I believe that your local city councilor should represent and come from your own neighborhood, which is why, if I am elected to the City Council, I will push the legislature to allow statutory cities like Woodbury to elect city councilors by ward. I will also lobby the state legislature to allow for ranked choice voting in statutory cities such as Woodbury. I am a strong supporter of ranked choice voting because it makes sure the candidates have to appeal to a broad base of support and not just to a narrow group, in addition to giving voters more viable choices. 

I am firmly against tax brakes and handouts for data centers and would support a moratorium on the approval of any new data centers until there is a regulatory framework that encompasses comprehensive environmental review. As city councilor I will work to block the approval of any crypto data centers in Woodbury. We need to make sure that any data centers built in Woodbury use a closed loop system so that we can conserve water. I also support “Bring Your Own Power” laws that require data centers to provide their own power so we can keep utility bills down and protect our electric grid from being overwhelmed. I would also make sure that there are regulations against noise pollution coming from any data centers. As City Councilor I will never sign a non disclosure agreement with a data center firm and would inform the public of any new data center proposals. There should be a long period at City Council meetings to offer public comment on any new data center proposals. The promise of data centers creating lots of high paying jobs sounds great but it is not supported in that data as most of the jobs are short term and once the data centers are built there are few long term jobs created.

We need more affordable housing in Woodbury, especially for young people and our seniors which is why I support a variety of affordable housing options such as accessory dwelling units, townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and tiny homes. We need to allow more mixed use housing in areas currently zones for single family homes. I will work in the City Council to make the dream of homeownership more accessible via a variety of proposals such as increasing down payment assistance for low and moderate first time home buyers from a maximum of 3.5 percent to 5 percent. I also believe that the Home Owners Associations should not charge excessive fees or fines and should operate transparently. We need to build near transportation in Woodbury while making the new housing developments walkable and vibrant. We can do this while still preserving Woodbury’s green space. I will work with renters to make sure that landlords repair their tenants units in an appropriate timeframe.

The people of Woodbury have spoken loud and clear about what they think about an ICE detention facility being built in our town. Which is why, as a Woodbury City Councilor, I will fight to pass a resolution stating that the City of Woodbury will do everything in its power to prevent an ICE detention facility from being built in Woodbury. I will also advocate for a resolution that will ban ICE from using city-owned property for immigration enforcement and staging. Operation Metro Surge brought chaos and terror to our communities, and I will do everything I can to make sure our neighbors' civil rights are not being trampled on.

I believe that education is at the foundation of a strong and vibrant community which is why as Woodbury City Councilor I will advocate to fully fund our schools and provide everyone the right tools to succeed. Phonics is a proven way to help students read and I will look to make sure that the Minnesota Read Act, which requires teaching phonics is implemented effectively. I would encourage our school districts to integrate critical thinking, divergent thinking, holistic thinking, and metacognition into their curriculum. Phones in the classroom are hindering learning so I would advocate schools to ban phones in the classroom.

As City Councilor I will look to support our communities small business in this competitive and difficult business climate. Illegal tariffs, rising healthcare costs, high childcare costs, and high employee turnover are some of the problems I will work with our small business owners to alleviate. Operation Metro Surge hurt our small business and I will look to find ways to help these small business owners recover. I will oppose any tax breaks and other incentives for corporations without meaningful strings attached. I think that companies who want tax breaks and other incentives should be mandated to hire Woodbury residents or provide job training to residents. I would also like to pilot a youth summer jobs program through the city that would provide summer jobs to youth who want summer employment. If the state does not increase the minimum wage then I would support a citywide minimum wage increase.

I am a strong supporter of public transportation and support the new public transportation options in Woodbury such as the Gold Line and the MetroMicro especially for our seniors and neighbors with disabilities. I support continued investment and funding in addition to increasing ridership on the Gold Line. I also will support measures to protect bikers and walkers in Woodbury.