Policy Achievements
Whether it is my experience as the Board Administrator for Saint Paul Public Schools, as the Mayor’s Policy Director tasked with establishing the College Savings Account for all Saint Paul newborns, or the legislation designed to support our schools and make them work for all students, I look for ways to work across all levels of government to achieve the best outcomes.
In the Legislature, I sponsored and led efforts on bills that would increase the number of BIPOC teachers in districts across the state, integrate personal financial education into required graduation credits, and tackle the student loan debt crisis by expanding access to tax credits for over 80,000 Minnesotans.
One of my long-time areas of advocacy has been fighting for higher per-pupil funding for English Language Learners (ELL). Thanks to the courageous work of the DFL Trifecta, our schools are receiving more state funding for ELL, and our students from all different backgrounds will be given the tools to thrive.
Finally, as the Pensions Chair, I worked collaboratively with the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association and the Teachers Retirement Association. We are the only state in the country to improve public workers’ retirement, and collaborating with SPTRFA to ensure they receive what they deserve was tremendously rewarding.
Fighting for our schools means fighting for the students, teachers, and communities that make our city strong. We need a leader who can collaborate with teachers’ associations, the school board, and leaders across the city to ensure they receive what they need.
I am so proud to be a part of the Legislature that enacted a 100% Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard and clean electricity commitment. As I wrote in a letter to the Biden Administration in 2021:
“Residents of Minnesota know firsthand the impact of our changing climate… Our way of life is changing as a result, but we know we can turn this into an opportunity. Minnesota is home to one of the largest solar panel manufacturing companies in the country. Decarbonizing will only lead to more jobs and better outcomes for Minnesotans.”
This also extends to the city level. This is why I sponsored and passed the funding for the University of St. Thomas’ Center for Microgrid Research. We need to make these investments to support our technical workforce and our climate goals.
Health Care is a cornerstone of the affordability crisis that too many of our neighbors are facing. We need to ensure that our neighbors can weather the storms of the hardships they endure.
That is why, at the Legislature, I fought for protecting Minnesotans who donate organs and bone marrow from discrimination by their insurance companies. I also collaborated with the Attorney General’s Office to distribute settlement funds from a lawsuit against JUUL and Altria to support tobacco prevention and treatment. These efforts were in concert with my bills to ban flavored tobacco and cannabis to look out for the public health of our youth.
Protecting tenants remains fundamental to my work at the Legislature, particularly ensuring that predatory landlords do not take advantage of our most vulnerable renters. A package of bills I authored prohibits landlords from including fees for required services, requires a minimum of 24 hours’ notice for landlord entrance, allows renters with medical conditions or disabilities to end a lease early with no penalty, and prevents discrimination against renters with Section 8 vouchers.
All of these policy changes help ensure that tenants’ rights are protected and that everyone has an opportunity to thrive in our city. This is why, as mayor, I will prioritize building more public housing—the only guarantee that this housing remains affordable in perpetuity. This additional affordable housing stock, paired with sensible reforms to the rent control policy currently in effect in our city, can help alleviate the housing crunch for our residents.
As a founding member of the Minnesota Asian Pacific (MAP) Caucus at the Minnesota Legislature, and as a refugee to this country, I hold the rights of immigrants and the American Dream close to my heart.
I am so proud to have worked with my colleagues to establish May 14th as Hmong-Lao Veterans Memorial Day in the state of Minnesota. We all know that the deportation efforts the Trump Administration is engaged in are disproportionately impacting St. Paul’s immigrant populations. I pledge to stand up to the unlawful bullying of our communities, who are being scapegoated and fearmongered in the service of a bigoted view of what our country is.
Since first being elected in 2018, I have prioritized public safety in our communities.
I led the initiative to require that gun owners report lost and stolen firearms to law enforcement within 48 hours. This would give our law enforcement another tool to help keep our communities safe and free from gun violence. I also sponsored legislation that was part of the larger Minnesota Police Accountability Act of 2020, which reformed the grievance arbitration process to help ensure that police officers are held accountable for misconduct.
I also guaranteed PTSD treatment for police officers and firefighters while protecting their pension funds. This challenging and thoughtful work was undertaken to address the pressing issue of mental health in our first responder communities, while also protecting retirement savings.
As the Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus and the chief sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment, I worked to enshrine reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ rights into the Minnesota State Constitution.
Our politics now demand that our city, county, and local leaders do more than not cooperate with the Trump administration. Inaction only serves to endanger our communities – our immigrant neighbors, our LGBTQ+ members, and our ability to determine for ourselves when and if we start a family. We must take proactive steps to protect all our residents.
Supporting our workers and their right to bargain collectively is extremely important to the work I’ve done at the city and in the Legislature. As mayor, I will work to ensure that Saint Paul becomes a more labor-friendly city. As early as 2019, I introduced legislation to establish a high minimum wage across the state, helping our state’s workers. I also spearheaded the Preventing Pay Discrimination Act, which prohibits employers from inquiring about past pay. This inquiry is often leveraged against women and women of color in particular.
As the Chair of the Pensions Commission, I was able to put $600 million into the public pensions system, ensuring that public workers’ retirements are protected and delivering access to retirement savings for all workers across the state with the Secure Choice Retirement Program. We can’t fix decades of underfunding overnight, but we can continue to improve the health of our pension system and improve the benefits offered to ensure that all public employees know we value their work.