It’s been one year since I was sworn in to the City Council and I'm proud of the progress we made in 2024. From police recruitment to renters’ rights, the city had an incredibly productive year. Working together with neighbors, council colleagues and the mayor’s administration, we advanced the revitalization of commercial corridors in downtown and Uptown, increased investments in comprehensive public safety, enacted climate-conscious policies and advanced renter and worker protections.
My Ward 7 team focused on exceptional constituent services, robust communications and problem solving across jurisdictions.
For Ward 7, I hosted 10 community engagement forums, spoke at 36 neighborhood association meetings, sent 24 newsletters and resolved more than 2,000 constituent cases. It is truly wonderful to be part of such an engaged community.
I prioritized public safety. Passing a new police union contract in July will bring police salaries up nearly 21.7% over the next three years. This and further recruitment investments led to 1,000 police applications and filling 76 new hires, 36 of which are police officers that will be on street patrol. We ended the year with a net gain of officers for the first time in five years.
We also have more investigative capacity and crime prevention specialists on staff. During 2025 budget negotiations, I collaborated with Council Member Aisha Chughtai to fund the addition of a new Crime Prevention Specialist position for the 5th Precinct to increase this important service. (Editor's note: According the Minnesota Star Tribune: “Three separate council actions reallocated $150,000 — more than one-quarter of this year’s $521,000 mounted patrol budget — to fund a civilian crime prevention specialist position in the Fifth Precinct, pay for additional needle pickup in the Hiawatha neighborhood and bolster transportation for seniors.”)
The comprehensive public safety system, including violence prevention, has continued to improve. A recent analysis of Minneapolis safety by the NYU School of Law showed that the city is currently redirecting 9% of its calls for service to non-police services like 311, Traffic Control and the Behavioral Crisis Response team. The city’s goal is to increase this to 20% in the next decade.
Increasing housing supply is another focus. Council Member Michael Rainville authored and I co-authored an ordinance that has made it easier to convert vacant downtown offices into new housing. This solution helps us adapt our downtown to changing working conditions and address office vacancies.
With Sherman Associates, we celebrated the grand opening of Groove Lofts at the North star Center in December, Groove Lofts hopes to add 500 new residents to the downtown core in a beautifully converted historic building. The City Council also invested in shelter providers like Agate and Avivo that provide low-barrier housing solutions for people experiencing homelessness. Additionally, renters will now benefit from mandatory disclosures and eviction protections. Together, these policies will ensure that Minneapolis continues to provide more housing for all.
It is well known that the last four years have seen drastic changes to commercial retail and labor markets. Our targeted revitalization approaches are starting to pay off. This year, the Department of Arts and Cultural Affairs launched the Vibrant Storefronts initiative which brought five arts organizations to Loring Park, invigorating formerly vacant commercial spaces. In 2025 this will expand to Uptown with an additional one million dollar investment. The 2025 city budget also includes several small business and community initiatives in Uptown that I look forward to bringing to life. I’m proud to have supported labor protections in various industries as they fight for dignified working conditions and economic justice. Should I win reelection this fall, I plan to continue these important conversations over the next four years so that downtown and uptown can thrive.
As climate change escalates nationwide, Minneapolis is paving the way for sustainability leadership. I am the chair of the new Climate and Infrastructure Committee, and my office secured major victories by increasing access to future public transportation projects like the Blue Line Light Rail Extension and B Line and E Line Bus Rapid Transit corridors in Uptown. I also joined five of my colleagues, Council Members Chughtai, Wonsley, Ellison, Chowdhury and Koski, to coauthor a resolution and budget amendment to push the city towards a zero-waste future where building materials and household waste is diverted from the incinerator and landfills. This year, we also negotiated hard fought wins with our utility providers, CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy.
It has been my honor to serve you as your Ward 7 City Council Member. I am hopeful and optimistic about what we can accomplish together in the years to come. Together, we can continue to lift up each and every one of our neighbors as we make Minneapolis a beacon for progress. I’m seeking DFL endorsement this year and running for reelection. I hope to earn your support and continue this good work. DFL precinct caucuses are coming up on April 8. I can be reached at City Hall by email (ward7@minneapolismn.gov) as well as by phone and social media. I look forward to a great year ahead.
