Your Questions, Answered

  • Government should enable economic activity, not accidentally strangle it.

    • Small and mid-sized businesses are where most jobs actually come from.

    • Policy should be stress-tested against real payrolls and feedback loops.

    • We need regulations that protect workers and keep employers alive.

    • I believe in labor standards—but also in making sure employers can meet them.

  • Public money should be treated with the same seriousness as household money.

    • Every dollar we spend should have a measurable outcome.

    • Tax policy should be predictable so families and businesses can plan.

    • I support investments that actually reduce long-term costs for families and small businesses.

    • We should evaluate programs based on performance, not politics.

  • Workers deserve dignity, stability, and fair pay—but policy has to match operational reality.

    • Good employers want to do right by their teams.

    • Policy should support compliance, not create chaos.

    • One-size-fits-all rules often hurt the smallest employers most.

    • We should help and incentivize businesses to comply instead of assuming bad faith.

  • Everyone deserves dignity, safety, and equal protection under the law.

    • Access to healthcare, childcare, and fair pay are foundational.

    • Supporting families means supporting personal choices.

    • These are complex situations that deserve thoughtful, private, not political, solutions.

    • Government’s role is to protect access and privacy, not moralize

  • Schools work best when educators, parents, and communities are aligned.

    • Teachers need resources and flexibility.

    • Parents deserve transparency and communication.

    • We should focus on outcomes: literacy, numeracy, and post secondary or career readiness.

    • Education policy should reduce burnout, not add to it.

  • Access, cost, and workforce sustainability all matter.

    • We need to support healthcare workers—not burn them out.

    • Access doesn’t matter if providers can’t stay in practice.

    • We should reduce administrative burden so providers can do their jobs.

    • Mental health access is a workforce issue, not just a health issue.

  • Environmental goals should align with economic reality and support innovation.

    • We can reduce emissions while supporting Minnesota jobs.

    • Innovation and incentives work better than punishment.

    • Environmental policy should be durable, not symbolic.

    • We should partner with businesses to meet climate goals.

My Top Two Issues— the Deep Dive:

Supporting Minnesota Families at Every Turn

Safe streets and strong schools aren’t partisan—they’re the baseline.

  1. Strong schools, focused on outcomes

    • Back teachers and classrooms, reduce bureaucracy creep.

    • Focus on literacy/math proficiency, special education capacity, and safe learning environments.

    • Career/technical pathways that connect education to good jobs.

  2. Public safety that’s competent and consistent

    • Support effective policing + faster response times.

    • Serious focus on repeat violent offenders and fentanyl trafficking.

    • Mental health and addiction response that doesn’t turn every crisis into a police-only problem.

  3. Tax restraint with visible value

    • Voters can handle taxes when they trust outcomes.

    • Push for clearer transparency on where dollars go and what results we’re buying.

  4. Attack “commodity costs” at the pressure points

    • Childcare supply (capacity), healthcare affordability levers, housing supply (permitting + building), utility cost predictability.

    • Treat affordability like a systems problem, not a slogan.

What success looks like

  • Better school performance metrics and improved staffing stability.

  • Reduced violent crime trends and improved clearance/response performance (reported publicly).

  • Slower growth in property-tax burden and fewer surprise cost spikes.

Bridging the gap on Small Business Minnesota.

When Main Street grows, Minnesota grows

  1. A Small Business “Speed-to-Yes” government

    • Standardize timelines for permits/inspections; legislation with a business lens.

    • One clear process, one owner, fewer handoffs, less segmentation.

  2. Tax policy that matches reality for Main Street

    • Prioritize relief that benefits Minnesota-based employers (not just the biggest corporations).

    • Reduce distortions where small businesses pay high rates and high compliance costs.

  3. Workforce pipeline that actually fills jobs

    • Skills training, apprenticeships, and partnerships that lead directly to employment. Career readiness promoted in schools.

    • Target childcare capacity as a workforce constraint (because it is).

What success looks like

  • Permit/inspection turnaround times go down.

  • More new business formation and higher survival rates.

  • More Minnesotans working for locally owned companies