Why are you running for mayor?

“I am running for mayor because our city is at a standstill. Progress has stalled at most of our major developments, key retailers in our neighborhoods are closing, and city services are stretched to the limit without the necessary investment and support they need. It’s time to get our city moving forward again.”

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

“As a refugee to this country, I know firsthand the challenges and struggles of not only living here but attempting to achieve the American Dream. I frequently attend ICE check-ins with members of our community who want the power of a state legislator to assist them. Our elected positions come with great responsibility, and we owe it to our constituents to do everything we can to advocate for their safety and security.

“Whether that is the bare minimum of standing with them against ICE’s discrimination or looking at how we can improve the quality of life for the immigrants who work so hard and invest in their small businesses to make our city great.”

How can the city revive downtown, which is home to several vacant offices?

“City Hall has unveiled a comprehensive plan to convert unused office space in downtown to residential housing. While I applaud the creativity, the answer is a little more complicated than that. The fact of the matter is that not every building downtown is suitable for housing. Many were built with hazardous materials that require abatement. Others are simply too old, too complicated, or too dilapidated to convert. We need to thoroughly examine our downtown area to determine which buildings must be demolished to make room for new development. We are living in a different environment than we were before the pandemic, and we need to operate accordingly.”

How can the city best prevent another cyberattack?

“Cyberattacks are an unfortunate reality of modern government. Currently, any government could have a dormant ransomware software sitting on its server, waiting to be activated. We need to build in more redundancies because we can’t always prevent attacks, but we can ensure our city isn’t brought to a halt the way it was, and in some ways still is, after this attack.”

The corridor in Midway starting at Snelling Ave and University Ave has lost or is losing several businesses. What should the mayor do to revive this corridor, which is home to many communities of color?

“The mayor needs to be a welcoming partner to businesses that want to enter these spaces and invest in our city. I’ve heard from too many people that our City Hall is unresponsive at best to their needs when looking to develop. At worst, City Hall has been an active barrier, taking on frivolous lawsuits and defending archaic zoning and permitting processes.

“The Midway corridor is one of the most important assets we have as we look to expand our tax base and revitalize areas our immigrant communities depend on. As mayor, I will work with large developers and small, immigrant-owned businesses alike to build relationships and bring investment back to Midway.”

Do you support the city’s sanctuary policy, and should it be expanded?

“Our city’s residents need to know that their government is fighting for them and will protect them from federal overreach. The federal government’s deportation regime is cruel and designed to sow chaos in our immigrant communities. I support the city’s sanctuary policy because we need our workers, neighbors, and family members to be able to live their lives safely.

“As mayor, I will look into the limits of the separation ordinance when it comes to joint task forces (where ICE is embedded with the FBI, DEA, or other federal agencies that request the Saint Paul Police Department's cooperation). We should not put our officers in the position of breaking trust with our residents by having them involved in immigration enforcement.”

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

“We need to open the door wide for development and let housing providers know that Saint Paul is a place they should do business. Bringing in more people and expanding our tax base is key to offsetting our losses from the federal government. This should’ve been the city's priority over the last few years to avoid landing in this position. But now that we’re here, we need more development, and we need it now.

“As a State Legislator, I have strong ties to the state government and will work every lever I can to bring funding back to Saint Paul.”