volunteer Lawyers Network to provide direct, pro-bono representation for Minneapolis renters facing eviction or seeking to enforce their legal rights against landlords.
• Allocating over $4 million in city funding for the Minneapolis Homes program that facilitates and provides financial assistance for redevelopment of the more than 450 city-owned vacant building properties into affordable units and provides new opportunities and pathways for homeownership and generational wealth-building in BIPOC communities.
• Investing $2.3 million to fund energy efficiency improvements for the city’s biggest public housing renovation project in history, the deeply affordable Elliot Twins Apartments, that will reduce energy costs by 35% (savings that MPHA can reinvest back into creating and preserving more affordable housing).

ECONOMIC INCLUSION

I believe that economic growth is only a measure of success when it creates opportunities and prosperity that reach Minneapolis residents in every corner of the city, especially those that face the greatest barriers. My administration’s commitment to economic inclusion has centered Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and immigrants as partners and decision-makers for charting their communities’ economic future.

Minneapolis faces a pivotal opportunity as we re-emerge from the challenges beset upon cities across the country by the coronavirus and a legacy of systemic racism. Our administration will continue to stay focused on policies that expand opportunity to everyone in the city, but especially to those who have been historically disenfranchised.

Some of our administration’s top achievements include:

• Incorporating clear and firm goals, strategies, and evaluation metrics in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan for measurably advancing racially equitable economic growth and opportunities through City policies and investments.
  • Our work on the 2040 Comprehensive Plan earned commendation from the Center for Economic Inclusion.
• Creating the Commercial Property Development Fund that invests over $7 million to provide small businesses and developers with patient debt capital to support the acquisition or completion of commercial real estate in portions of Minneapolis that have experienced historic disinvestment and are vulnerable to displacement.
• Designating six cultural districts (W. Broadway Avenue, Central Avenue, Cedar-Riverside, Franklin Avenue, E. Lake Street, and 38th Street) selected in consultation with community groups that will receive funding for lighting improvements, street cleaning, building facade improvements, and other commercial revitalization projects, especially in racially segregated areas with concentrated poverty.

Allocating a $2.5 million initial investment to establish a city fund that provides no-interest loans for business owners in racially segregated areas with concentrated poverty to purchase the commercial properties they currently lease, helping to ensure that they are able to be the beneficiaries of, rather than displaced by, increases to property values.

• Launching the Minneapolis Forward Community Now Coalition, a united effort between the City and community partners to chart the path for rebuilding a stronger, equitable, inclusive, and resilient Minneapolis in the aftermath of COVID-19 and the civil unrest resulting from the police killing of George Floyd.
  • Coalition leaders include representatives from the Lake Street Council, West Broadway Business and Area Coalition, Latino Economic Development Center, African American Leadership Forum, Black Women’s Wealth Alliance, Hmong American Partnership, Minnesota Trans Health Coalition, Native American Community Development Institute, and other groups
  • Allocating $1.2 million in city funding to the Rebuild Resilient initiative that will provide up to $40,000 to over 200 BIPOC- and immigrant-owned small businesses that are rebuilding after suffering damage during last year’s civil unrest to pay for installation of solar panels and energy efficiency improvements.
  • Installations funded through Rebuild Resilient will be installed trainees from the Minnesota Career Center and Summit Academy OIC in North Minneapolis, providing hands-on job training for a rapidly growing industry
  • By partnering with Xcel Energy, CenterPoint Energy, and others, Rebuild Resilient will generate $15 million in matching investments for energy efficiency improvements in impacted BIPOC communities.
• Establishing the Minneapolis African American Commission on Economic Inclusion comprised of Black community and business leaders to provide guidance and direction to the Mayor’s office and city leadership on economic inclusion, opportunity creation, and implementation of specific solutions for redressing economic harm to Black communities.

PUBLIC & COMMUNITY SAFETY

Our administration has consistently supported a both-and approach to community-led public safety solutions beyond traditional policing, as well as working alongside Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) leadership to build a better and more accountable department.

From dramatically increasing body camera compliance to overhauling the use of force policy, our administration has issued extensive reforms to the department that enhance transparency and accountability and prioritize community relations. Since taking office, we have diligently pursued deep structural change within the department, maintaining a focus on the persistent work of changing department culture.

Some of our administration’s top achievements include:

• Implementing a first-in-the-nation ban on so-called warrior-style training for officers both on and off duty.
• Implementing updates to the city’s body camera policy, including disciplinary measures for noncompliance, that have improved compliance from less than 55% at the time I took office to over 90%.
  • More recently, we further strengthened the policy by prohibiting MPD officers involved in critical incidents from reviewing body camera footage prior to completing their initial police reports and prohibiting officers from deactivating their body cameras to privately converse while they are responding to a call
• Issuing new MPD policy to incorporate a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach to sexual assault responses and investigations that prioritizes the victim’s safety, privacy, well-being, and rights.
• Banning the use of no-knock warrants in the city of Minneapolis.

Overhauling the MPD’s use of force policy to restrict use of force as much as can be allowed by state law, as well as expanding the definition of use of force to include (though not limited to) the improper unholstering of weapon and contact, direct or indirect, that causes pain, injury, or the restriction of movement.

• Changing MPD’s force reporting policy to require that officers report in detail how and why force was used, as well as any attempts they made at de-escalation before applying force.
• Allocating $2.5 million of ongoing funding to the Office of Violence Prevention to create the MinneapUS Strategic Outreach initiative, where trusted community members work together on neighborhood teams to serve as outreach workers. These team members identify potentially violent situations and use non-physical conflict resolution, mediation, and interruption techniques to de-escalate conflict. Additionally, outreach workers help community members connect to services that can assist with housing, medical and mental health support, and employment, creating a pathway to peaceful and more prosperous communities.
• Expanding use of the Mental Health Co-responder Unit that deploys mental health professionals to respond to police calls involving individuals who are or may be experiencing a mental health crisis to ensure they are treated with compassion and dignity and provided help to receive necessary care and services.

CLIMATE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Our administration recognizes that climate change is an intersectional issue. It affects every portion of our population, though, more importantly, it often impacts our BIPOC communities the most. Minneapolis’ most underserved communities bear the legacy of decisions made without their input and consequently are now among the most impacted by pollution. Our administration recognizes that justice must also mean climate justice, and our plans have targeted key investments into those communities, as well as the city broadly.

Some of our administration’s top achievements include:

• Launching our city’s 4d program (see above under “Affordable Housing”), the first in the state to create energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives, making it a model that is now being adopted in other cities across the country. These incentives both lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce utility costs to renters.
• Investing $2.3 million to fund energy efficiency improvements for the city’s biggest public housing renovation project in history (see above under “Affordable Housing”)
• Allocating $1.2 million in city funding to the Rebuild Resilient initiative that will provide up to $40,000 to over 200 BIPOC- and immigrant-owned small businesses that are rebuilding after suffering damage during last year’s civil unrest to pay for installation of solar panels and energy efficiency improvements.
  • Installations funded through Rebuild Resilient will be installed trainees from the Minnesota Career Center and Summit Academy OIC in North Minneapolis, providing hands-on job training for a rapidly growing industry
  • By partnering with Xcel Energy, CenterPoint Energy, and others, Rebuild Resilient will generate $15 million in matching investments for energy efficiency improvements in impacted BIPOC communities.
• Establishing goals for transitioning Minneapolis to 100% renewable electricity for municipal operations and buildings by 2022 and citywide by 2030.
• Serving on the Steering Committee of Climate Mayors, a network of U.S. mayors leading on local climate action and advocating for federal policies and investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Increasing the city’s ongoing funding for sustainability and climate work to over $3 million per year.
• Allocating over $1 million to expand and improve our city’s energy programs based on recommendations from the resident-led Energy Vision Advisory Committee.
• Piloting and subsequently funding a permanent, full-time Energy and Climate Regulatory Policy Coordinator position focused on implementing policies to advance the city’s Climate Action Plan goals and, being the first city in the state to have a representative advocating for city climate goals before the Public Utilities Commission.
• Initiating the creation of the Climate Action and Racial Equity Fund by partnering with the McKnight and Minneapolis Foundations to provide grants to local, community-led organizations, groups, and projects that meaningfully and simultaneously advance the goals of the Minneapolis Climate Action Plan and the Minneapolis Strategic Racial Equity Plan.
  • Initiating the creation of the Climate Action and Racial Equity Fund by partnering with the McKnight and Minneapolis Foundations to provide grants to local, community-led organizations, groups, and projects that meaningfully and simultaneously advance the goals of the Minneapolis Climate Action Plan and the Minneapolis Strategic Racial Equity Plan.
    • The Lake Street Council and the West Bank Business Association for a plan to make businesses less dependent on automobile traffic, thereby decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. This money will help support businesses as they adapt to changes in transit patterns and ensure that decisions about carbon-free transportation options are guided by those who have the most knowledge of the local conditions.
    • Dream of Wild Health to support programming around Indigenous plants and seeds. This funding supports the organization of the Upper Midwest Indigenous Seed Network, a database that catalogs information about Indigenous seeds from across the region, empowering local planters with information about plants made to exhibit the greatest resiliency in our region.
    • Black Visions Collective to increase the number of Black leaders in our region who are fighting for climate equity. Black Visions Collective aims to expand to the base of people fighting for equitable climate policies, among those who are most affected.
    • Community Members for Environmental Justice to support a project that will bring neighbors together around emergency preparedness planning in North Minneapolis.
    • MN Renewables Now to support an effort to offer rooftop solar systems on properties around the Northside of Minneapolis.
    • Native Sun, a native-led organization that encourages energy efficiency, renewable energy, and an equitable energy transition that includes awareness, workforce investments, and demonstration. This initiative funds a Fellowship to move the work forward.
    • Pillsbury United Communities for urban agriculture investments that support efforts to cultivate under-utilized urban plots in an effort to grow healthy, local foods. Going on its fifth season, the program’s regenerative practices focus on rehabilitating land in Minneapolis’s Green Zone neighborhoods, decreasing the impact of climate change on BIPOC communities.
    • Project Sweetie Pie for its Northside Safety N.E.T. (Neighborhoods Empowering Teens) program. This collaboration will train youth of color, ages 16-24, in North Minneapolis, and those involved will learn about the relationship between environmental justice, urban agriculture, community service, and more.
    • Sabathani Community Center to support an energy conservation and solar planning project. This project marks the start of a partnership with the Center for Energy and the Environment, and it will allow Sabathani to begin planning for a revisioning and redesign of its outdated and energy-inefficient systems.
  • Grantees are selected by a committee of community members from Minneapolis’ North and Southside Green Zones and the Minneapolis Racial Equity Community Advisory Committee and representatives from the City and partner foundations
• Launching the city’s mobility hub pilot program to increase residents’ access to convenient low- or no-carbon transportation options, including transit and shared bicycles and scooters, especially at the first and last miles. The pilot program is one of ten community-based projects awarded funding this year through the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ (NACTO) Streets for Pandemic Response and Recovery programs to support the work of five partner community organizations to identify and model ways in which mobility hubs can be used as neighborhood-level infrastructure to address the changing needs of low-income communities impacted most disproportionately by COVID-19 and civil unrest.
• Increasing funding for the Green Cost Share program which provides matching funds for energy efficiency, solar, and pollution reduction improvements to industrial, commercial, and multi- and single-family properties, with priority given to buildings in Green Zones. The program leverages utility incentives to significantly buy down the cost of these improvements.
• Updating the city’s Green Fleet policy and investing in the ongoing electrification of the city’s vehicle fleet in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Adopting our city’s nation-leading 2040 Comprehensive Plan that will significantly increase the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings; accelerate investment and use of renewable energy in buildings and transportation; establish more sustainable land-use and transportation patterns that discourage single-occupancy vehicle use and promote pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and other no- or low-carbon mobility options; and more.
• Completing the city’s 10 Year Transportation Action Plan that sets forth over 350 strategies and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve street use and safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, and advance transportation equity. The plan sets a goal of having 60% of trips made by walking, biking, or transit by 2030.
• Investing in the continued development of the city’s All Ages and Abilities Network of bikeways, expanding the implementation of bus-only lanes, and updating the City’s Complete Streets policy to include green infrastructure and micromobility.

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HOUSING FOR ALL

“Every city must house every one of its residents and visitors properly. I believe everyone in Minneapolis deserves a space to call ‘home’. The city can – and must – do more.”

Housing should be viewed as a fundamental human right, not a commodity that some cannot access or afford.

There are more renters than homeowners in the city – and right now one of the most pressing needs facing everyone in Minneapolis is housing. The need for affordable and stable housing is intensifying as the city continues to grow.

Addressing the affordability issue will require bold policies – and funding – capable of ensuring affordable, neighborhood housing for all. The city must lead and support actions and efforts that provide for more public housing, rent control, unique developments, and special supports for post-pandemic needs.

WE MUST INCREASE AND IMPROVE HOUSING OPPORTUNTIES IN MINNEAPOLIS.

From ‘tiny home’ villages to town homes and public housing communities to neighborhood homes – the city must ensure everyone has the opportunity to find a space to call ‘home’ in Minneapolis.

Not only because it is the ‘right’ thing to do – but because it is a fundamental responsibility of the modern city to ensure everyone is properly accommodated.

We cannot ‘criminalize’ homelessness. Nor can we have a city that has unhoused people living on the streets or along highways. We cannot allow people to live in public transportation or parks. It is not right and it is not dignified.

These are signs of failed government leadership and must not be allowed to continue. Ensuring everyone has a ‘home’ must be addressed as aggressively as the recent pandemic – with a since of urgency and compassion and dignity.

Our residents deserve better. We must have a city that is building the amount and kinds of housing necessary to minimize or even prevent these issues from arising – and as Mayor, AJ Awed will take action.

AJ believes housing is a fundamental human right, and not a commodity. But he knows how housing is currently developed and he knows it will take creative thinking and private – and government partners – to meet the housing needs of everyone in Minneapolis.

We must take bolder steps to solves these issues – and we must recommit our city to addressing them directly by advocating for new taxing authority and funding for these efforts. We cannot rely on US Government pandemic funds alone – the City of Minneapolis must be given new taxing authority so that funding for these efforts are sustainable to meet them.

Housing Opportunities in Minneapolis

Currently, rent increases outpace wage increases – leaving many families struggling to afford groceries, clothes, school supplies, medical emergencies, and more.

Right now, the most pressing need facing Minneapolis is affordable housing. This was true before the COVID-19 pandemic, but with workers unemployed, the need for affordable and stable housing is only intensifying as the city grows. Addressing the affordability crisis will require bold policies capable of ensuring affordable housing for all.

Together we must lay the foundation and funding for future housing stability, we need to refocus city policy to protect current occupants, repair public housing, and build new affordable housing.

Rent Control and Stabilization

AJ believes we must curb high rent increases for landlords who own 5 or more properties – tying increases to the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers. The City of Minneapolis must not allow large rent increases to displace families and long-time residents from living in their neighborhoods.

As your Mayor, AJ will continue to work alongside Minneapolis tenants and housing advocates to implement a universal Rent Control ordinance that will work for everyone in Minneapolis.

Universal rent control or stabilization ordinances that are properly funded and implemented in Minneapolis would allow us to:

• Protect renters from displacement.
• Help renters strengthen their communities by allowing them to stay in their neighborhoods
• Stabilize our community schools by minimizing student relocation.
• Prevent increased homelessness.

Protecting and Expanding Public Housing

With an average ‘blue collar’ worker making $33,762 – and many making much less – the only really true affordable housing option for these residents is public housing.

While the majority of the city’s affordable housing initiatives target households earning $50,000-$60,000 a year, there are very few options outside of public housing that address the needs of those earning $30,000 and below.

Public housing is not only attainable for low-income residents, but it guarantees affordability by capping rental payments to 30% of the tenant’s actual monthly income, thereby ensuring residents are not cost-burdened.

Unfortunately, in recent years, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, with the support of City Council, has moved forward with privatization plans for the Elliot Twins high-rises, as well as the privatization of all single-family “scattered site” homes throughout Minneapolis.

Turning over ownership to the same private investors and developers who created our current housing crisis will not solve our affordability issues. In fact, it will likely lead to further displacement for our most vulnerable residents.

In a ‘Better Minneapolis’, our public housing and housing options will be a source of pride for our city – and a place of comfort, safety, and stability for all who call the city ‘home’ or just to visit.

AS MAYOR, AJ AWED WILL ...

• Elevate and empower a diverse and inclusive city leadership.
• Advocate with the state to ensure all drivers in the city are provided a drivers license – regardless of immigration status.
• Push for fair and accessible pathways to legal status and citizenship for all undocumented people living in the city.
• Champion and uplift the voices of the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized identities.
• Protect undocumented workers from ‘notario’ fraud and related unbanked households fraud.
• Invest in neighborhood infrastructure and community space.
• Expand free mental health services, especially those tailored for youth.
• Invest in programs that support recovering addicts after they graduate from a treatment facility.
• Expand the accessibility of naloxone/narcan and train more government employees to use the life-saving drug.
• In cases where 911 is called for a non-violent drug related incident, have first responders be health care professionals.
• Push for diversion programs that place people addicted to a substance in a treatment program rather than prison or jail.
• Expunge the records of those previously incarcerated on non-violent drug crimes.
• Expand the locations, coverage, and hours of current syringe exchange programs.

STRONG WORKERS + BUSINESSES

“I will be a champion for neighborhood workers, businesses, and entrepreneurs – and ensure they are valued, respected, and have fair opportunities to compete against monopolistic corporations and elites.”

Small business is the driving force of our city’s commerce. AJ will work hard to push for policies that support small businesses, encourage entrepreneurship, and promote innovation.

AJ has worked in small businesses in Minneapolis – and he knows that these businesses and their workers are the source of most of the jobs and activity in every neighborhood in the city. Its more important than ever that commit to getting the city’s workers back on their feet and small businesses reopened.

Entrepreneurship and creativity are at the heart of every neighborhood in the city and make them unique – and we must oppose gentrification or displacement without comprehensive consultation and support from neighborhoods and marginalized communities.

LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS NEED TO BE SAVED AND SUPPORTE

Minneapolis is home to hundreds of small businesses, many owned and operated by immigrants and people of color.

These small businesses are essential to the fabric of our city and our cultural identities. Prior to COVID-19, small businesses were already experiencing the pressure of gentrification and rising commercial rents; however, with the economic impact of COVID-19, they are now even more vulnerable to displacement.

We must provide more support for small businesses to survive, grow, and thrive.

AS MAYOR, AJ AWED WILL ...

• Expand the city’s technical assistance program by offering low-income small businesses free legal advice for lease negotiations and low-interest loans from trustworthy community lenders
• Oppose the sale and development of city-owned land for projects that will further exacerbate gentrification and displacement pressure for small businesses
• Support a future ‘Vacancy Tax’, to create an incentive for landlords not to leave ground-floor storefront retail spaces empty in the hopes of waiting for a tenant who will pay higher rent
• Support a version of commercial rent control for small businesses

Champion low interest loans and other forms of support for neighborhood-based small businesses and entrepreneurs

GREEN CITY FUTURE + INITIATIVES

“The issue of climate change is one that our city simply cannot afford to ignore. We all must commit to chart a new course using ‘Green New Deal’ approaches before we condemn future generations to suffer from our lack of commitment and action.”

The greatest environmental challenge facing Minneapolis is climate change.

AJ will act on climate change. His admiration will focus on continuing to move the city’s climate action planning forward. To maximize the opportunities in the city to use clean, renewable energy.

We must implement land-use and transportation policies that reduce emissions, encourage transit usage, and fosters the use of zero emission vehicles. And we must not stop there.

We must implement ‘zero waste’ strategies, invest in storm-water infrastructure, and plant more trees through out our neighborhoods and along our streets.

WE MUST DO OUR PART AS A CITY TO REDUCE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.

We must continue our ambitious goals as a community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Minneapolis with an emphasis on protecting those who have contributed the least to the climate crisis but are most impacted by it—our BIPOC, immigrant, and low-income communities.

For decades, the City of Minneapolis’ urban planning decisions have sacrificed the health of residents in the name of industry and economic profit, resulting in disproportionately high rates of asthma, cancer, birth defects, and cardiovascular disease.

We must take swift action to reverse the health inequities that have come as result of these racist and classist policy decisions and do our part as a city to stop the global climate crisis.

'We can have a ‘Greener City’

Climate change’s local impacts must be reversed. Our city will support ‘Green New Deal’ initiatives.

Together we will radically address local climate change impacts and lead to a more equitable economy with increased employment and widespread financial security for all – and greener streets and neighborhoods.

AS MAYOR, AJ AWED WILL ...

• Work with Metro Transit to ensure the existing fleet of hybrid-electric busses are assigned to bus routes in areas of the city that currently experience the highest levels of pollution (i.e. the Southside Green Zone of Phillips, Little Earth, and Cedar-Riverside).
• Protect vulnerable neighborhoods from a changing climate.
• Invest in Green Job Training and Certification for workers to provide long-term career paths in the new green economy.
• Incentivize and assist Small Businesses in transitioning to cleaner, green economy technologies.
• Work in partnership with Metro Transit to expand mass transit and make public transportation free.
• Prioritize equitable transit-oriented development by locating new affordable housing developments near public transit ways throughout Minneapolis.
• Advocate for a clean energy grid – deploying solar, wind, and hyrdo options where possible.
• Push for reductions in building energy emissions and emissions from other sources – like vehicle tailpipes and waste.
• Put social and racial justice at the center of the city’s climate work and make sure every one has the skills to participate in the green economy.
• Educate our neighbors – and the next generation – about the impacts of climate change in our city.

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Safe streets

The safety and well-being of every Minneapolitan and every visitor to our city – no matter who they are – is my top priority as Mayor.

We need the Minneapolis Police Department to help keep us safe, and we need a Mayor who will make the police department better. We need a leader who will work every day to restore faith and trust in the department. We need a leader who knows that this work will be an ongoing process that requires partnership and buy-in from individuals and communities across our city. I have heard some people make the excuse that the Mayor lacks the power to change how our police force operates. That is just plain wrong. Our City Charter vests all authority for the establishment, maintenance, appointment, removal, discipline, control, and supervision of the police force in the Mayor, subject to certain limitations. There is no time for nibbling around the edges with words on paper. Our force is down nearly 200 officers on Jacob Frey’s watch. We need a Mayor who will immediately reset the narrative so that our police know their service is appreciated. As the leader of the police force, I will roll up my sleeves, dig in, and create an environment in which our best civil servants succeed. I will do this side-by-side with Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, the best chief of police in the country for dealing with the issues before us. At the same time, we need a Mayor who will hold our police to a high level of professionalism and accountability, who will not tolerate systemic racism, and who will uproot and expose problems for the community to see. We need a Mayor who does not tolerate bullies, whether they are on the street or in the police force. I have been standing up to bullies my entire life, from the bully who sent me to the emergency room in middle school to the bully who came to my neighborhood in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder armed with knives and a hammer. With strong leadership we will stand up to them together.

As Mayor, I am committed to:

• Bolstering the Minneapolis Police Department. Together, we will:
  • Reset the narrative about our good police by sharing their stories with the public so our officers know their service is appreciated and so our community understands their sacrifice and dedication to safety.
  • Identify and promote the best civil servants within the force - those who believe in the beauty of multiculturalism and our city - and create an environment in which they thrive.
  • Work with Chief Arradondo and the MPD community to find creative ways to incentivize and recruit candidates who embody the values we share as Minneapolitans.
• Improving policing from the ground up. Together, we will:
  • Focus on building an unprecedented level of community-centered programs and relationships.
  • Ensure that our force follows recognized, researched-based best practices.
  • Change our approach to policing from an offensive mentality to a proactive, service-based mentality.
  • Allocate resources based on specialization and community-identified needs.
• Evolving our police force. Together, we will:
  • Involve mental health and other professionals trained in de-escalation in all appropriate situations.
  • Expand new candidate evaluations and pre-screenings to identify unsuitable candidates before we invest time and resources in their training.
  • Mandate regular counseling for all officers to remove the stigma and maintain the health and readiness of our department.
  • Develop new, community-centric law enforcement standards and practices to improve efficiencies and reduce crime.
• Providing an unprecedented level of transparency about police practices. Together, we will:
  • Communicate frequently and regularly with Minneapolis residents about current efforts and plans.
  • Bring detrimental practices and mindsets to light so they can be appropriately understood and addressed.
  • Use data analysis to track results, identify weaknesses, and propose holistic solutions.

With my leadership and bold action, we can make this plan a reality.

Stable housing

Home is the foundation for everything. Yet current leadership is not doing enough to provide stable, affordable, and livable housing for all.

All Minneapolitans deserve stable housing. I know that far too many of our neighbors are living in desperation because they don’t have a place they can call home, or they are one step away from homelessness every month. Many more have homes they cannot trust - because of dangerous living conditions or unexpected changes in rental terms.

Minneapolis needs more stable, truly affordable housing. But stability and affordability are meaningless when housing is uninhabitable. We cannot pledge to provide affordable housing while ignoring powerful landlords who disregard city code and the well-being of their tenants. Too many Minneapolitans are paying rent to live in substandard housing.

While most landlords do the right thing, providing essential and safe housing opportunities for our residents, I have seen firsthand living conditions involving mold and infestations that are making Minneapolis children and their families seriously ill.

As Mayor, I am committed to bringing safe, stable, and livable housing to all Minneapolitans. Together, we will:

• Bolster our city inspection program so it has the resources to be more proactive in finding and bringing to light negligent landlords throughout the city.
• Establish an easily accessible “one-stop shop” (online and in person) resource for Minneapolis tenants including such things as:
  • Easily accessible information about every available rental assistance source at the city, state and national level
  • Dedicated navigators to guide people through the assistance application process
  • Detailed information about every available housing-related legal aid organization
  • Easily understood summaries of applicable housing statutes and city codes
  • A portal for lodging and tracking questions, issues, and complaints accessible to both city inspectors and local housing-oriented legal aid organizations
• Create a task force of industry representatives and experts whose purpose is to develop a framework to ensure developers provide enough truly affordable units in new construction.
• Champion the use of green, sustainable practices and materials in new housing construction.
• Consider establishing a “points” system that tracks habitability and other complaints against landlords, focusing on large landlords as a pilot program.
• Work with leadership from Hennepin County and other area cities to consider establishing a voucher system that would be supplemental to the federal Section 8 programs and would provide quicker, more flexible affordable housing options.
• Advocate for an equitable, sustainable, city-wide policy that balances the investments landlords have made in their properties with the need for renters to have stable, fair rent prices.
• Push for the creation of a low-income housing public defender office that supplements, and works in coordination with, existing housing-focused legal aid organizations to ensure that every low-income Minneapolis tenant has the right to an attorney in eviction cases.

Small business boom Small businesses are vital to the future of Minneapolis. These businesses need a major boost, and quickly. Small businesses are critically important to the economic health of our minority and immigrant communities and they facilitate cultural interconnectedness in our city. Moreover, the health of the Twin Cities area’s Fortune 500 businesses is inextricably linked to the health of our small business community. As Senator Paul Wellstone famously said, “we all do better when we all do better.”

As Mayor, I am committed to facilitating a small business boom. Together, we will:

• Directly invest additional funds from emergency relief resources into our small businesses with an eye toward shared prosperity across the entire business community.
• Push to create one or more new public-private partnerships to provide low-interest loans to help small, community-based businesses recover from COVID-19 and thrive
• Determine the extent to which we can reduce or eliminate local regulations that stand in the way of small business success.
• Work with small business leaders to ensure that city staff are properly trained regarding all aspects of running a small business in the city and the issues our small businesses face.
• Empower city staff to partner with entrepreneurs to create a “small business first” framework that enables businesses to reach their objectives.
• Create a “one-stop shop” that provides all of the tools and resources to start and maintain a business in Minneapolis.
• Use my engineering experience and international business connections to promote our city as the ideal setting for investment and business start-up.
• Establish a task force of leaders from big business, small business, and Minneapolis schools to develop cutting-edge holistic education, training, and recruiting programs that will prepare our kids for the jobs of the future and employ them right here in the jewel of the North.

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REIMAGINING LAW ENFORCEMENT

I believe The Nicollet Mall should be as safe as Main Street Disneyland.

We must reimagine law enforcement as it is the Number One issue that faces the City of Minneapolis right now.

1. There needs to be a top to bottom review of everything from how 911 calls are handled to the type of handcuffs police are using to the equipment that is being carried on the beat.
2. We need to change the way that policing is done. There’s no need to send in heavily armored police officers to every call. Let’s have other options, from social workers to psychologists to lightly armed peace officers. These new cross-trained peace officers can be more cost effective and they can cost less than a fully armed police officer. Thus the lightly armed peace officers can be deployed in greater numbers and have more of a presence on the street. More eyes on the street prevents crime. Additionally the new lightly armed peace officers will be by design the first dispatched to non-violent police calls.
3. It’s essential that the Mayor remain in touch with what is happening on the ground. As Mayor – I will ride with police squads at least one night a week – to see how they react to incidents and 911 calls. The Police Department issue is our biggest challenge – so we must be willing to put in the extra hours and energy to make sure we get our policing right in the City of Minneapolis. It will be on my mind every day and especially every night as we look for innovative solutions to make our Minneapolis Police Department operate more effectively and more efficiently.
4. I think there needs to be a focus for the Minneapolis Police to be more a “part of the community” and landscape – like the New York City cops you see playing stickball with kids in the neighborhood. There needs to be much more interaction between the men and women in uniform and the people in the community. There will be a new emphasis on a “charm offensive” and chatting up the people of the City. The personal community touch can make a big difference because if we have more communication between police and the neighborhoods – we can help reduce and prevent crime. Police Officers are finally going to be incentivized to interact with people on the street. Being engaged can and will reduce crime.
5. The Police must be part of the community they work in and protect. This means that after eighteen (18) months on the Minneapolis Police Department – anyone employed in a policing capacity will need to move into the city limits. No more driving into police the City and then driving out of Minneapolis at the end of the shift to go to a community that is distinctly different from the one where you are enforcing the law.
6. The Minneapolis Police department should institute a policy that over the next two (2) years they will require a four (4) year college degree for all new police department recruits. A recent study found that officers with undergraduate degrees performed on par with officers who had ten (10) years of additional police experience.
7. A new dialogue must be opened between communities of color and law enforcement. The tremendous trust gap that currently exists with law enforcement is not sustainable. The trust, talking, communication and respect must run both ways and both sides must listen or we will have a community where the laws can no longer be enforced. Minneapolis must regain its faith and trust in its Police Department or the City will be ungovernable. The Minneapolis Police Department must be able to enforce the laws of this City in an effective manner. Time and resources and budgets are limited so we must work together to solve this crisis of confidence.

JOBS AND THE ECONOMY

I am a candidate that understands jobs. The entire restaurant and hotel and convention business has been decimated in the City of Minneapolis. Recent reports show that Minneapolis is the weakest hotel market in the entire United States. The City needs a Chief Executive who clearly understands that the current business environment in this City needs to be revived in a big bold way.

Now more than ever the City of Minneapolis needs to reposition itself and market itself after the two (2) major body blows of Covid-19 and the George Floyd killing. I am a person with a marketing driven mentality that can make certain that Minneapolis is getting more than its fair share of business deals and job creating transactions and opportunities. We need to make sure that jobs aren’t going to Milwaukee and Des Moines and Fargo and Chicago and Kansas City. We need an individual who isn’t afraid to sell our City. Because frankly Minneapolis needs the orders and Minneapolis needs to reposition itself and the perception of the City in the national media and to business and leisure travelers in a smart, innovative, memorable and lasting way. Minneapolis needs to come out of the blocks fast and strong on the marketing front or we will never regain our position as one of America’s most leading and progressive Cities.

PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION

Something seems to be going very wrong with a City posture and policy that is comfortable with eliminating street parking for cars and in its place installing concrete and curbline. This new policy is devastating to local businesses and it is destructive to neighborhoods where people have absolutely nowhere to park. Every parking spot that is eliminated in this City makes life measurably harder for residents who need parking for their vehicles and for people who must travel to the City for business or personal reasons. This new movement is a wholly misguided policy driven by people who must have their own personal drivers or personal assistants and who are never forced to find a spot on the street to park. A city that has no parking is a very tough place to live. A city that has no parking is an extremely challenging place to do business. The leadership in the City must be engaged every day working hard to make life easier for the residents of the City – not thinking up new policies that make life more frustrating, difficult and challenging. In my opinion it is time for more common sense at City Hall.

OVERHAUL OF THE PARK BOARD

The Park Board needs to be changed from an elected body to an appointed board. This is to help guarantee that it’s Board Members have some particular expertise in parks, landscape design and architecture and not simply a political agenda. The Minneapolis Park Board was once a great team of civic minded individuals and it was one of the driving reasons that Minneapolis has such a world-class system park system. As I look across our current park system – I find a great deal to be desired. I have found that over time it appears that the Park Board Commissioners are more interested in scoring political points than in beautifying our parks and trails system. If the decision doesn’t involve the repair or maintenance or expansion of something park, lake, athletic field or trail related . . . the Park Board should not be getting involved. We must also question what is the current expertise of the people sitting on the Park Board? We need people who are experts in botany, black top, road surfaces, irrigation systems, drainage, architecture and landscape architecture. We don’t need people who are there purely to hold a political office. That is why I am asking that a change be made to the Minneapolis Charter allowing the Mayor to appoint experts in the field to the Park Board to help oversee this highly important institution that is integral to a vibrant and beautiful Minneapolis. ^[38]

Here’s what I believe:

1. Every person in Minneapolis deserves to feel safe in their home and in our city regardless of race, gender, sexuality, income, zip code, or level of ability.
2. We must develop a new and better public safety system that values the life and safety of all people.
3. We must dismantle systems of white supremacy that perpetuate harm towards Black, brown, AAPI, Indigenous, immigrant, and LGBTQ communities and women.
4. Minneapolis should be at the forefront of climate action.
5. We must promote environmental justice and health by investing in communities that bear disproportionate impacts of pollution and toxins.
6. We can advance a truly multiracial democracy in which every person lives with dignity and can act with power in public life.
7. Housing is a human right. The city has a responsibility to ensure that every person has a safe, decent, and affordable place to live.
8. We must build economic prosperity and workers’ rights for all so every person has the opportunity to thrive.
9. Our streets should make it safe and comfortable for everyone to get around, no matter how they choose to do so.
10. The effects of the pandemic and recession have hit historically marginalized communities the hardest. We must rebuild equitably.

How we will build a shared vision that centers these values:

Moving toward a truly just future requires courageous, bold action – from each of us. We can build the Minneapolis we deserve right now. I hope you will join in this work.

We want to use this campaign to help Minneapolis move through this unsteady moment in a way that helps us build the city— and the city government—we want and deserve. Doing so will take engaging in thoughtful conversation, healing as individuals and as a community, and stepping forward with purpose toward a changed city. It will take courage, creativity, and commitment.

We need to use and build tools, processes, and spaces where people can work across differences of race, geography, class, and generation to to share ideas, experiences, wisdom, hopes, and fears. We need to wrestle with the challenges we face in real and, let’s be honest, challenging ways. While doing so, we need to hold onto the promise that doing so will help us move toward a city in which every person in Minneapolis can thrive.

I am excited to connect with you throughout this campaign – in online community meetings and events and on the phone (and hopefully in-person soon) – as we work to reshape our city into the home each of us deserves and dreams to make real.

In the weeks and months to come, we will be engaging with leaders and communities across the city to build out a community-informed vision and supporting plans.

Centering racial justice and antiracism in all policies and processes.

Minneapolis is at a moment of reckoning on racial justice. Decades of policy rooted in white supremacy have resulted in unacceptable levels of disparity along lines of race and class. The geography of our city—and things like home ownership and pollution exposures—still reflects the racist zoning and redlining in the first half of the 20th-century. Police violence harms certain communities—particularly Black, Native, brown, disabled, immigrant—more than others.

In order to build a city that truly works for everyone, we need to actively understand how we got here, repair harms, and build deliberate government policies, systems, and supports to advance racial equity.

Our aim is to make antiracism and racial justice at the core of all policy and the processes used to develop policy. This aim is reflected throughout the vision and policy below.

• Removing racist policies by using a race equity lens to analyze exisiting policies and outcomes.
• Being accountable to antiracist polices, practices, and attitudes
• Working closely with Dakota people to ensure access to sacred sites and medicines
• Forming a reparations commission to study reparations for Black Minneapolis residents whose ancestors were enslaved
• Combatting the increased hate crimes and racism targeted towards Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities
• Working with undocumented immigrants to ensure their needs are incorporated into city policy
• Decriminalizing substance use disorder and poverty, which continue to disproportionately contribute to the mass incarceration of communities of color

Building a new public safety system that honors the dignity of all people.

Every person in Minneapolis, no matter their race, gender, class, zip code or level of ability deserves to feel safe in their home and throughout our city. This is the foundational value underlying my holistic public safety plan to Build Community Safety and Transform Policing.

Minneapolis needs a public safety system that invests in violence prevention and intervention at meaningful levels and includes police as part of this holistic vision.

We need to ask police to do less overall, so they can focus on what we really need them to do, which includes responding to, investigating, and actually solving violent crime.

We also need to rebuild trust between MPD and Minneapolis residents. Rebuilding this trust means much more than a PR campaign. It means actual change in our policing system so policing no longer harms people in our community, particularly Black, brown, Indigenous, and immigrant neighbors. I am committed to unequivocal transparency in policing, both in the racial injustices of our current system and in police misconduct. I will champion accountability based on this transparency.

Our current system was never intended to keep all people safe. We cannot afford to continue to invest in a system of policing that fails to keep all of us safe, that fails people in marginalized communities. That’s why I am in support of the public safety charter amendment, and my vision for implementation includes police as an essential part of a holistic public safety approach.

Minneapolis has an opportunity to lead the nation and the world in building a public safety system that values all people. I believe we are up to the challenge.

Check out my comprehensive public safety plan to Build Community Safety and Transform Policing that I created with input from dozens of policy experts and community leaders.

• Working alongside the community and the City Council to define, invest in, and advance a new and better model for public safety. This work requires changing the city charter. Changing the charter will help to make public safety the purpose we aim to achieve and remove the language that limits our ability to reimagine and build a public safety system that truly keeps everyone safe
• Working alongside the community and City Council to design effective systems for transparency, oversight, and accountability
• Designing an emergency response system that increases use of mental health and deescalation professionals, while reducing the number of responses requiring armed law enforcement.
• Training public safety teams using evidence-based best practices including a trauma-informed approach. Supporting public safety officials to make sure they have the mental health supports needed to truly serve the community
• Investing in proven public health approaches to safety, community-led violence prevention initiatives and restorative justice
• Investing in and supporting youth-development opportunities
• Working with sex workers to develop programs that center their immediate needs and lived experiences while working to ensure their safety and to end trafficking
• Working with survivors of sexual assault to ensure that a new public safety department has a survivor-first mentality that allows them to feel safe, cared for and to pursue justice in the ways they need
• Funding initiatives and programs to address and reduce the harm of domestic violence

Ensuring safe housing for all.=

Housing is a human right. An affordable, safe, and stable place to call home is the foundation of living with security, opportunity, and dignity. The effects of redlining and other racist housing policies in our city continue to be barriers to housing and further perpetuate the deep racial wealth gap.

We have a responsibility to make sure we are moving unhoused people toward stable housing and increasing access to sustainable affordable housing options for every person and family, especially those with low-incomes, renters, retired and elderly people, people with disabilities, citizens returning from incarceration, and anyone else facing systemic barriers to housing.

• Passing rent stabilization
• Fighting gentrification and displacement by working with impacted communties and learning from best practices from across the globe
• Advancing evidence-based eviction-prevention models to support people and families before they are in crisis, and increase city-funded tenant protection services and eviction defense funds
• Expanding shelters and purchasing hotel rooms for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness using federal CARES funding to provide shelter, while pursuing solutions for long-term housing
• Ending the use of city funds for the eviction of homeless camps and finding safe sites for people with barriers to housing to stay
• Developing resources and supports for landlords to apply on behalf of tenants facing instability
• Building and increasing access to more affordable housing at 30% AMI especially for people who face systemic barriers to housing
• Advancing access to homeownership for those who want it and making sure these approaches are culturally-sensitive in how they are designed
• Supporting the tenant opportunity to purchase (TOPA) and right to first refusal policies
• Fighting the privatization of public housing in Minneapolis and preventing the displacement of public housing residents
• Expanding government-subsidized housing options by working with federal partners to advocate for the full funding of Section 8 and take steps to work directly with the Minneapolis Public *Housing Authority to equitably administer vouchers
• Ensuring that renters can report unsafe conditions in their housing and that landlords are held accountable for poor property management
• Increasing targeted investment in energy conservation and retrofits to significantly reduce the energy burden of families with lower incomes
• Funding public housing through a maximum public housing levy, and defending public housing residents from displacement.

Addressing climate change at the urgency and scale that is required.

The 2020s will be the defining decade on climate action. Minneapolis should be at the forefront of climate action.

Minneapolis has taken good steps on climate change, but more than good work is needed in this moment. Our city needs a Mayor who puts climate action as a central to building a city that is safe and healthy for every resident.

The science of climate change shows that we need large-scale, fast action now to reduce emissions across sectors and make sure every person can thrive through the climate change era. Even more, we need action that creates equitable access to the benefits of a clean energy transition, provides accessible low-carbon transportation options, and builds climate resilience for everyone.

Climate resilience for everyone will require targeted efforts in communities that are more vulnerable because of systemic racism, historic underinvestment, and financial insecurity. It also means creating pathways into the work of building the clean energy economy and climate resilience for everyone – Black, brown, white, Indigenous, immigrant, young, and old.

• Delivering a Green New Deal for Minneapolis. The promise of the Green New Deal is that it combines bold climate action with the essential work of economic justice for the many people our current economy has failed. There is a lot of work to do to get fossil fuels out of every part of our city, and we have many people in our city willing and ready to do this work. A Green New Deal will bring these things together to build a safer, healthier Minneapolis.
• Making climate action a defining priority for our city — including emissions reductions in line with what current science shows is necessary
• Developing paths for everyone — residents, government, nonprofits, businesses — to contribute to the positive change needed. Minneapolis has not updated its climate action plan since 2013. *Working with city staff and the community, I commit to updating this plan within my first year of office. Our city’s new plan will include emissions reductions, building climate resilience, and ways for every Minneapolis resident to be part of making the plan happen.
• Continuing to build out a transportation system in which people have access to low-carbon and carbon-free transportation choices including transit and safe biking and walking options.
• Considering climate change and climate resilience in every infrastructure investment Minneapolis makes

Advancing a multiracial democracy.

Our future as a democracy depends on advancing a multiracial democracy built by us and for us. In Minneapolis, we have the opportunity to show the world how to do this. We can advance a truly multiracial democracy in which every person lives with dignity and can act with power in public life.

The current crisis of our democracy—one that we saw unfold in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol— is rooted in systemic racism and historical harms. Now, more than ever, it’s essential that we work to understand, reconcile, and repair harms so we can rebuild a strong democracy and future that works for all of us—Black, brown, Indigenous, immigrant, white.

Together we can reimagine and reshape our governance processes and create pathways into a public life for each person in the city.

• Addressing and undoing systems of oppression and racism that continue to marginalize people and intentionally leave them out of the democratic process
• Enacting participatory budgeting
• Building inclusive spaces for healing connecting; building relationships across divides of race, geography, and climate; and remaking our city with a more collective vision
• Investing in making sure every eligible voter knows how to vote and feels empowered to do so.
• Continuing to make our elections accessible to all voters, regardless of zipcode
• Making sure city government leadership – including department heads and mayoral staff – are reflective of the breadth of diversity in Minneapolis
• Strengthening community-led visioning processes for the future of our city
• Uplifting and centering the experience, talent, and wisdom of the BIPOC community in formal and informal policymaking processes
• Staying in the ongoing work of democracy-building together, even when it gets hard

Building prosperity for all people.

Despite promises to address deep inequities, Minneapolis still leads the country in racial disparities in unemployment, housing, health, and income. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought increased economic instability to so many people and families, and it’s only increased the deep wealth gap we have between low-income people and wealthy people in this city.

It’s essential that we work across multiple sectors to rethink and reimagine how we deliver pathways to prosperity for everyone in Minneapolis. We need to build infrastructures and supports that advance workforce development and family-wage income opportunities, and we need to ensure that we center the human dignity and self-determination of all people to choose what kind of life they want to build for themselves and their families.

We can build a city where people and small businesses flourish and everyone can share in the prosperity of what it means to live in a vibrant, resilient, healthy community.

• Advancing targeted wealth-building for marginalized communities, including supporting entrepreneurship and business development as well as home ownership programming
• Addressing unemployment disparities that impact communities of color
• Building business support to increase employment for communities of color
• Advancing community health and wellness initiatives to support health equity for all
• Piloting universal income programs in communities disproportionately impacted by income inequities and joblessness
• Creating pathways for all Minneapolis residents into jobs and careers with family-supporting wages and benefits
• Developing new and increasing programs to make sure every Minneapolis community – Black, brown, immigrant, Native, white, formerly-incarcerated and disabled – can help build climate-*resilient Minneapolis powered by clean energy
• Targeting energy efficiency and energy conservation programming toward under-resourced communities to reduce the energy energy burden many families bear
• Fighting gentrification and displacement as our city continues to grow

Centering economic justice and workers' rights.

We need to build an economy that works for every worker—where everyone makes a living wage and can join a union. Our city must be willing to protect and prioritize the lowest paid and most marginalized workers.

As a city, we have to build an environment where we don’t fall into a scarcity mindset. We can’t continue to pit small businesses and workers against each other while allowing corporations to not contribute their fair share.

• Supporting a worker’s constitutional right to join a union, and remain in solidarity with striking workers who are fighting for fair contracts
• Fighting all efforts of preemption by the state, threatening our city’s $15 minimum wage and efforts to increase it
• Ensuring the enforcement of Earned Safe and Sick Time
• Increasing city funding and initiatives to combat wage theft
• Working with small businesses to make sure that the city supports them through the enactment of new policy and ongoing enforcement of exisiting policy
• Developing policy to prevent the explotation of immigrant small business owners

Demanding environmental justice for all people.

Communities that have faced disinvestment, where mostly Black and Indigenous people live, have been forced for too long to carry the weight of pollution and environmental degradation. This has real impacts, like higher rates of asthma in the Philips neighborhood and communities on the Northside.

We must invest in communities that have borne the brunt of past environmental racism and injustice and work with people in these communities to find and fund solutions.

• Targeting investments through the Minneapolis Green New Deal to environmental justice Green Zones
• Ensuring that every resident’s home is energy efficient and free of hazards like lead, pests, mold and other asthma triggers
• Moving towards zero waste and shutting down the downtown garbage burner (HERC)
• Investing in fast, reliable, and green transit, while prioritizing Green Zones
• Speeding up transportation electrification and reducing vehicle emissions

Improving transit + investing in climate-resilient infrastructure.

Our streets should be safe and comfortable for people to get where they’re going, however they choose to travel. That means vibrant public spaces, safe and welcoming sidewalks, green infrastructure, protected bikeways, and transit that works.

Historically, our transit system has perpetuated injustice. This continues today as busy roads bring increased pollution and accidents to the communities that surround them. We can undo this, and build a transit system that aligns with our values.

• Quickly building a network of fast, reliable transit like arterial BRT, and focusing our investments in transit-dependent neighborhoods.
• Accelerating Vision Zero investments to eliminate traffic injuries and fatalities
• Building climate resilience into our street designs, with innovative approaches to stormwater
• Designing and maintaining city water infrastructure to handle the climate impacts that are here and those we know are coming
• Prioritizing communities that have been harmed by freeways and arterial roads
• Working with the Met Council towards publicly subsidizing transit to provide lower or free fares.

Advancing public health.

The health of our communities is an environmental, racial, and social justice issue that demands all of us to rise up to advance the health and well-being of everyone in our city right now.

Our air quality is a public health issue that must be addressed. Asbestos and lead in our buildings and homes is a public health issue that requires strict regulation. Our deep racial disparities in this city are a public health issue that call for immediate action. Substance use disorder is a public health issue that requires us to advance harm reduction strategies and meet people where they are. And the mental health condition of our friends, family, and neighbors requires us to work towards solutions and supports that center their well-being.

• When we address these crises head-on and take bold action together, we can develop polices that support the rights, health, and livelihood of everyone in Minneapolis.
• Addressing the root causes of addiction, like poverty and lack of access to housing
• Expanding access to comprehensive healthcare, including mental health and substance use disorder services, for LGBTQIA+ people, particularly trans people, people with disabilities, unhoused people, and other marginalized folks
• Increasing harm reduction education and resources by working with experts doing that work on the ground
• Expanding access to NARCAN
• Increasing investment in lead abatement to make sure every kid in Minneapolis grows up without lead exposure
• Using culturally-sensitive approaches to build trust and participation in basic public health measures like vaccines

Rebuilding with equity and resilience after COVID-19 and civil unrest.=

The COVID crisis, recent civil unrest, and the health and economic fallout reinforce what we already knew. Our city isn’t working for all people.

Our city has significant work to do to rebuild in light of immediate crisis. We also need to do so in ways that make us truly resilient and able respond to crises – whether health, safety, economic, or climate – in effective and equitable ways going forward.

So many people in our city have already stepped up to help each other, to support struggling families and small businesses, to help shelter unhoused people, and more. This work shows the best of who we are as a city, and we need a city government that will partner with, support, and resource the leadership we are seeing all over the city.

As we move through immediate crisis and look forward, we will also need to make sure our rebuilding efforts center the need to maintain and grow opportunity and wealth in historically-marginalized communities.

• Increasing investment in rebuilding small businesses on Lake Street and Broadway Ave, especially Black, brown, Indigenous and immigrant-owned businesses
• Prioritizing small-business supports and investments that honor and reflect the people living in the communities most impacted
• Utilizing CARES funding to provide additional rental and mortgage assistance for individuals, families, and small businesses
• Providing culturally competent information and resources about the COVID vaccine, and ensuring distribution is equitable throughout our city
• Making sure residents and small businesses know how to access city services and processes, and that they have the support to do so easily
• Recognizing that the crises we’ve experienced as a city are rooted in historical traumas – traumas that affect Black, brown, indigenous, and immigrant communities more – and involve ongoing trauma. Effective response needs to be trauma-informed.
• Growing our investment in a strong, responsive city public health system.
• Going through a transparent public process to evaluate and learn from city responses to the current recent crises and implementing better practices going forward

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A Just Transition: A People’s Plan for Minneapolis

The term “Just Transition” came out of the climate and labor movements. It refers to a set of principles, processes, and practices to move from our extractive economy to a regenerative one. The organizers say, “The transition itself must be just and equitable; redressing past harms and creating new relationships of power for the future through reparations.” In Minneapolis, we get to choose what comes next. The pandemic and uprising taught us that we have collective power to build systems that work better to care for those who are most vulnerable. Just like we build wind turbines so we can shut down coal plants, we can build city government that treats Black lives as sacred, supports our ability to thrive, shares power, and finally gives everyone some peace.

From corporate control to people power

It’s time that our city builds policies and services that are led by and for all the people of Minneapolis, not just special interests that have the deepest pockets. We can chart a new course forward, expanding our democracy, protecting workers, and making reparations that are integral to a just transition.

Decision-making everyone can join

No initiative, no matter how sensible or strategic, will succeed if the community isn’t bought in. especially Black, brown, and Indigenous people at the table. My administration will focus on creating more access to City Hall and opportunities for communities to shape the policies that affect their lives - especially Black, brown and Indigenous community members.

• Introduce participatory budgeting by proposing $10 million in city spending to be decided on by the community. This redistribution of power to the people is already being led in major cities across the U.S.
• Be the first mayor to budget for paid positions and childcare for all Community Advisory Committees (CAC) members, so that all people can afford to represent their communities in important policy decisions
• Increase investment in our city’s communications department, so that residents know what is happening, and what programs they can take advantage of to support themselves
• Oppose the Mayoral Control Amendment to keep us from consolidating power into one leader, and underrepresenting BIPOC communities. Instead, hire more staff for each Councilmember’s office to improve constituent services

Reparations and Restoration

In order to repair the harm to our Black & Indigenous communities, we need Truth & Reparations. Our city was built on stolen land with stolen labor, and it’s time for justice, healing, and repair.

• Start a Black-led reparations commission, similar to the work being done in St Paul
• The victims of police brutality and their families deserve reparations from our city. I would propose Minneapolis make reparations for victims of police violence, following the example of the Illinois Reparations for Police Torture Victims Act.
• Pursue a Land Back policy by creating an Indigenous-led restoration committee and work to care for our land and our community with sustainable practices.
• Push for long term pathways to wealth-building for BIPOC communities like Tenant Opportunity to Purchase, and programs that make it easier for small businesses to buy their buildings.

Protecting workers Workers deserve fair wages, safe workplaces, and protection from workplace exploitation.

• Fund more labor rights investigators help protect against wage theft, make sure everyone is earning at least minimum wage, with sick & safe time plus fair scheduling (at least 6 investigators)
• Fund worker centers to help working class-people organize for better working conditions
• Fight for pay equity for disabled workers, so that they are no longer exploited by unfair labor rules
• Mandate hazard pay and employer-provided personal protective equipment for frontline workers in healthcare, retail, food service, janitorial services, etc.
• Everyone deserves workplace representation. Make workplaces safer by supporting unionizing efforts.

From scarcity to abundance

Abundance means we have enough for everyone, and no longer feed the systems that only offer housing, access, and self-determination for a few.

Healing through public art

• We can paint windows into the world we want to build through more funding for the arts, especially opportunities for young, BIPOC, and LGBTQ artists
• I will push to replace the grey paint program for graffiti coverup with publicly-funded mural painting and a summer youth public art program

Housing with dignity

The pandemic taught us that so much more is possible in housing than we had seen. We saw that empty hotels can become dignified shelter, unemployment benefits can actually be enough to survive on, we can stop eviction & utility shut offs, and organizing allows us to build power with our neighbors.

Housing first policy

Minneapolis needs culturally competent, stable housing services. Right now it is difficult to find appropriate shelter and transitional housing spaces that use harm reduction, allow people to live with their chosen family, or with their pets. That is why I support a housing-first policy model, including

• Provide wraparound services for formerly unhoused residents who are in permanent housing situations
• End encampment evictions. Evictions divide residents who have developed relationships, and make it harder for outreach workers to follow up with people about housing placement, getting meds, and HIV & HEP-C test results.
• Create more Single Room Occupancy housing and to provide people with more options for stable housing.
• Expand contracts with groups that provide harm reduction services that support communities affected by the War on Drugs (housed and unhoused)

Renters’ Rights

Half of Minneapolis residents are renters, and 47% of renters spend more than a third of their income on housing. Rising rents are driving our city’s BIPOC residents into the suburbs, undermining the benefits of pro-density housing policy. We must create a city that is safe for renters and encourages tenants to lay down roots in their communities.

• Support the Rent Control charter amendment so we can create a strong Rent Stabilization policy that keeps rent increases at 3%, and ties rent stabilization to the unit, not the tenant
• Support a Tenant’s Bill of Rights, which would help protect renters from wrongful evictions, ensure safe housing conditions for residents, and fully fund city legal resources so tenants can access legal representation free of charge
• Support the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, and work with tenant organizing groups to create funding for more cooperative housing ($30 million over 3 years could fund 200 homes in North Minneapolis!)

Revive Public Housing

Public housing should remain a public good. Housing should not be treated as a source of profit for millionaires or corporations, but something that is a guaranteed right to every resident of our city.

• Support a Public Housing Tax Levy to fund repairs and building new housing
• Say No to RAD & Section 18 programs, we need to Keep Public Housing Public
• Explore public financing options to preserve, improve, and expand our public housing system, such as a public land trusts
• Ensure MPHA becomes accountable to its residents. This means all communications are available in the many languages MPHA residents speak, and residents get more control over their living situations

Disability Justice

11% of Minneapolis Residents live with a disability. We must make sure that everybody has access to transportation, housing, and recreation, according to their own needs.

• Redesign street infrastructure to include accessibility features like curb cuts, and assist local businesses in increasing ADA compliance
• Work with the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board (MPRB) to provide more recreation activities for disabled residents in all areas of the city
• Improve our transit system for those living with disabilities, including decreasing Metro Mobility trip times, and working with Met Council to create a more accessible transit system
• When building new housing, require accessible housing units including using building materials appropriate for those with chemical sensitivities.
• Provide emergency generators and respirator supports to people who rely on electricity for their healthcare

Programs, jobs, and stable housing for youth

• Increase investment in youth activities and enrichment, including funding for hyper-local intergenerational programming so youth can build relationships with people in their neighborhood.
• Support a community center for LGBTQ youth
• Expanding youth jobs programs, including work in the park and employment programs like STEP-UP
• Expand the Stable Schools Stable Homes program to all MPS schools, so all families experiencing homelessness & high mobility can safely live in our city, and students can have a more consistent and quality education experience.

From fear to safety

COVID-19 taught us that in order to stay “safe,” we must act as a community. We saw wide-scale collective care: those who sewed masks, delivered groceries, and took action to protect our elders and most vulnerable literally saved lives. COVID-19 also made bright the flames of injustice in our criminal legal system. Hennepin County Jail stopped detaining people accused of low-level offenses, and cut the jail population by 26%, only booking those who were accused of hurting another person. Which made us wonder, why were we incarcerating all those people in the first place?

In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, it became clear is that the people of Minneapolis are ready for change. Change that’s big enough to be meaningful can be scary. But like those who came before us who fought for the abolition of slavery, we have a mandate to fight for racial justice, equity, and for institutions that protect Black life from violence. We are changing the world together - and it’s time for city institutions to change with us.

Building real public safety

Past mayors, including Jacob Frey, have implemented dozens of police reforms in Minneapolis, such as body cameras, “community policing.” As of 2020, every officer had gone through anti-bias training. Despite that, the Minneapolis Police Department murdered George Floyd and is now under state and federal investigation for human rights abuses - abuses that many of you saw with your own eyes.

Safe communities start with making sure everyone has a home, enough food, and kids have safe places to play, learn and grow. And when emergencies or harm happens, we need safe options to come help.

New Department of Public Safety

We must fund more safety options, not heavily armed law enforcement, and the most effective way to do that Pass the #Yes4Minneapolis Charter Amendment. Under our current charter, due to lobbying by the police federation in 1961 , we spend a third of our city budget on the police department. Affordable housing, health care, youth programs, and city services like roads and trash cleanup have to fight over what’s left. A new Department of Public Safety will have:

• Fully funded 911 & 311 dispatch systems. We will have 911 emergency responders including: EMS, mobile mental health professionals, fire, domestic violence advocates, and police, if necessary. 311 will expand as it provides resident assistance including support on: traffic & parking, property & damage complaints, and connection to city services like housing and labor protections
• Fully funded, proven violence prevention services
• Fully funded conflict-resolution and diversion programs that use restorative and transformative justice, following national leaders
• New, fully funded youth safety coordinators who work with the schools and parks on services that support young people, prevent crime and help children who are experiencing violence
• Integration of the Office of Violence prevention into the new department and expansion of services to include all survivors of gun violence
• Survivor-led, survivor-designed services for those who have experienced sexual and domestic violence

Craft community-led safety strategies Craft community-led safety strategies Like our predecessors who changed America’s government structure to abolish slavery, give women the right to vote, and pass gay marriage, we get to build government structures that expand protections of human rights and human life. And we have to make sure every voice is included as we build it! As mayor, I will push for a census-style community engagement program where we knock on every door in Minneapolis to learn what safety means to you. We will use those comprehensive results to develop neighborhood safety strategies based in racial justice.

Stopping state violence

Decriminalization

It’s time for Minneapolis to decriminalize homelessness, drugs, drug use and sex work. As mayor, I will work with the city attorney towards decriminalization so we do not funnel more people into our already-bloated criminal legal system, nor continue to endanger residents through evictions, dangerous work conditions, or risk of overdose or HIV transmission.

We can push back against the racist American criminal justice system starting with the city attorney through:

• Automatic expungement for dismissed cases. If you’re not found guilty, it shouldn’t be on your record, but right now that only happens through a months-long request process.
• Immediately decarcerate. The city attorney should never ask for pretrial jailing in cases where the allegation doesn’t include harm against another person
• Decriminalize dissent. The mayor should direct the police to stop arresting and sheriff to stop jailing those who are protesting police brutality and state violence

Don’t protect and bankroll police violence + surveillance

As mayor, I will push for policies that:

• Follow public records law by being transparent about police actions and procedures.
• Hold the line against surveillance technologies that target Black, brown, and Indigenous people, and create a pipeline to ICE.
• Reinvest from militarized police: The police spend millions on activities that aren’t addressing real issues of violence and harm in our communities. 'We can reinvest police funding from surveillance, SWAT, riot gear, and the $3.1 million spent on the canine unit into the places our communities need it most.

Compassionate Protest Response

• Protests happen because of grief & justice denied. As mayor, I will respond with compassion, solidarity, and healing resources.
• Providing hot food and bathrooms to those who are protesting state violence.
• Set up free mental health counseling at park and school buildings across the city
• Fund free childcare and activities for kids who are also affected, and to give parents & caregivers a break to do their own processing & healing
• Immediate resources to impacted communities to be used in ways that promote healing and self-determination
• Clear direction that no employees of the city can use rubber bullets, tear gas, or arrests of those who are exercising their right to protest
• Clear commitment to shift power and resources long-term to cultivate conditions of safety and racial justice and away from violent police

Addressing the core conditions that lead to violence & harm

We build safety by housing people, ending poverty, supporting youth, and teaching healthy relationship skills and consent. We cannot punish our way out of violence. Most crime is not random: it happens because people don’t get their basic needs met. The research has already been done, and as mayor I will push for policies and resources that advance these five proven strategies to stop violence.

From climate catastrophe to to community resilience

In 2020, our community got in the practice of sharing food, supplies, and developing ways to drive less and spend more time outside. In the year since, gardens have been planted and mutual aid networks have continued on, planting seeds of a green future through local supply chains, fully-liveable neighborhoods, and a green economy.

Green jobs

Some of the fastest growing jobs in America are in renewable energy & healthcare. To create the same amount of energy, renewable energy jobs employ 2-5 times more people than fossil energy sources. Meanwhile, jobs where residents care for their neighbors, like nurses & youth workers, have low emissions and create more resilient communities. As Mayor I want to plant the seeds for a Green Future by creating a local economy where people earn a living caring for the planet and for each other.

• Support community-led environmental justice initiatives like the East Phillips Urban Farm
• Use the 2024 Energy Partners Negotiation to establish more solar and wind energy programs in Minneapolis
• Pilot a Municipal snow shoveling program that keeps our neighborhoods more accessible in wintertime and reduces salt use.
• Investing in youth jobs that care for our environment, like street boulevard improvement projects, invasive weed removal, rain garden installations, and more

Food access

While most of the food we eat is produced outside of Minneapolis, there is still much we can do to reduce our food system’s impact and guarantee access to food as a right for all residents.

• Coordinate with the Park Board, Hennepin County, and Minneapolis Public Schools to make unused lands available for food production, prioritizing access to BIPOC communities who have been historically kept out of food production and land access.
• Advance economic justice by providing financial support to community-led food efforts like Appetite for Change, Divine Natural Ancestry, Twin Cities Food Justice, who are already working to improve nutrition access, reduce food waste, and act on climate change.
• Make plant-rich diets more accessible to reduce air pollution, prevent future pandemics, improve nutrition, and act on climate change. The city can do this by defaulting greener in its city-sponsored food events, prioritizing using it’s contractual power to support local, BIPOC- and women-owned, plant-rich businesses.

End environmental racism

We must deindustrialize our Green Zones, so that BIPOC and working-class people have clean air and water. I lived next to the Roof Depot Site in 2018; the air pollution in East Phillips was so bad I had to keep my windows closed on the hottest days of summer. Some of our most diverse & low income neighborhoods have been subjected to the worst environmental pollution from a handful of industrial sites.

• Work with the MN Pollution Control Agency to create a strong Air Quality permitting system that pressures industrial companies to leave Minneapolis
• Use permitting fines to create an Environmental Justice fund for the North & Southside Greenzone communities to invest in green projects in their neighborhoods
• Close Northern Metals and the HERC. Work with government agencies, labor unions, and local businesses to transition to a zero waste economy
• Develop walkable neighborhoods with a full array of essential services like groceries, clinics, pharmacies, and schools.

Invest in clean energy, divest from pipelines

• Use the Mayor’s position to continue calling for Governor Walz and President Biden to Stop Line 3
• Move Minneapolis us towards municipal and cooperative ownership of our Energy System.
• Make sure that renewable energy is accessible to all residents, especially Indigenous residents

Resilience & care economy Regardless of what challenges climate change creates for our city, we’re all going to take care of each other no matter what.

• As our climate shifts to more extreme temperatures and weather events, we must make sure that everybody has access to cooling/warming stations, and homes with clean water and appropriate air filtration systems.
• Bathrooms and water are a human right. I support Minneapolis building free public restrooms, which will help keep our city clean, and provide comfort to those who work and live outside
• Build year-round for resilience and care through fully funded community Schools, which include expansive mental health resources, dental healthcare, doctors, and food distribution for students and their families

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Platform Issues:

More funding for Minneapolis Police Department for more officers and resources for a growing population:

• Fully funding Minneapolis police department.
• Officer pay increases

Engagement of Minneapolis Youth:

• More community oriented recreational and career building programs.

Immediate and total re-opening of Minneapolis while restoring safety and commerce to Downtown Minneapolis:

• More beat officers in downtown.
• Restore downtown commerce plan with tax cuts and incentives to use COVID-19 relief funds to help jump start the business community.

Ongoing Issues:

• Reducing property taxes.
• Removing 1619 style education from Minneapolis public schools.
• Prevent abusive slumlords.
• Enact reasonable rent control policy.
• Removing bike Lanes.
• Community policing.
• Removing Critical Race Theory from any city managed operations or policy.
• Conduct full audit of City spending.
• The non- effectiveness of city municipalities’ territorialism.

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