Katie Jones

Criminal Justice / Public Safety

Invest in prevention. Public safety begins by ensuring people’s everyday needs are being addressed and by putting market structures in place that drive the outcomes we want. This includes fully funding our schools, investing in positive youth development programs for teenagers, and regulating copper recycling such that stealing wiring from light poles and other infrastructure is less attractive. I will work with the City and County to support their programs that conduct on the ground violence prevention in our communities. Learn more

End cash bail. Our criminal justice system should not hold non-violent Minnesotans in detention based on their ability to pay cash bail, but based on the safety needs of our community. Our nation is one of two countries that employs cash bail, and it drains resources on our criminal justice system while disproportionally harming people of color. Learn more

Prevent hate crimes. Everyone deserves to be able to live their lives free of discrimination and violence. Our State must pursue evidence-based policies to track, prevent, and address crimes motivated by hate and bias. Our State must also play a role in promoting and defending inclusivity, acceptance, and equity. Learn more

Fund public defenders. Justice shouldn’t be decided by how much money is in a person's bank account. Minnesota needs to continue investing in our public defense system -- this includes not just ensuring everyone has access to a lawyer with a reasonable caseload but legal support teams with social workers, investigators, and paralegals. Learn more

Education

Ensure our public schools are fully funded and fiscally sound. Learn more

Retain and support our educators. Learn more

Maintain healthy and comfortable school buildings. Learn more

Support children and parents. We need a long-term child tax credit and universal Pre-K opportunities so that childcare service costs fall less on the individual or family. As a society, we want to invest in healthy children and families so that we can have a sustainable long term Minnesota with healthy, educated communities growing into the future. Learn more

Make childcare and early childhood education in our State more accessible and affordable for working families. Learn more

Environment / Energy

Invest in green jobs. Learn more

Invest in our transit system. We can make our transit system better by improving our governing structure that appropriately allows the Met Council to lead on metro transportation planning, establish accountability, and empower the right partners to lead on infrastructure implementation, like the Department of Transportation metro district. Learn more

Transition to zero waste. We must move our State towards waste reduction, recycling, and composting, and away from burning or landfilling waste. This will require State-level regulations to hold producers accountable while providing resources for local communities. Learn more

Protect our water and soil. I studied soil and water engineering, and know that our water is our most precious resource.our state must do whatever possible to ensure every community and household has access to clean, drinkable water. That means reducing runoff from agriculture fields and reducing monocultures in our farms, to preventing manufacturers from contaminating our water sources and holding polluters accountable. Learn more

Decarbonize buildings in Minneapolis and across the State – equitably. Learn more

Guns

Protect our most vulnerable community members. With the rise of extremism and targeted attacks on the queer community, I believe our State should continue to lead the nation on protecting LGTBQ rights. We must also prioritize student safety. That means keeping guns out of our schools, protecting kids from bullying, supporting mental healthcare, and ensuring that adults, including School Resource Officers, are prevented from using dangerous restraints on kids. Learn more

We must continue to pass legislation that prevents gun violence by banning AR-15s, strengthen safe storage laws, and fully passing universal background checks. Learn more

Housing

Invest in community land trusts. Community land trusts keep housing affordable and in local control. Learn more

As a State legislator I want to make sure that the city and county agencies have what they need to be successful, including funding for key resources and tools to take a collective approach to solving this problem. That means abundant housing options, supports for disability, mental health and substance abuse, and addressing the bottleneck of case workers tasked with helping individuals and families find stability. Learn more

Strengthen renters rights. My work on the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association board was focused on empowering renters in the neighborhood, such that when I became board president the proportion of renters more closely matched the percent of renter population. Not owning a home should never create where power is abused and neighbors are unable to secure stable housing. I will fight to ensure renters have the protections they need. Learn more

Infrastructure / Transportation

Invest in transit as reliable, accessible commute options. Learn more

Support economic development in our district to achieve thriving business nodes. I will champion a grant program for our district that will allow our small businesses to stay afloat during road reconstructions, so we can make the necessary improvements to our streets while keeping businesses intact. Learn more

Address safety on public transit. With the newly implemented transit ambassador program, we have an opportunity to evaluate novel approaches and strengthen areas needed to maintain safety, reduce disruptions, and help people in need navigate available resources. Learn more

Taxes / Budget

I want to finds ways to increase LGA to our city and also work to grow our tax base by keeping our district a livable and affordable place for anyone to call home. By fully funding our cities, we can make sure local decision makers have the resources needed to advocate for appropriate responses for people in crisis, and focus efforts on prevention. Learn more

Ensure that our cities are fully funded. Minneapolis is facing a 20 million budget deficit. In order to keep city services intact, we need state solutions that will resource our city. Local Government Aid (LGA) is a critical tool at the State level that supports city government by providing funds for local public safety responses. Learn more

Wages / Job Benefits

Support collective bargaining. Union organizing protects workers from exploitation, increases wages and benefits, and improves the lives of all workers, even those who are not part of a union. I will fight to protect and expand workers’ rights to collectively bargain, in both the public and private sectors. . Learn more

Protect our most vulnerable workers and ensure they have livable wages. Learn more

Increase our statewide minimum wage. Our city has led the way by setting a nearly 16 minimum wage, but statewide workers are only guaranteed 8-10 an hour adjusted for inflation, which is insufficient. Learn more

Strengthen job training opportunities by breaking down barriers. Our education and job training centers should address the needs of our community. I support increased partnerships with community groups to improve representation and cultural awareness in training program offerings. Learn more

Add surcharge transparency in hospitality. We're seeing a welcome shift away from inequitable tipping models that historically hindered back of house workers. All workers deserve assurance that surcharges stated as supporting wages and benefits are transparently doing so. The new Junk Fees Law will help, and as new models of compensation are developed, workers should be at the table. Learn more