State Rep. Phyllis Kahn: I've always served my entire district, and always will

The Star Tribune Editorial Board seems to think I haven't done anything in the Minnesota Legislature since the 1970s. Its recent endorsement of Mohamud Noor also implies that the Cedar-Riverside area is more important than the other neighborhoods in District 60B and that I have done little to help Somali communities.

My record of accomplishments says the board is wrong on all counts. I have been as active and effective in this decade as I've ever been, and I have taken a balanced approach to helping all of the neighborhoods in the district. It is the Editorial Board, not me, that is out of touch with the issues facing District 60B.

Empowering the Somali community and improving services has been a top priority for me. When Minneapolis was going through its last redistricting, I was the first elected official to call for a City Council ward that centered on our Somali community. And when the political liberal elite in Minneapolis wanted to protect the City Hall status quo, I helped Abdi Warsame get elected.

Cedar-Riverside has a large population of youth and young adults that is extremely underserved. That is why I authored bills to expand the Brian Coyle Community Center recreation center. I also successfully fought to get a state job opportunity center located and funded in Cedar-Riverside; it is in the current tax bill.

When other Minneapolis legislators, and my opponents, were silent on or even supported bad legislation that would have put our Somali-American day care providers and interpreters out of business, I went into battle for my constituents and killed those bills. Because of my seniority, I was effective — and I will be more effective for Cedar-Riverside than will any freshman legislator.

But helping Cedar-Riverside has not been my only priority in District 60B. It is disturbing how the Editorial Board dismisses Prospect Park, East River Road, Seward, Marcy-Holmes, Como, Dinkytown, the University of Minnesota campus and Nicollet Island/East Bank. Just as I have fought for Cedar-Riverside, I have been a ferocious advocate for each of these other neighborhoods.

I have been the most outspoken elected official supporting the Defend Glendale organization in Prospect Park as it fights rapacious developers who would take affordable homes. I am fighting for better rail safety regulations to help Como residents and moved a university hazardous waste site out of the neighborhood. I've lead the way for dedicated bike lanes in Seward and fought for sound barriers to protect all neighborhoods from freeway noise.

One of the most attractive features of District 60B is the Mississippi riverfront. I personally have secured more than $40 million in funding to save and redevelop the central riverfront. I worked to save and revitalize the Stone Arch Bridge, and the riverfront revitalization has rejuvenated the entire downtown. While many other new political faces would have the public believe they had something to do with that, the reality is that riverfront revitalization began years ago when I was there convincing the state to reclaim the river from polluters and for the public.

District 60B also includes the U campus. The legislator from District 60B has a special responsibility to the institution, the faculty and its students. I believe I have carried out that responsibility well. We froze tuition, increased funding and made the university more transparent. I also have strong ties as I continue to serve on two university committees.

My re-election campaign is based on supporting a $15-an-hour minimum wage; more financial support for and a tuition freeze at the university and all colleges; stronger environmental regulations on polluters; protecting bees and other pollinators; paid family leave and earned sick time; help for working families, and a tax system that requires the wealthy to pay their fair share. We need to expand on what we've done this year to address racial disparities and glaring criminal justice and policing issues.

Representing a district as diverse as 60B takes lots of thought, expertise, energy and effort. By focusing on just one neighborhood, however important it is, the Star Tribune Editorial Board suggests that the rest of District 60B doesn't matter. My responsibility is to every neighborhood and every resident, and that's exactly how I have done the job my constituents have entrusted me to do. And that's exactly how I will continue to operate if the good people of the district give me the privilege of representing them once more.

Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, is a member of the Minnesota House.

A Somali-language version of this article can be read here.