Issue Position: Racial Justice, Equity and Inclusion

Minnesota has a strong legacy of supporting immigrants, refugees and new residents, and this is because we know that we do better when we all have good access to the services and resources needed to thrive. Our lives, our civic dialogue and our local economies are enriched when we bring more voices to the table. As we promote good policy, our neighborhoods become safer as well. I promise to stand up for our new residents, and to make 62A a safe place for people of all backgrounds. As an immigrant woman of color, I will always stand with immigrants. I will work within the state legislature and with community partners to make sure we are doing everything possible to protect our immigrant communities in the context of a very adversarial federal government.

Equality in pay and workplace sexual abuse are issues that affect all Minnesota women. We need strong women led conversations in the state legislature to address these issues head-on. We need to fight for equal pay for women, paid family and sick leave, as well as maternity leave, because there is no reason why a woman today should be making less than their male counterpart and be disadvantaged in employment due to their decision to have a child. We need advocates in the state legislature, especially in 62A, to continue to honor Karen Clark's legacy and advocate for women and the LGBTQIA community.

Residents of color are over policed, resulting in reduced access to a myriad of rights and increased consequences due to higher rates of incarceration in the prison system. We need police force that involves community oversight measures and greater police accountability, and more officers in the MPD who come from our communities and look like our residents and neighbors. A civilian oversight commission that has a say in appropriate disciplinary action for police officers, and a registry that more effectively tracks infractions by police, should be central to changing conceptions on how to stop police brutality before it happens. This is how we can holistically create something that we can be proud to call "community policing.'

Policies I want to implemented related to public safety and police brutality:

Expand community policing with more police officers coming from the communities that they are intended to serve.
End preemption of civilian oversight of police and residency requirements, in order to make sure more police come from our communities and that we have the ability to address infractions and negligence from our policing bodies as municipalities.
A civilian oversight committee could help to track police misconduct, and provide a public structure with stronger remedies for police discipline.
Promote better training programs for de-escalation and cultural competence for our police officers.
(These are more related to municipal government, but I promise to be a voice for these issues and work with the city of Minneapolis around these issues.)

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