Why are you running for mayor?

“I’m running for Mayor of Minneapolis to work alongside our community to achieve the vibrant, loving city we know Minneapolis can be. We know that for working people, it’s getting harder to build our lives here. And with Donald Trump back in power, everything we’ve worked so hard for is in jeopardy. It’s time to push back with forward-thinking leadership. Mayor Frey and the status quo are failing Minneapolis residents. We deserve leadership that makes it so people want to live here, raise families here, and start businesses here.

“Minneapolis is ready to invest in long-term solutions that will bring stability and security to our communities. We all want to invest in our shared success. We deserve an affordable city that is accountable to us.”

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

“I believe community members are the experts in their own needs, and that as leaders and representatives of the people, it is our job to listen and find ways to implement solutions. White supremacy thrives on systems of oppression that are complex and intersecting. It is our job to make those systems transparent and make policies that center our most affected. I will work alongside the community to lead this discussion, and I remain committed to creating the spaces needed to have these robust discussions.

“As the proud son of Somali immigrants, fighting for immigrant rights has always been the center of my work and mission. As a state senator, I have worked closely with immigrant rights groups and organizations and within my own East African community to author and pass legislation to support and protect immigrants in our state. In particular, I am proud to have authored the Minnesota Northstar Act, which would prohibit local and state law enforcement from using state resources to deport our neighbors. In addition, in my position as the chair of Higher Education, I am worked with students and administrators at the University of Minnesota to make sure that there is no collaboration with ICE and to resist any deportations or civil immigration enforcement on university and college campuses. Everyone in our state deserves to feel safe and welcomed.

“As Mayor, I will continue this work by strengthening, upholding and expanding our Minneapolis separation ordinance, and ensuring that no City resources are used to collaborate with ICE. I will also continue to work closely with immigrant rights groups like Unidos MN, COPAL, CTUL and more to inform how the mayor’s office can best direct support immigrants in our city. Finally, I am committed to being a line of defense against President Trump’s attacks on our communities, and will leverage my position to resist attacks on immigrants and communities of color on the municipal level in every way we can.”

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

“I will embrace an approach to homelessness that increases funding for shelters and adopts a compassionate approach to encampments, centering public health and human dignity rather than Mayor Frey’s expensive practice of criminalization. Our City is more than capable of accommodating everyone who wants to call it home; combining strong housing policy with dignity for unsheltered residents is the way we do that. We must embrace a Housing First approach — housing ends homelessness; whenever possible, people should be connected directly to housing.”

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?

“The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) should not support ICE, whether it’s an immigration raid or not. Regardless of what anyone says about what took place on June 3rd, having been on the ground witnessing events unfold with my own eyes, I know that ICE was present and I saw MPD assist with their actions. This should have never happened, and as Mayor, I would work to strengthen our separation ordinance to make sure it can never happen again and I would hold officers that violate our separation ordinance accountable for their actions.

“As a hostile Trump administration attacks our communities, local accountability is more important than ever. I am running for Mayor to work towards a city where everyone feels safe and protected. That means standing with our immigrant and undocumented neighbors against attacks from the Federal Government. Our communities deserve reassurance that MPD will not collaborate with ICE and other federal agencies that are intending to strike fear in the hearts of our most marginalized neighbors.

“Given that we now know that MPD did not violate Minneapolis' current separation ordinance on June 3rd, I am committed to strengthening this policy in order to ensure we are protecting all our neighbors and pushing back against a hostile federal government.”

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?

“Minneapolis residents want a Mayor whose bold and transformative approaches to public safety will end the cycle of the Minneapolis Police Department’s (MPD) violence and brutality that has held our city captive for so many years — I am that Mayor. Once elected, I will implement the numerous existing reforms that our current Mayor has refused to attempt, including the actions outlined in both consent decrees as well as funding for public safety solutions that supplement traditional policing. While the Trump administration has abandoned the federal consent decree, the plan that was laid out by it is still actionable and should be implemented.

“As Mayor, I will implement the reforms outlined in the State and Federal Consent Decrees without hesitation, and will ensure that there is sufficient funding and accountability to enforce every part of both consent decrees.”

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

“It is imperative that we grow Minneapolis’ tax base to reduce the burden the property tax levy has on working families, and to prepare for cuts from a hostile Trump administration. Our residents deserve excellent City services and we have to ensure the City has the revenue needed to deliver on our shared vision. We need to look at creative solutions that prioritize the sustainable growth of our city. As Mayor, I will work to raise City revenue by:

-Lobbying the State of Minnesota to allow the City of Minneapolis to institute a local option income tax to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share.

-Working with the Minnesota Department of Revenue and Hennepin County to ensure residents are educated on existing property tax relief programs.

-Exploring opportunities for public development and ownership that could increase the tax base while ensuring a broadly beneficial use of space.

-Exploring creative solutions like a commercial vacancy tax to address vacant storefronts and a land value tax to incentivize development of underutilized parcels.

-Incentivizing converting vacant commercial buildings into residential housing with City support for development that prioritizes affordable housing and public benefit.

-Taking a direct hand in stewarding the revitalization of downtown by leveraging public spaces, including considering the purchase of distressed properties.

-Protecting taxpayer dollars by avoiding unaffordable subsidies for private, for-profit facilities, like stadiums, arenas, and convention centers.”