Ward 1 has more apartments than any other part of Fridley. We're working families, immigrants, neighbors paying rent every month and watching it go up every year. And right now, the city is too quiet about what renters' rights actually are.

Fridley runs a rental licensing program. That's the council's job, not the state's, and it exists to make sure apartment buildings are safe, working, and decent for the people inside them. But too many renters in Ward 1 don't know the program exists, don't know how to file a complaint about broken heat or mold, and don't know what their landlord legally owes them. Minnesota has real tenant laws too. The right to a livable home. The right to your security deposit back. The right to fight an unfair eviction. None of that matters if you don't know about it.

There's also money on the table. Minnesota has a Renter's Credit worth thousands of dollars that most Ward 1 renters never claim, usually because nobody walked them through it. The state already prints the materials in Somali, Spanish, and Hmong. Free tax-prep sites already operate across Anoka County. HOME Line, a free statewide tenant hotline, even has direct lines in our languages. The help is there. It just isn't reaching our apartment buildings.

On the council, I'll push the city to do real tenant rights outreach in our buildings, in our languages. I'll work to make sure every renter in Ward 1 knows about HOME Line, and the free tax-prep sites already serving Anoka County. And I'll push for stronger enforcement of the rental licensing program so families aren't living with broken heat, mold, or landlords who think they can get away with it because nobody's watching.

Ward 1 needs a council member who actually shows up for renters.