Why are you running for mayor?

“Over the last five years, Minneapolis was tested as never before. American cities have faced some of the toughest challenges that we’ve had to confront in generations. But where other cities across the country have struggled and stagnated, Minneapolis has been making a comeback. The challenges we’re facing have not gone away, but our progress is improving people’s lives.

“On housing, Minneapolis is leading the nation. While the rest of the country saw rent increase by 31% since 2017. In Minneapolis, we held that increase to just 1%. Now, Minneapolis is producing 8.5 times more deeply affordable housing than before I took office. We also made unprecedented investments in affordable homeownership. And our Stable Homes Stable Schools program has provided stable housing to about 6,000 MPS kids across over 2,000 families.

“We’re also making progress on public safety. Police recruitment is up 135%, MPD has more officers today than it has had in years, and the department is the most diverse in our city’s history. And, violent crime is down – in fact, in North Minneapolis, shootings are lower than they’ve been in over 15 years.

“Meanwhile, we’re moving forward on police reform. The independent, court-appointed monitor for our consent decree credited Minneapolis with making “more progress toward building a foundation for sustainable reform in the first year of monitoring than nearly any other jurisdiction” in the nation.

“Now, I’m running for one more term to bring Minneapolis through to its next brilliant chapter. Let’s do that by building more affordable housing, hiring more police officers to bring down violent crime, accelerating our climate action goals, and delivering exemplary core city services for Minneapolis.”

As mayor, how will you advocate for immigrants and communities of color?

“Through ordinance and executive action, Minneapolis has enshrined our commitment to immigrant communities, and I will continue standing up against Donald Trump and his harmful policies. MPD does not and will not cooperate with ICE or any federal agency in immigration enforcement. I will not compromise our city’s values in protecting our undocumented community, even if we are threatened with a withholding of federal funds. We are proactively suing Donald Trump and his administration, working in conjunction with cities, states, and attorneys general from around the country, and we will not back down.

“Our Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs helps coordinate services and legal protections for our immigrant communities, and we have developed a taskforce of important stakeholders to get input and disseminate important information. We connect immigrant entrepreneurs to business support and technical assistance to bolster their work and keep cultural corridors strong.

“Finally, I will also support any additional actions that we can take to supplement our separation ordinance and prevent city employees from being involved in immigration enforcement (including but not limited to ICE) and to protect our immigrant neighbors.”

Should homeless encampments be allowed to exist in Minneapolis? When should the city clear homeless encampments?

“The answer to homelessness is stable housing, not unchecked encampments. And we are providing record amounts of deeply affordable housing so that people experiencing homelessness have the next rung on the ladder to pull themselves out. We are producing 8.5 times the amount of deeply affordable housing since before I took office, without which we would have no ability to place people coming out of homelessness.

“We are also one of the only major cities in the country to reduce unsheltered homelessness since the pandemic. In Minneapolis, unsheltered homelessness is down 33% since 2020. Through our Homeless Response Team, we’ve helped more than 270 people transition into stable housing and services just in the last few months — and we’ve seen 911 and 311 calls in neighborhoods that previously had large encampments drop by nearly 80%. Currently, we have no medium or large-scale encampments in Minneapolis.

“We have to lead with compassion and outreach, offering to connect people living in encampments with housing, addiction treatment, and other social services -- and we will continue to learn and improve how we conduct that outreach and deliver those services. But the truth is that encampments are neither safe nor humane for those who live in them or around them. We have to be willing to close encampments down that have become unsafe, especially when they become targets for human traffickers, violence, and drug traffickers.”

Do you agree with how the city handled its presence at the federal drug investigation on Lake Street in June, and how can Minneapolis improve its response in future incidents?

“Yes, but you don’t have to take my word for it. The city auditor, who does not report to the mayor’s office or to my administration, confirmed that our police department did not violate our separation ordinance. That’s why I was so disappointed when all of my opponents pledged to fire or discipline Chief O’Hara. The audit report confirmed that Lake & Bloomington wasn’t an immigration raid at all, and that MPD was not even aware of the operation, let alone involved in executing it.

“My leading opponent went on national TV and claimed that our police department broke the law and that I myself ""had MPD collaborate with ICE in targeting our immigrant communities.” In a crisis, mayors have a responsibility to share accurate information, not stoke panic on social media for political gain. There are certainly things we can improve should we face a true immigration raid. But firing or disciplining Chief O’Hara is not the answer.”

Do you support the policing reforms in the recently abandoned federal consent decree against Minneapolis police? If yes, how should the city ensure these reforms are enacted?

“Strongly -- and despite the White House’s opposition, we are moving forward with those reforms. The independent monitor for our consent decree recently credited Minneapolis with making “more progress toward building a foundation for sustainable reform in the first year of monitoring than nearly any other jurisdiction” in the nation. I plan to see that roadmap through during my final term. We have invested tens of millions of dollars, built a foundation for true change, and we will see through to fruition every paragraph of every page of the agreements that we signed onto.

“For years, people have talked about building a police department that is reflective of the community. We are doing it, with the most diverse police department in our city’s history. For years, people have talked about building a comprehensive public safety system, including a system well beyond that of police officers alone. We are doing it. The city is now providing 24/7 mental health response, violence prevention services, and we created the Office of Community Safety.

“Finally, we also just launched a mobile medical unit to provide health services to underserved communities. I look forward to building on and refining these reforms in the years to come.”

How can the city make up for lost federal grants and revenue due to cuts from the Trump administration?

“First, we are taking action to fight these cuts in court -- and so far, we’re winning. In coordination with other jurisdictions, we sued the Trump administration and have won key victories. But we also have to be prepared for the worst, especially with the shift toward work from home and the impact that is having on the property tax base in downtowns in major cities.

“For the 2026 budget, a 13% percent property tax hike would have been necessary to maintain current spending levels in Minneapolis -- an unacceptable outcome for homeowners and renters across our city. We were able to cut that down to 7.8% (a 40% reduction) by identifying millions in saving and cutting back on non-essential programs so that we could avoid layoffs while preserving core services like housing, police, trash, and streets.”