Ian’s Legislative Priorities


Economic Development

Economic stability and job growth are my top priorities. We want to ensure that Minnesota remains an attractive place for businesses of all sizes to expand and relocate. 

As your elected representative, I will advocate:
  • public investment in research and development;
  • reduced regulatory hurdles for small business startup and expansion;
  • state tax incentives, such as the Urban Initiative Loan Program, and other policies that boost private capital investment in urban core infrastructure;
  • Downtown Council’s “Downtown 2025 Plan”, which calls for sustainable green infrastructure along the riverfront and a continuation of Minneapolis’s sports-entertainment momentum with a new Vikings' Stadium in our district.

Public Safety

It is not enough for local police to pursue perpetrators. Policy makers must find solutions to the underlying causes of criminal activity.  It is particularly crucial for our district that our State’s laws, policies, and practices allow those who have committed crimes to redeem themselves, fully support themselves and their families, and become full participants in their communities. 

As an advocate for crime victims and repentant offenders, I will:
  • provide support to victims of crime and ensure that their rights are protected;
  • encourage stricter penalties for unregistered handgun violations;
  • promote legislation that prevents the clustering of Level Three Sex Offenders in the North Minneapolis community;
  • maximize the ability of ex-offenders to access social services for mental illness and chemical dependency as well as utilize temporary unemployment insurance, housing, and educational opportunities so that they may become fully contributing members of society;
  • promote effective restorative justice programs for non-violent offenders.

Education

While it is true that we cannot solve all our educational problems through money alone, we must ensure that our schools have resources to meet contemporary challenges. It is simply unacceptable that only 34 percent of the Minneapolis district's African-American students graduate from high school in four years, compared with almost 70 percent of Caucasian students.

As your proponent of educational opportunities for all students in our community, I will:
  • strongly support the recommendations in the African American Leadership Forum's "Crisis in Our Community: Closing the Five Education Gaps" report; 
  • vote for ample funding for those proven methods of closing achievement gaps, namely early childhood education and forward-thinking methods that allow our teachers to address the diverse needs of our district; 
  • speak out for the value of trade schools and apprenticeships, which provide enrichment and useful career skills for students not geared toward college;
  • experiment with new ideas to encourage individuals, businesses and philanthropic entities to fund scholarships in science, mathematics and engineering;
  • be a positive voice for the University of Minnesota’s efforts to put more of its research to use in the private sector.

Housing & Retail

North Minneapolis has been disproportionately affected by the housing crisis. Whether residents have lost their homes to foreclosure or are living next door to abandoned properties, they are subject to depressed home values and neighborhood blight. We must invest in future housing stock and work with both for-profit and non-profit developers in order to attract aesthetically pleasing retail space in our downtown and along the West Broadway corridors.  

As a promoter of neighborhood vitality, I will:
  • work tirelessly to pass legislation that protects homeowners from predatory lending;
  • help recruit viable businesses to the downtown, West Broadway, and North Loop Corridors;
  • advance efforts to foster housing targeted to markets that will improve the socioeconomic mix in the West Broadway area.

Homelessness

Homelessness is too often treated with temporary shelter and meals for those who sleep on the streets or in other non-traditional places. Unless we address the roots of homelessness, this epidemic will continually repeat itself.  

As your advocate, I will:
  • assemble the resources to support the social services that help people transition to stable lifestyles, including job-training and long-term housing, as well as funding for the chemical dependency and mental health treatment needed to support these transitions;
  • create private-charity/non-profit partnerships with organizations like the At Home Group in order to bridge the often small gap between, which will allow an individual to complete training programs so that he or she can attain employment;
  • end the clustering of transitional-housing and homeless shelters within an appropriate block radius of one another.

Transportation & Infrastructure

Supporting continued investment in transportation and infrastructure is vital in order that Minnesota remain competitive – and essential for a thriving downtown corridor.  An effective infrastructure must include a modern system of roads and bridges, transit, rail and waterways.  

As your promoter for better transit options, I will:
  • fight to increase funding for the expansion and enhancement of transportation options to encourage new job creation, housing and business vitality;
  • push for the future Bottineau Light Rail Transit Line’s connection with West Broadway Avenue;
  • promote the creation of a “Transportation Interchange” in downtown Minneapolis as the Metro Region's primary transit hub.

Equal Rights

I am a proud supporter of marital equality. I believe that people, regardless of their sexual orientation, should be entitled to enter into the same legal contract of Marriage under State law. I am against damaging the Minnesota State Constitution by prohibiting an expansion of the definition of marriage.
Prepared and paid for by Friends of Alexander. Blake Norby, Treasurer.