May 15, 2025

Seeing so many neighbors and friends from all across the ward at our Ward 2 Annual Meeting was the highlight of my year.  Thank you to everyone who took time to come out! 

We kicked off the evening by celebrating our successes from the past year and reflecting on the opportunities ahead of us.  I shared my thoughts on five highlights from the past year and outlined five key opportunities ahead of us.  Here’s a quick recap in case you missed it.  

First, the highlights:

Our 2025 budget - The Council’s primary responsibility is to adopt a budget and last year was one of our most thoughtful budget processes to date.  We heard loud and clear from our constituents that we needed to look critically at our spending and be wary of additional tax increases.  The result was $4 million in savings and a levy increase much lower than the Mayor’s original proposal. Taxes are still too high and our work this year is to figure out more systemic ways of reducing our property tax burden while retaining the service levels our constituents want and deserve…but last year was a good start.

Our brand-new commercial corridors fund - Every neighborhood in our ward has its main streets – from Cesar Chavez and Smith to W. 7th and E. 7th, Payne and Grand, Robert and Wabasha.  The small businesses along these streets are the places we go to get ice cream, fix our bikes and get our dry cleaning done.  But since the pandemic, these small businesses have been struggling and our usual grant programs just weren’t going to cut it. Last year the Council passed a historic $1.4 million Commercial Corridors fund to support small businesses all along these corridors – not with a competitive STAR grant that goes to individual businesses but with an allocation to business organizations and District Councils to help them support entire main streets.

The work our Council and our community did to advance the conversation on early learning and childcare - Last year, for the first time in our city’s history, we had a public conversation about the burden of childcare on working families and about what role the City might play in helping solve that problem.  We talked about the fact that families with young children pay more for childcare than they do for rent or any other single expense.  That if we are serious about supporting working families, if we are serious about gender justice in the workplace, if we are serious about equity - we have to get serious about childcare.  Like any fight that matters, this one will not be won overnight but it’s a fight that’s worth it and I am committed to keeping that fight going as long as it takes.

Defending our city and our values against the assault from the federal government - I was proud to join Mayor Carter and all of my Council colleagues a month ago in joining San Francisco and several other cities in a lawsuit against the Trump administration, defending our right to keep our law enforcement operations separate from federal immigration enforcement. Our public safety depends on trust and we will not abandon our continuing efforts to build trust between police and community by bowing down to the illegal demands of this administration.

The outstanding work of our District Councils and neighborhood organizations - There is absolutely heroic work going on to engage neighbors in local issues, to fundraise, to beautify public spaces and to fight for neighborhood interests.  I know the work is thankless and I want to acknowledge and appreciate those who do it every day.

In addition to those achievements (and many, many more) from the past year, there are also many things to look forward to in the year ahead.  Here are four things I’m especially excited about:

  1. Construction  - It may seem strange to get excited about Minnesota’s second season, but just like any massive home repair project, the joy is in knowing how great it will be when it’s done.  From street maintenance on George St, Pleasant Ave, Minnesota, Robert, E. 7th and more, new pedestrian safety features like bump-outs on Wabasha at Isabel and Congress, a brand-new Pedro Park and major redevelopments at Linwood, Baker, Irvine and Prospect Parks – our collective home is about to look absolutely wonderful!
  2. Downtown revitalization –  A strong, bustling, vibrant downtown must be our top priority. With the creation of the Downtown Development Corporation, more than 300 new units of housing coming online in the next few months, and planned redevelopment at Central Station, the Xcel Energy Center and RiversEdge, we are making progress every day.
  3. New W. 7th Transit – The concept for a new bus rapid transit line on W 7th St promises to bring improved transit and an improved W. 7th Street for all users - drivers, cyclists, transit riders and pedestrians. Best of all, this plan is moving forward with the urgency that the W. 7th neighborhood deserves.
  4. Housing – With the recent passage of a new package of tenant protections and an amendment to our rent stabilization ordinance, we are positioning our city to build the new housing we sorely need while protecting tenants from unfair screening practices and predatory rent increases.  These policies, combined with our Affordable Housing Trust Fund investments in affordable and supportive housing, will help ensure that everyone who wants to call St. Paul home can do so.

There’s a lot to do; I’m excited and energized about getting it done together.

Read the May 15, 2025 newsletter at: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/STPAUL/bulletins/3e02bf7?reqfrom=share

Last Edited: May 16, 2025