Four years ago I came to you with experience in the neighborhood and in the non-profit world, with a vision and set of values we shared that I could bring to City Hall. We wanted to make sure Minneapolis was a place where all of our children would want to live when they grew up. At that time, you told me the issues that you cared about, and I have been a leader at City Hall to get them done.
Here's how your priorities have guided my work at City Hall:
- You told me new houses were too big for the neighborhood, and I worked successfully to change the zoning code to link home size to lot size, preserving neighborhood character while still supporting development.
- You told me our kids needed strong allies at City Hall. As a member of the Youth Coordinating Board I have worked with colleagues, partners in government as well as in the private sector and youth to create opportunities for young people to work, spend their out-of-school time safely, and end youth violence in the city.
- You told me you wanted safe streets. I am proud to say crime is down 16% overall in our precinct over the last two years including more than a 22% drop in violent crime. But when crime has struck, I have worked with affected neighbors to strike back - and I have successfully fought for increased police resources for Southwest Minneapolis. My office sponsored a public safety fair for all neighbors, making City safety resources available to all, and we will do it again.
- You told me you wanted City Hall to work more collaboratively with the Parks and Schools, and I have successfully worked with all jurisdictions to increase communication with one another. Through those efforts, the City Council, School Board and Park Board now all meet and communicate on a regular, systematic basis.
- You told me that your priority was making sure every dollar of your property taxes was spent wisely. I have worked at every turn to create efficiencies and find ways to save your property tax dollars through reforming our unaccountable and expensive pension system; finding ways to pay off debt on the Target Center; and instituting more stringent budget protocols for the police and other departments to avoid surprise budget shortfalls.
- You told me our libraries needed more and better hours and funding, and I worked hard, providing essential leadership among a large team of partners who crafted a successful consolidation of the Minneapolis libraries with the Hennepin County system to avoid the collapse and closure of our treasured neighborhood libraries.
- You told me the City needed better relationships with the rest of Minnesota, and as Chair of the city's government committee I spend hours at the Capitol in St. Paul, and have traveled across the state meeting with local elected officials and residents to foster better relationships for our city.
- You told me to work on noise mitigation from the airport. I was part of the policy team that guides the lawsuit settlement negotiations with the MAC, maximizing the area covered for noise mitigation and creating a fund to cover as many homes in Ward 13 as possible.
All of this work has helped build a stronger, better city – for us and our kids. Now more than ever it is important that we have strong, collaborative leadership that is willing and able to fight for our future together based on values and principles like fairness, common sense, and sustainability.
Those are qualities that I bring to City Hall every day.