City/Town: Golden Valley
Legislative District: House District 43A
Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Candidate responses in italics.
Q1: Housing plays a critical role in economic stability, health, and quality of life for individuals and families. However, disparities in housing continue to affect communities of color, people with disabilities, rural communities, and other historically underserved populations. What meaningful actions should be taken to acknowledge, address, and eliminate housing inequities and advance housing opportunities for all Minnesotans
Stable housing is the foundation that allows people and families to build stable lives. But for too many Minnesotans, where they live, their race, a disability, or generations of unequal access to homeownership still shape whether they can find a home they can afford and build wealth for the future.
We need an all-of-the-above approach that increases housing supply while making sure those opportunities actually reach the people and communities who have too often been left behind.
That means building and preserving more housing at every price point, including deeply affordable and supportive housing; cutting unnecessary barriers that make homes more expensive to build; expanding down payment and first-generation homebuyer assistance; and investing in accessible housing so Minnesotans with disabilities can live independently in the communities they choose.
We also need to help people stay in the homes they already have. I support stronger homelessness prevention, rental assistance and renter protections, along with property tax relief and programs that help seniors and families afford repairs and remain in their homes.
And we should be intentional about where we invest. Rural communities, Tribal Nations, and historically underserved neighborhoods face different housing challenges, so state policy cannot be one-size-fits-all. We should work with communities to develop solutions that meet their needs.
Our goal should be simple: no matter who you are or where you live in Minnesota, you should have a fair shot at a safe, stable, affordable place to call home.
Q2: Supportive housing combines affordable housing with support services that help people who face the most complex challenges to live with stability, autonomy, and dignity. Supportive housing provides better outcomes and is fiscally responsible. What will you do to ensure community members who are unhoused or unstably housed receive the support they need to obtain or keep their own homes?
I believe in a Housing First approach because stable housing provides the foundation people need to address the other challenges in their lives. We cannot expect someone to successfully navigate mental health care, recovery, employment, or other services while worrying about where they are going to sleep that night.
Minnesota should continue investing in permanent supportive housing and the services that help people remain successfully housed. That means pairing affordable housing with case management, mental health and substance use treatment, employment support, transportation, and other services based on an individual’s needs.
We also need to intervene earlier. Helping someone remain in their home is often less disruptive and less expensive than helping them after they become homeless. I support rental assistance, eviction prevention, and stronger connections between housing, health care, counties, and community-based providers so people can get help before they reach a crisis.
At the same time, recent fraud in housing programs has made clear that strong oversight matters. We can protect taxpayer dollars without abandoning people who legitimately need help. I support clear standards, strong provider oversight, better data sharing across agencies, and holding bad actors accountable so resources reach the people they are intended to serve.
Ultimately, our measure of success should not simply be whether we provided a service. It should be whether more Minnesotans are safely and stably housed, have the support they need, and are able to build more independent lives.
Q3: Homeownership is a way to build generational wealth, provide family and household stability, and support community vibrancy. More and more Minnesotans are priced out of owning a home because of rising housing costs, including purchase price, homeowners’ insurance, and property taxes. What steps will you take to increase opportunities for renters and first-time homebuyers to purchase homes, condos, or cooperative ownership models?
I know personally what a stable home can mean. I experienced homelessness as an LGBTQ teenager, and today I’m fortunate to own a home with my wife in Crystal. That journey has shaped how I think about housing: a home is more than a roof over your head. It provides stability, a sense of belonging, and for homeowners, an opportunity to build wealth and invest in their community.
We need to make that opportunity possible for more Minnesotans by addressing both sides of the equation: helping people afford to buy and building more homes they can afford to buy.
I support expanding down payment and closing cost assistance, particularly for first-time and first-generation homebuyers, along with homebuyer education and financial counseling. We also need more starter homes, townhomes, condos, cooperatives, and other ownership options. That means reducing unnecessary barriers to construction while investing in infrastructure and affordable homeownership development.
And getting the keys cannot be the end of our affordability work. Rising property taxes, insurance premiums, and repair costs can make it difficult for families and seniors to remain in homes they worked hard to buy. I support property tax relief and programs that help homeowners afford critical repairs and improvements.
Owning a home should not be reserved for people who already have family wealth. Minnesotans who work hard and want to put down roots should have a real opportunity to do it.
Q4: In the last several years, bipartisan action to streamline building of new homes and apartments has passed in several states, including: allowing for multifamily buildings in select commercial areas, limiting parking requirements, allowing smaller homes on smaller lots, and more homes per lot in residential areas like duplexes, fourplexes, and accessory dwelling units. What reforms do you support to modernize zoning to both enable homes to be more affordable statewide and improve city tax bases?
Minnesota needs more homes, and we are not going to make housing more affordable if our laws make it unnecessarily difficult or expensive to build them.
I support bipartisan efforts to modernize zoning and give communities more tools to increase housing supply. That includes making it easier to build starter homes on smaller lots, accessory dwelling units, duplexes and other housing options, and multifamily housing in appropriate commercial and transit areas. We should also look at parking requirements and other rules that can add significant costs without making a home safer or better.
But I also don’t believe there is a one-size-fits-all answer. Crystal and New Hope are different from Minneapolis, and all three are different from communities in Greater Minnesota. The state can remove unnecessary barriers while still giving communities a meaningful voice in how they grow.
I see that balance firsthand in our community. We have neighbors who have lived here for decades, raised their families here, and helped build the communities we love. We also have younger families and new residents choosing Crystal and New Hope because they are still places where people can afford to put down roots. We need to make room for both.
Done well, development can add housing, breathe new life into underused commercial areas, support local businesses, and grow our tax base so the burden doesn’t keep falling on existing homeowners.
We can build more housing while protecting what people already love about the places they call home. We should be working toward both.
Q5: Despite housing being the largest cost in the average household budget, housing receives only a small fraction of the total state budget at just 0.3%. A lack of ongoing reliable funding for housing in Minnesota’s state budget has resulted in an undersupply of stable homes affordable to our workforce, our elders, and our families. In recent years, a constitutional amendment for housing, which would dedicate revenues from a sales tax increase to housing, has gained momentum at the legislature. What revenue options will you champion to more adequately meet our need for reliable funding for homes we can afford?
Housing is infrastructure, and we need to start treating it that way. Families cannot thrive, businesses cannot attract workers, and communities cannot grow if people cannot afford a place to live.
As a proudly labor-endorsed candidate, I strongly support investing in infrastructure and putting Minnesotans to work building the things our communities need. That includes housing. I will support robust bonding bills and continued investment in housing infrastructure bonds to build and preserve affordable housing, supportive housing, and other projects across the state. These investments can leverage additional public and private dollars while creating good, family-sustaining jobs.
But bonding alone cannot meet the scale of our housing needs. I support creating a reliable, ongoing source of funding for housing so our ability to build homes does not depend entirely on the circumstances of any one legislative session. I am open to the proposed constitutional amendment and believe Minnesotans should have a meaningful conversation about long-term housing investment.
At the same time, I am mindful that sales taxes are paid by working families already feeling squeezed. We should look broadly at revenue options and make sure those families are not asked to shoulder more than their fair share.
Ultimately, we need both: sustained funding for housing programs and strong capital investments that allow us to build for the future. That is how we create more homes, good jobs, stronger communities, and a Minnesota people can afford to call home.
Q6: If you have other housing policy priorities, especially specific to your district’s housing needs, please share them here.
Crystal and New Hope are communities where people put down roots and care for each other. We have neighbors who have lived here for decades and raised their families here, alongside younger families and new residents who are choosing our communities because they remain relatively affordable, welcoming places to build a life. I want to make sure there is room for all of them.
That means preserving and improving the homes we already have while creating more housing options for every stage of life. I support programs that help homeowners, particularly seniors and families on fixed incomes, afford property taxes and critical home repairs so they can stay in the homes and neighborhoods they love. We also need options for seniors who want to downsize without leaving their community and starter homes that give the next generation a chance to buy.
We should also be thoughtful about redevelopment. As the Blue Line extension and other investments create new opportunities in our area, I want Crystal and New Hope to benefit. We can add housing, redevelop underused properties, support local businesses, and grow our tax base without losing what makes our communities special.
For me, housing policy is ultimately about choice and stability: being able to find a home you can afford, stay in it as your life changes, and remain part of the community you helped build.