My primary goal through my first three years in office has been to help to bring people together to make this a better City for everyone-- a better city we can all be proud of, where our neighborhoods are healthy, peaceful and strong; where we all have a voice in the decisions that affect our lives, where the environment is protected and where everyone can reap the rewards of the rich economic, educational and cultural opportunities Minneapolis has to offer. To that end I have worked hard to find and share accurate information, to listen and understand what others think, to include a diversity of opinion and viewpoints and to work with all stakeholders to find a solution or outcome that will work for everyone.
I rely on the four core values of peace, grassroots democracy, social justice and ecological wisdom every day to guide my work and the decisions I make in City government. From these I have developed the following top prioities.
1. Strengthen our democracy and improve civic participation – Make public discourse and civic involvement more meaningful, lasting and effective parts of what we do across departments , across communities and al all levels. Let’s do a better job of informing and including people in the decisions that affect their lives.
2. Protect our natural environment – Make Minneapolis the national leader of environmental sustainability and a cleaner, greener, more walkable, healthier city for ourselves and the generations yet to come.
3. Develop a community centered approach to public safety – Create our own state-of-the-art model of community centered policing with real partnerships between residents, businesses, institutions, government and police to improve relations and make this a safer city for everyone.
4. Fight racism, poverty and homelessness – Make social and economic justice a city-wide priority and Minneapolis a place where everyone has access to the rich economic, educational, and cultural opportunities our city has to offer.
5. Focus on fairness, civility, openness and service in city government – Make it so that all city officials and employees are better able to serve and work with integrity and respect for each other and all the people of Minneapolis.