Governing Report 2020

Work I Led this Year

Championed

• Prioritized Deeply Affordable Housing

  As Chair of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, I am proud that Hennepin adopted a new housing strategy in 2019, which prioritized housing for those at or below 30% area median income (approximately $30,000 for a 4-person household). In 2020, the HRA launched a 10-year strategy to invest $91 million to build 1,000 affordable units with integrated services for people and families. We will continue these efforts into 2021, while also remaining responsive to the housing needs that may arise as the pandemic persists.

• Completed the 2020 Census

  In 2020, Hennepin County allocated $320,000 to the task of counting every County resident. This allocation allowed the County to continue community engagement throughout Hennepin in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hennepin County’s census self-response rate reached 79.6%. This is roughly 3.2 percentage points higher than our 2010 response rate and represents a crucial step in securing federal funds over the next 10 years.

• Partnered in Indoor Villages Project

  Alongside the City of Minneapolis and the State of Minnesota, Hennepin County played a key role in the funding of the Indoor Villages Project, which will provide 100 units of service-connected shelter capacity. This site innovatively mitigates COVID-19 exposure in its design and will be managed by Avivo, including chemical and mental health services, as well as employment and career education services.

• Co-Authored Racism as a Public Health Crisis

  Thank you to Commissioner Angela Conley (District 4) for her partnership and leadership in declaring racism a public health crisis in Hennepin County. This Resolution advances the County’s efforts to combat racial disparities by restructuring intervention to address systemic oppression rather than individual outcomes in sectors including housing, criminal justice, public safety, emergency response, education, and sexual violence.

• Established 911/Mental Health Task Force

  Established a 911/Mental Health Task Force to research and report best public safety practices. This Task Force will provide recommendations to provide residents with meaningful intervention, prevent recidivism, and reduce the disproportionate number of people of color and persons struggling with mental illness in our criminal justice system.

• Focused Health Equity

  I am proud to be one of two commissioners appointed to the Hennepin Healthcare (formerly HCMC) board, and in 2020 we formally added Health Equity as a value for the organization. This addition works to focus board decision-making processes toward health equity, and reaffirms our commitment to providing responsible healthcare that is responsive to community need, equitable in its distribution, and invested in fighting racial disparities.

Work I Advanced this Year

Supported

• Ensured a New Direction for Blue Line Extension

  In 2020, it became clear that the proposed Blue Line Extension route could no longer proceed on the railway. I am fully committed to advancing our regional transit vision through this light rail project, which will ensure transit access and economic investment in northern Hennepin and North Minneapolis.

• Disavowed Discriminatory Racial Covenants

  Advocated for Hennepin to disavow discriminatory property covenants intent on deepening racial disparities, including a County-wide acknowledgement from the Recorder’s Office and the waiving of associated fees.

• Juneteenth as a County Holiday

  Advocated to add Juneteenth (commemorating end of chattel slavery in the U.S.) as a permanent paid public holiday for Hennepin County staff. This was ultimately adopted as a floating holiday, or a day that employees can substitute for a public holiday.

• Budget Levy

  I spoke in favor of increasing the levy because the need for County services only increases during crisis. The County Board ultimately approved a 2021 levy with no change from 2020. Looking to the future, it will be essential to revise our financial approach, including use of fund balance, contingency, and bonding.

• Expanded Flexibility and Support for Workers

  Supported 16 hours of employee leave in remembrance and reflection of the death of George Floyd or in service to community healing or restoration. Advocated for workers to voluntarily reduce hours up to half-time while maintaining health coverage and some benefits, as a way of being responsive to the growing and compounding demands due to the pandemic.

• Advocated for Refugee Resettlement

  Advocated for the continuation of refugee resettlement in Hennepin County after federal order required local governments to provide consent to resettle refugees in their jurisdictions.

• Supported Employee Non-Discriminatory Gender Identity Policy

  Supported the expansion of the Non-Discrimination and Respectful Workplace Policy to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or gender expression.

How we are spending federal crisis funds.

COVID-19 response

Work led by District 2 youth with support from the D2 office

D2 Youth Voice

D2 Youth Voice is the official youth-focused and youth-led branch of the D2 Office. Organized and operated by student staff, its work focuses on using the D2 Youth Voice Instagram page (@hennepinD2) to give youth leaders a place to use their voices to educate, engage, and inspire collective youth action.

Student staff Janaan Ahmed and Chelsea Sheldon founded D2 Youth Voice and its @hennepinD2 page to make space for young leaders to learn about and engage in county government. This initiative has worked with county partners to produce 30+ youth-focused posts on the 2020 Election, 2020 census, and more.

2020 appointments & District 2 team

Appointments and team

Appointees and representatives

• Marisol Rosado, Racial Equity Advisory Council
• Shelby Couch, Board of Appeal and Equalization
• Christina Perfetti, Capital Budgeting Task Force
• Kristel Porter and Billy Binder, Bike Advisory Council
• Lyssa Washington, Designer Selection Committee
• Warren McLean, Davis Senseman, Sergio Manancero, and Alex West Steinman, Business Advisory Council