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As her majority whip, I was at the Capitol with her during the COVID-19 pandemic when almost every other legislator was at home, staying safe. I later became her speaker pro tempore and would run the House floor in her absence. She had a core group of people who spent countless hours strategizing around her backyard fire pit or decompressing at a weekly happy hour. I campaigned with her all across the state to hold the DFL majority, and one thing she always said to us when we were feeling burnt out was this: “These seats don’t belong to us. We need to campaign everywhere because people need to earn the right to represent these districts.” St. Paul is no different. After her assassination, I was trying to find my place and my purpose. Those words continued to echo through my mind. The fact of the matter is this — our city is at a standstill. We have very real and serious problems that need to be addressed. For months, I asked our leaders to develop a plan to address our most pressing issues. Those calls went unanswered. Because of this campaign, we are finally having substantive conversations about the future. St. Paul deserves to have a thriving economy, affordable and abundant housing, and safe communities.
