Why I'm Voting for Kaohly Her

Several people have asked me why I am such a committed Kaohly Her voter, so I thought I would drop some of my thoughts. 

(Social media can be a terrible place for this, so PLEASE feel free to ask me more about my feelings in person!)

I've known Melvin Carter for a long, long time. I consider him a friend, if not a close one. Our daughters are the same age and I have pictures of them together as babies at Songs of Hope concerts. He's been a good ear for Patrick, on one issue in particular. I was at his inauguration. He's a good man. But I'm not voting for him.

I've only known Kaohly since she first ran as my house representative, in the seat Erin Murphy was vacating. I co-hosted one of her first fundraisers. She supported the bonding bill for FilmNorth (and for Playwrights' Center). She's consistently been a strong representative, and an ally to all the causes I care most about: equity, the arts, abortion rights, gun control, strong homes and businesses in Saint Paul. 

So why would I want to lose such a good rep? Because I think she would be an even better mayor.

Kaohly will continue to advance the progressive gains we have made in the city (many of which were initiated when she was Carter's Policy Director in his first term), and I believe take them even farther. At the same time, she is a fierce pragmatist that will work with city staff and elected officials (both council and legislative) to make some of the significant changes needed to make Saint Paul stronger. (Just one example here — I am the Vice Chair of the city's Cultural STAR board, where we give out 1MM+ in fund for arts and cultural actives every year. For the past two cycles, this hard-working board has worked feverishly to make recommendations for these funds in a timely manner, making our recommendations in June. Last year, it took 5 months from our recommendation date until it got through the Mayor's office and to City Council, which severely hamstrung the programs. This year it looks to be taking that long again. This would not happen under a Her administration.)

The three main issues I have discussed with Kaohly are:

-  Housing: Using tools like historic preservation to increase housing options in the city, including plans for more truly affordable housing. Saint Paul (and the rest of the metro area) has a glut of expensive, unoccupied studio apartments, and I've had many conversations with her about creating viable opportunities for larger family units. I also love her focus on smaller, "mom and pop" landlords and naturally Occurring Affordable Housing.

-  Business: Kaohly has a lot of viable plans for bringing more business here, such as a cannabis plant that would bring 500 jobs. But I really appreciate her focus on small, homegrown businesses, like so many of Saint Paul's small success stories, especially immigrant businesses. I like her plans for growing this part of our economy and building a stronger, more diverse base for the city.

-  Safety:  Not just police training, though her goal of law enforcement increasing work with mental health, homelessness, and addiction treatment (such as the Met Transit HAT Team) is a great one. She also acknowledges threats we face from federal government.

Besides these policies, besides the leadership that she has show to date, besides her pragmatic plans for making the city I love a better place — I'm voting for Kaohly Her because I think it's time we had a progressive woman as mayor. I want my daughter to see a woman who literally crawled across broken glass to get here and build her life — and who has succeeded at it. I believe women like Kaohly Her are the future.

I hope you join me in voting for her!

(I'm happy — excited even! —  to talk to you in person about these views. But I'm not going to debate each point on social media, because I don't think it's an affirmative way to take issues like this on — and I am working damn hard to make positive change in things like that.)



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