Vision

Investing in Strong Families and Strong Communities

We must ensure that our communities continue to be a great place to learn, work, grow, and play. As our neighborhoods grow and become more diverse, our community must continue to be one that supports all families at every stage – from cradle to death.

• Advance racial and gender justice. Race, gender and economic-based inequities continue to deepen in our state. We must be serious about ending disparities in opportunities and outcomes, focusing on those most impacted by institutionalized forms of discrimination and establish equitable economic opportunities for those that have been historically disadvantaged.It is time for us to include an Equal Rights Amendment in our State Constitution that unequivocally ensures that Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of gender, ban the outdated practice of conversion therapy, and keep decisions about a woman’s health and reproductive rights out of the legislature.

• Guarantee all students have the opportunity to achieve. I believe that fully funding quality education from pre-Kindergarten through post-secondary is essential for all Minnesotans. As a teacher for 25 years, I saw first-hand the shift to “teaching to the test” and away from important core curriculum. It’s wrong and is not working for students or for teachers.I want to invest in both emerging and proven strategies that makes sure every student in our schools will reach their full potential. We do that by fully funding our public schools across the state, recognizing the state’s responsibility to provide universal preschool, ESL, and Special Ed for Minnesota students  .

  ​It’s time to invest in a future that supports building a teaching force that includes more teachers of color and Indigenous that truly reflects our diverse communities. This means increasing state funding for school counselors, social workers, anti-violence and anti-bullying programs.

  ​To prepare the next generation, we must invest in public higher education throughout the state that includes recruiting and retaining world-class teaching and research faculty,  supporting students through scholarships, grants and loans, and constructing and maintaining buildings and infrastructure.

• Ensure health care for all. As a young mom with three kids, my family and I relied on MinnesotaCare to keep us healthy. I believe that healthcare is a right – not a privilege for only those that can afford it and I will work hard to ensure that safety nets are in place when families and individuals are in need.We must protect and strengthen MinnesotaCare and fight for a single-payer health care system that makes dental, vision, and mental health services available to all Minnesotans.

  It is also past time to reign in pharmaceutical greed and pass policies that guarantee life-saving drugs are accessible and affordable for everyone who needs them.
   

• End gun violence. As a teacher, I have seen the bone-chilling ways gun violence is affecting our communities.We have lost too many children and teacher’s lives to gun violence. The time is now to pass common-sense gun reforms including automatic universal background checks and passing red flag laws designed to stop guns from getting in the hands of people who would do harm to themselves or others.

   

• Strengthen family economic security. I believe that hard work should pay off so that every family can thrive.This means having resources ready to help working parents and individuals through tough times and updating our basic labor standards to make sure Minnesotans don’t just get by but can also get ahead.

  I am committed to fighting for common-sense policies that ensures Minnesotans earn a living wage, have paid family leave and earned sick and safe time, access to affordable high-quality childcare, and can enjoy a secure retirement.

  Having been a union member for 25 years and seeing firsthand the supports system unions provide, I support policies that expand workplace democracy and strengthen collective bargaining rights.

• Protect our environment for future generations. Climate change is a global threat with real consequences for our shared future. The stakes are clear, and the moment demands intentional, decisive action to advance solutions at the scale of our problems and advances to a just transition to a clean energy future.Minnesota can and must be a leader on this front by achieving 100% Clean Energy by 2050, building a clean energy economy with high-quality jobs, safeguard pollinators, and protect our natural environment.

  Mining plays a vital role in the history and culture of Minnesota, and I believe there are environmentally safe ways to continue that practice. Still, we cannot ignore the threat of some proposed projects that have potentially devastating consequences, not for local communities but the entire state, such as PolyMet. Most Minnesotans believe the environmental threat to the BWCA is too great and not worth the risk, and I concur.