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5 POINT PLATFORM
Rochester is a vibrant, engaging, and fun community that has anchored Southeast Minnesota for many years. With abundant green space, world-class employers, and high quality schools, our community is constantly ranked as one of the best to live, work, and raise a family. These following key priorities, developed in partnership with you, the citizens of Rochester, will tackle our most pressing issues while also reinforcing our greatest strengths.
KEY PRIORITIES
SECURE AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Safe and secure shelter is a basic human right. I grew up in public housing in the 1970s. Some years later, my parents were able to pull together a nest egg, buy a home, and finally achieve this American dream. I will advocate for policies that remove barriers and increase incentives to build and access both owner-occupied and rental housing to help families and individuals prosper and add to our thriving local economy.
BUILD DIVERSE ECONOMY
Rochester greatly benefits from serving as home to our world-renowned medical institution. However, it's imperative that we explore avenues to diversify our economy, embracing sectors such as biotechnology, manufacturing, agriculture, higher education, and small businesses. We must continue to support these employers and promote policies that bring a broader base of businesses to Rochester. Together, we can create a more diverse economy with livable wage jobs for everyone.
PROMOTE SMART GROWTH
As Rochester grows, we must prioritize development opportunities within our current growth plan on vacant parcels before expanding outward. By promoting so-called “in-fill” development, we will expand our tax base by building mixed-use walkable neighborhoods featuring traditional and affordable housing and integrated retail. This will also ensure that Rochester does not spread out with unchecked sprawl, which adds both costly taxpayer-supported sewer lines and infrastructure and longer commute times.
LEAD AN EFFECTIVE CITY COUNCIL
Our City Council needs to operate with efficiency and effectiveness to encourage everyone is working towards putting people first as we navigate the opportunities and challenges that accompany our city's growth. As City Council President, I will use my experience as a skilled leader to foster robust civic engagement and ensure that the entire City Council works towards a shared vision with clear long-term goals and a strong balance between council governance and administrative operations.
PRIORITIZE CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY
As the City of Rochester, we need to do our part to meet Minnesota’s goal of achieving 100% carbon free energy by 2040. We all play an important role in this effort. To reduce our family’s carbon footprint, we took advantage of public incentives to install solar panels on our roof and planted a native prairie rain garden. As a member of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, I chair the committee that adopted the airport’s multifaceted sustainability plan. From this experience, I know that sustainability can be achieved while fostering a strong economy. I will take this personal commitment to helping Rochester meet its sustainability goals, so that our city can be a leader in addressing this significant challenge impacting all of us, individuals and businesses alike.
PARTNER WITH THE SCHOOLS AND THE COUNTY
I will strive to strengthen the partnership between the city and Rochester Public Schools to ensure our strong thriving economy is matched by a stable school district that provides best in class education to our youth and future workforce. At the county level, the city and county must work in lock step—along with our nonprofit and private sector partners--to address the needs of our unhoused citizens and build and increase access to affordable housing.
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