Nelsie Yang
Name: Nelsie Yang
Public Office Sought: St. Paul City Council Ward 6
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 763-291-3738
Campaign Website: www.nelsieyang.com
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/yangforcouncil/
Candidate Bio
I am the first Hmong American woman and the youngest councilmember ever elected to the Saint Paul City Council. My lived experience as the daughter of low-income refugees combined with my professional expertise as an organizer and union steward leads me to champion people-centered politics and pursue policies that alleviate poverty and advance dignity. In my first term, I proudly worked with community leaders to provide grants to businesses in Ward 6, partnered with Ramsey County to invest $74 million in American Rescue Funds into deeply affordable housing, championed a rent stabilization ordinance to protect renters and prevent housing displacement,and collaborated with community organizations and HourCar to launch a citywide electrical vehicle carshare program. I am excited to run again and continue advancing my vision of equity, care, and safety for East Siders. I am proudly DFL, labor, and teacher endorsed. I’m also a new mom and enjoy exploring Saint Paul with my son and husband.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
As a Council Member, I lead with collectivity, integrity, and transparency. These values I carry are shaped by my lived experiences as a daughter of refugees and as a person of color growing up marginalized by the systems we live in. My leadership is also shaped by the powerful vision I hold in building toward a democracy and government rooted in uplifting the lives of all people across race, class, gender, age, and disability.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
In Ward 6, where 40% of households live in isolated poverty as primarily working-class families and multi-generational households, the scarcity of wealth is astounding. If re-elected, I would continue to prioritize housing justice and economic development, while safeguarding and securing community-based programming and resources:
A home is a basic necessity and everyone suffers without a warm place to sleep, take showers, or have meals. In Ward 6, the high cost of living and a lack of deeply affordable housing, as well as the added financial forces of debt and unlivable wages, are the key factors keeping East Siders out of a safe and stable home. Utilizing neighborhood median income and implementing mixed housing initiatives, I will champion passing a tenant rights ordinance, partner with the Saint Paul Port Authority and Sherman Associates to develop 1,000 housing units with a focus on building deeply affordable housing (30% AMI) at The Heights and ensure emerging developers and Black, Indigenous, People Of Color (BIPOC) developers aren’t discounted in the creation of new homes across future development sites.
Entrepreneurs and developers of color, women, and millennials experience the highest rate of discrimination when pursuing loans and grants for business and economic opportunities. Meanwhile, the East Side is a historic ethnic enclave best known for its diversity of small, community-based, and family-run businesses despite being underinvested in. My goal in the next term around economic development would include prioritizing the sustainability of these businesses to increase local job opportunities and capital investments so that the East Side can reinvest in and revitalize our own neighborhoods.
Wealth is the single, largest determining factor affecting the quality of life for all people. In Ward 6, the collaboration and support across all communities is what continues to sustain the East Side. My big picture goal is to end the cycle of poverty for working-class families and individuals by eliminating the many social and economic barriers preventing the livelihood and full participation of all East Siders, safeguarding and securing community-based programming and resources that include effective healthcare, access to fresh and affordable food, safe transportation, investing in youth and adult diversion, mental health advocacy, cultural competency, and more are the steps I will take to accomplish dignifiable living.
What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in St. Paul?
The biggest challenge facing residents of Saint Paul is the lack of safe and high-quality housing. As I talk to East Siders, I hear story after story of rising rents, displacement, and not enough quality housing options for all the different sorts of families that live on the East Side. We have the opportunity to develop housing in ways that truly meet the needs of East Side residents. For example, The Heights is where 1,000 new housing units will be built in Ward 6. It’ll be a mix of single-family homes, townhomes, row homes, high-density housing at different affordability levels.
How would you characterize the business climate in St. Paul and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in St. Paul?
St. Paul’s local businesses are what keep our city vibrant. At the City, I believe it’s our job to keep licensing and permitting processes simple and consistent. The City can continue building pathways for ownership, specifically for people of color and women. The City can also invest in local entrepreneurs by funding their business dreams, providing them technical assistance, and continuously celebrating the impact they have on our city.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?
So many of the East Side’s public safety challenges come from residents simply not having what they need for stability, security, or dignity. My goal is to prioritize housing justice and economic development while safeguarding and securing community-based programming and resources. I believe policies that meet people’s human needs like having a safe and comfortable home, security at work, and access to community-based resources, allow them to feel safe.
I’m also leading efforts to ensure our East Side business corridors and neighborhoods thrive. I’m passionate about making sure the city is innovative in restoring lighting along business corridors, such as transitioning to solar powered lighting to end theft of copper wiring. I am also working with community members to ensure that the Hayden Heights Library, Hayden Heights Rec Center, and Duluth & Case Rec Center get rebuilt. We need public spaces that are safe, high quality, and abundant in staffing & programming that meets the needs of the community.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
Utilizing neighborhood median income and implementing mixed housing initiatives, I will champion passing a tenant rights ordinance, partner with the Saint Paul Port Authority and Sherman Associates to develop 1,000 housing units with a focus on building deeply affordable housing (30% AMI) at The Heights, and ensure emerging developers and Black, Indigenous, People Of Color (BIPOC) developers aren’t discounted in the creation of new homes across future development sites.
St. Paul candidates only: Do you support the rent stabilization ordinance in its current form? If not, what would you like to change?
I do not support the rent stabilization ordinance in its current form. I would like to see the language of the ordinance shifted to its original form, which is the version thousands of Saint Paul residents approved of and voted on. The original form of the ordinance is the strongest form of protection we can offer renters which I am supportive of.
How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrians/bikes, and drivers alike?
For too long, we have centered cars and their convenience. Improved safety for drivers means improved safety for transit riders, pedestrians, and bikers. People who have chosen alternative modes of transportation need deep investment in safe and accessible infrastructure. We need consistent and convenient public transit, especially on the East Side, where there’s a lack of bus routes. Sidewalks should be accessible for people with mobility devices and strollers, especially in the winter. People will bike more when they feel it is safe to do so. The East Side needs more protected bike lanes. The long-term health of our climate is dependent on more people choosing transit, walking, and biking. We need to make sure other modes of transportation are just as convenient and easy as choosing to drive a car.
What will you do to expand St. Paul’s tax base?
The Heights, a new development in Ward 6 where there will be creation of 1,000 new housing units and many light industrial businesses, will drastically expand our tax base.
Are there any services currently provided by the city that you believe should be cut back or eliminated? Are there new opportunities to share services with other entities?
We have so many opportunities as a city to invest in our residents: municipal shoveling, maintaining and plowing alleys, stronger wage protection and enforcement, and creating more opportunities for our youth to thrive.
Public Office Sought: St. Paul City Council Ward 6
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 763-291-3738
Campaign Website: www.nelsieyang.com
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/yangforcouncil/
Candidate Bio
I am the first Hmong American woman and the youngest councilmember ever elected to the Saint Paul City Council. My lived experience as the daughter of low-income refugees combined with my professional expertise as an organizer and union steward leads me to champion people-centered politics and pursue policies that alleviate poverty and advance dignity. In my first term, I proudly worked with community leaders to provide grants to businesses in Ward 6, partnered with Ramsey County to invest $74 million in American Rescue Funds into deeply affordable housing, championed a rent stabilization ordinance to protect renters and prevent housing displacement,and collaborated with community organizations and HourCar to launch a citywide electrical vehicle carshare program. I am excited to run again and continue advancing my vision of equity, care, and safety for East Siders. I am proudly DFL, labor, and teacher endorsed. I’m also a new mom and enjoy exploring Saint Paul with my son and husband.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
As a Council Member, I lead with collectivity, integrity, and transparency. These values I carry are shaped by my lived experiences as a daughter of refugees and as a person of color growing up marginalized by the systems we live in. My leadership is also shaped by the powerful vision I hold in building toward a democracy and government rooted in uplifting the lives of all people across race, class, gender, age, and disability.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
In Ward 6, where 40% of households live in isolated poverty as primarily working-class families and multi-generational households, the scarcity of wealth is astounding. If re-elected, I would continue to prioritize housing justice and economic development, while safeguarding and securing community-based programming and resources:
A home is a basic necessity and everyone suffers without a warm place to sleep, take showers, or have meals. In Ward 6, the high cost of living and a lack of deeply affordable housing, as well as the added financial forces of debt and unlivable wages, are the key factors keeping East Siders out of a safe and stable home. Utilizing neighborhood median income and implementing mixed housing initiatives, I will champion passing a tenant rights ordinance, partner with the Saint Paul Port Authority and Sherman Associates to develop 1,000 housing units with a focus on building deeply affordable housing (30% AMI) at The Heights and ensure emerging developers and Black, Indigenous, People Of Color (BIPOC) developers aren’t discounted in the creation of new homes across future development sites.
Entrepreneurs and developers of color, women, and millennials experience the highest rate of discrimination when pursuing loans and grants for business and economic opportunities. Meanwhile, the East Side is a historic ethnic enclave best known for its diversity of small, community-based, and family-run businesses despite being underinvested in. My goal in the next term around economic development would include prioritizing the sustainability of these businesses to increase local job opportunities and capital investments so that the East Side can reinvest in and revitalize our own neighborhoods.
Wealth is the single, largest determining factor affecting the quality of life for all people. In Ward 6, the collaboration and support across all communities is what continues to sustain the East Side. My big picture goal is to end the cycle of poverty for working-class families and individuals by eliminating the many social and economic barriers preventing the livelihood and full participation of all East Siders, safeguarding and securing community-based programming and resources that include effective healthcare, access to fresh and affordable food, safe transportation, investing in youth and adult diversion, mental health advocacy, cultural competency, and more are the steps I will take to accomplish dignifiable living.
What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in St. Paul?
The biggest challenge facing residents of Saint Paul is the lack of safe and high-quality housing. As I talk to East Siders, I hear story after story of rising rents, displacement, and not enough quality housing options for all the different sorts of families that live on the East Side. We have the opportunity to develop housing in ways that truly meet the needs of East Side residents. For example, The Heights is where 1,000 new housing units will be built in Ward 6. It’ll be a mix of single-family homes, townhomes, row homes, high-density housing at different affordability levels.
How would you characterize the business climate in St. Paul and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in St. Paul?
St. Paul’s local businesses are what keep our city vibrant. At the City, I believe it’s our job to keep licensing and permitting processes simple and consistent. The City can continue building pathways for ownership, specifically for people of color and women. The City can also invest in local entrepreneurs by funding their business dreams, providing them technical assistance, and continuously celebrating the impact they have on our city.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?
So many of the East Side’s public safety challenges come from residents simply not having what they need for stability, security, or dignity. My goal is to prioritize housing justice and economic development while safeguarding and securing community-based programming and resources. I believe policies that meet people’s human needs like having a safe and comfortable home, security at work, and access to community-based resources, allow them to feel safe.
I’m also leading efforts to ensure our East Side business corridors and neighborhoods thrive. I’m passionate about making sure the city is innovative in restoring lighting along business corridors, such as transitioning to solar powered lighting to end theft of copper wiring. I am also working with community members to ensure that the Hayden Heights Library, Hayden Heights Rec Center, and Duluth & Case Rec Center get rebuilt. We need public spaces that are safe, high quality, and abundant in staffing & programming that meets the needs of the community.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
Utilizing neighborhood median income and implementing mixed housing initiatives, I will champion passing a tenant rights ordinance, partner with the Saint Paul Port Authority and Sherman Associates to develop 1,000 housing units with a focus on building deeply affordable housing (30% AMI) at The Heights, and ensure emerging developers and Black, Indigenous, People Of Color (BIPOC) developers aren’t discounted in the creation of new homes across future development sites.
St. Paul candidates only: Do you support the rent stabilization ordinance in its current form? If not, what would you like to change?
I do not support the rent stabilization ordinance in its current form. I would like to see the language of the ordinance shifted to its original form, which is the version thousands of Saint Paul residents approved of and voted on. The original form of the ordinance is the strongest form of protection we can offer renters which I am supportive of.
How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrians/bikes, and drivers alike?
For too long, we have centered cars and their convenience. Improved safety for drivers means improved safety for transit riders, pedestrians, and bikers. People who have chosen alternative modes of transportation need deep investment in safe and accessible infrastructure. We need consistent and convenient public transit, especially on the East Side, where there’s a lack of bus routes. Sidewalks should be accessible for people with mobility devices and strollers, especially in the winter. People will bike more when they feel it is safe to do so. The East Side needs more protected bike lanes. The long-term health of our climate is dependent on more people choosing transit, walking, and biking. We need to make sure other modes of transportation are just as convenient and easy as choosing to drive a car.
What will you do to expand St. Paul’s tax base?
The Heights, a new development in Ward 6 where there will be creation of 1,000 new housing units and many light industrial businesses, will drastically expand our tax base.
Are there any services currently provided by the city that you believe should be cut back or eliminated? Are there new opportunities to share services with other entities?
We have so many opportunities as a city to invest in our residents: municipal shoveling, maintaining and plowing alleys, stronger wage protection and enforcement, and creating more opportunities for our youth to thrive.