Public Money Should Serve the Public

I’m not running for the Minnesota Senate to defend every decision government has made or every choice made by my political party.

I’m running because government matters too much to be careless with it.

When public programs work, they help children learn, make healthcare accessible, support people with disabilities, and give families a better chance to build stable lives. When those programs are poorly managed or exploited by criminals, taxpayers lose—and so do the Minnesotans those programs were meant to serve.

Fraud is theft. Corruption is corruption. It should not matter who committed it, which party was in power, or who finds the truth politically inconvenient.

Stop Fraud Before It Starts

Minnesotans have every right to be angry when criminals steal from public programs. That money does not belong to some distant bureaucracy. It belongs to all of us.

I support aggressive investigations, meaningful audits, the recovery of stolen funds, and serious prosecution of organized criminal operations.

But catching criminals after millions of dollars have disappeared is not enough. We need systems that recognize suspicious payments, conflicting records, and repeated warning signs before the damage becomes enormous.

I will work to strengthen independent, nonpartisan oversight of state programs, protect whistleblowers who report wrongdoing, and give investigators the authority and resources they need to follow the evidence wherever it leads.

Accountability should never depend on which party controls the governor’s office or the Legislature.

Measure Results, Not Intentions

As a psychologist, I have spent my career working through complicated problems.

You listen carefully. You gather evidence. You look for patterns. You try to identify the real cause of the problem rather than reacting only to its most visible symptom. Then you measure whether your approach is working—and change course when it is not.

Government should operate with the same humility.

A program can have a worthy purpose and still be badly designed. A policy can help people and still need stronger safeguards. Supporting the goal of a program does not require pretending every part of it works perfectly.

Every publicly funded program should have clear goals, meaningful oversight, protections against fraud, and measurable results. Spending money is not the same as solving a problem.

Protect Taxpayers Without Abandoning People

Some politicians respond to fraud by suggesting that the entire program should be eliminated.

That may sound decisive, but it often punishes the wrong people.

If criminals steal from a healthcare program, the answer is to catch the criminals and repair the program—not take healthcare away from innocent patients. If fraud involves services for children, seniors, or people with disabilities, we should strengthen safeguards without abandoning the people who rely on those services.

Protecting taxpayers and protecting vulnerable Minnesotans are not opposing goals. Responsible government must do both.

Hold Powerful Interests Accountable

Accountability also applies to corporations and investment firms that profit by exploiting people.

I have seen what can happen when private equity purchases manufactured home communities. Residents may own their homes but rent the land beneath them. When lot rents rise dramatically and services decline, families can become trapped—unable to afford to stay and unable to pay the enormous cost of moving their homes.

Businesses should be able to earn a fair profit by providing a good service. They should not be allowed to strip value from communities, neglect their obligations, and leave residents or taxpayers to clean up the damage.

I support stronger protections for manufactured homeowners and greater transparency and accountability when private equity controls housing, healthcare, nursing homes, or other essential services.

Honest Representation

Accountability also means being honest with voters.

You deserve to know what your senator believes, how your senator voted, and why. You deserve someone who will answer questions, admit mistakes, and tell you when new evidence has changed their mind.

I will not agree with every constituent, and every constituent will not agree with me. But I will listen, explain my decisions, and hold members of both parties—including my own—to the same standards.

Trust cannot be demanded. It has to be earned.

I intend to earn it by following the evidence, telling the truth, protecting public money, and doing the work necessary to make government worthy of your trust.