Marcus for the Ward 3.

As a city council member, I will prioritize policies that promote affordable housing in Minneapolis. We need to make sure that everyone has access to safe and stable housing. This means supporting the development of affordable housing units and advocating for policies that protect tenants' rights. We also need to work with local organizations and businesses to create sustainable, long-term solutions to our housing crisis.

Marcus will fight for resources to create truly affordable housing by:

• Protecting Tenant’s Rights

• A Thoughtful Exploration of Rent Controls & the relationship between AirBnB and Housing Shortages that drive up rents

• More Deeply Inclusionary Zoning & Mini-Unit Development

The safety and well-being of our community are of utmost importance. As a council member, I will prioritize policies that promote community safety and protect our residents from harm. This includes advocating for and increasing community-based safety measures and investing in programs that prevent crime, reduce community exposure to harm and address the root causes of violence (many of which already have introductions and pilots, but need vast increases like our Behavioral Crisis Response Teams and Violence Intervenors, and promoting new solutions like Harm Reduction Centers).

Every neighborhood's safety and health requires public health resources, trauma support, youth development, and community-led anti-violence efforts. Marcus will partner with communities to transform Minneapolis’s approach to community safety by:

• Increase Funding for our Behavioral Crisis Response Teams and Violence Intervenors

• Aforementioned Housing to end houselessness crisis in MPLS

• Create Harm Reduction Centers throughout the city to reduce harmful exposures, and safeguard against fentanyl and overdose, while providing a pathway out of substance addiction

• Negotiating Consent Decrees with Federal DOJ and MN Dept of Human Rights

• Developing Leverage in Police Contract Negotiations

• Ethnic Community Exposure Trainings and Talks for Cadets and Watch Commanders

I have always held true to the principle that people are people, no matter who they are, no matter who they love, and no matter who they need to be. Each and every person should be loved, honored, and cherished for bringing their unique personage and perspective into the public square. In the current political climate, that is not enough.

We all need to stand tall and act to protect those more vulnerable than ourselves.  Our neighbors in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community need our help.  Our queer and trans friends are under attack in many quarters of the country, and Minneapolis must be a sanctuary for them. I will fight to make it and keep it so, win, lose, or draw.

Minneapolis has a responsibility to lead the way in creating a sustainable future for ourselves and generations to come. As a city council member, I will prioritize policies that promote renewable energy and reduce our carbon footprint. This includes supporting programs that promote energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, as well as advocating for policies that reduce waste and protect our natural resources.

With bold leadership and vision, Minneapolis has the potential to be a worldwide beacon for energy and environmental justice. I will advocate for:

• A Just Transition Fund

• Inclusive Energy Financing

• 3% of Income Cap on Utility Energy Burden

• Solar on Every Minneapolis School

As a proud progressive, a small business owner, and one of the founders and negotiation team members of a workplace union, I know the value of the solidarity between working people.  From entrepreneurs trading services, to cooperative workplaces, to the cornerstone of it all, our unions; I know and will always fight for the rights of workers, the right to collectively bargain, and the ability of working people to gain more power and control over their working conditions and the price of their labor.  

Be it our teachers and nurses fighting to ensure a cleaner future for their students and patients in standing up to close the HERC by 2028, or grocery workers struggling to bargain for living wages and long term benefits, or our municipal enterprise or parks workers fighting against discrimination and retaliation aimed both within and without, I stand with our workers.  They deserve the wages commensurate with their work, making our lives easier, and they deserve the working conditions that would make anyone called to serve others each day feel proud and dignified at work. So, we need to stand with them in their struggle and stand up for their rights to bargain for what they deserve.

I stand for a community that glorifies businesses that treat their workers well enough that they have the economic stability to thrive as members of our community and the positive energy to brighten the days of those they interact with. When the workplace doesn’t cause stress on its workers, it can ease the stress of the community, making every day a better day.

Workers’ Rights and Labor Standards need their watchdogs; we cannot just leave workers to fend for themselves or even rely on those watching from the outskirts to keep an eye on the conditions of our labor standards and the state of our regulations.  I believe that a new Labor Standards Board could be a satisfying solution to many issues facing labor today.  We’ve met ugly stumbling blocks on the road (including our incumbent City Council Member) to a positive version of that vision becoming reality. Still, I intend to promote a re-envisioning of a local Minneapolis Labor Standards Board to ensure that the protections we seek for our workers and the work we do for them have active protectors and advocates without further straining our workforce's voices.

Workers in a business setting facing the shutdown of their workplace should always have the option of purchasing the business from the owner rather than getting laid off.  Our banks/financial institutions should support it (the city should form partnerships with them to ensure it), and our city should do even more to provide technical assistance and even economic support for worker cooperatives that begin in this way.  As a City, we should do more to keep our businesses and workers as pillars of our community, and this means that economic troubles should regularly have more solutions that uplift workers, stabilize neighborhoods, and feed families. I intend to promote those solutions to stem the tides of financial hardship from plants and shops closing down.  I’m for retraining initiatives, wage stabilization efforts, and transition funding.  I helped create and promote such initiatives in energy and environment with the Climate Legacy Initiative and MN Green Bank, to create, maintain, and transition good-paying jobs into the future of Minneapolis. I intend to continue that promise on the City Council in as many scenarios as possible.  If you stand with us as a community and proud union representatives, we’ll make it happen for every worker, every family, and every pillar of our Minneapolis labor community.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. As a council member, I will prioritize policies that support small businesses and promote entrepreneurship in our community. This includes advocating for policies that provide resources and support to small business owners, as well as promoting local economic development.

As a small business owner himself, Marcus will help build Minneapolis’s economic recovery to center local small businesses, their workforce, and the communities they serve. I commit to:

• Equity-Driving Technical and Economic Support of BIPOC-Owned Small Businesses

• Increase Green Cost Share Program with Just Transition Fund Dollars

• Supercharge Co-op Business and Union Shop Promotion and Technical Assistance Programs

Education is the key to unlocking opportunities and achieving success. However, not everyone in our city has equal access to quality education. As a council member, I will work to bridge the achievement gap and provide equal opportunities for all students. This includes supporting programs that provide resources and support to students and teachers, as well as advocating for policies that promote equitable funding for schools in underserved communities.

Minneapolis students, teachers, and families deserve a system that is responsive to their needs and provides the type of support that enables everyone to be successful. I will fight for:

• Solar on Every Minneapolis School

• Developing a Student Advocacy Corp to cement student voices in educational governance

• A Potential Charter Amendment Requiring 1 Teacher for every 20 students per classroom

Our city does not operate in isolation. We need to work with our state and federal partners to achieve our goals and improve our community. As a city council member, I will advocate for policies that promote collaboration and communication between our city and other levels of government. One of my key responsibilities is to build and maintain positive relationships with other levels of government, including state and federal agencies. This is known as intergovernmental relations, and it plays a critical role in ensuring that our city's needs are represented and addressed at all levels of government.

Marcus plans to ensure that Minneapolis has a seat at the table when decisions are made that impact our city by:

• Negotiating a Zero Waste Plans and Closure of the HERC Incinerator

• Working with State and Federal sources for Green Energy and Environmental Infrastructure Upgrades and Food Justice Initiatives

• Expanding IG Staff to include Liaisons to MN Dept. Commerce and AG’s Office

Access to healthy and nutritious food is a basic human right. As a council member, I will prioritize policies that promote food justice and create opportunities for residents to access fresh, locally-grown produce. This includes supporting community gardens and urban agriculture, as well as advocating for policies that promote healthy eating habits and food security. I will advocate in office to:

• Hydroponic, Aeroponic, and Aquaponic growing/farming education, promotion, and technical assistance programs at schools, public facilities, and abandoned sites

• Technical and Economic Support (including free and negotiated use of public [municipal, state, and federal] lands and buildings) for Sustainable Urban Farming Initiatives and Co-ops

• Work with MN DNR to drastically increase (preferably local) Edible Fruiting Plants and Trees strategically planted as Blooming Boulevards and Shade Trees in expanding Green Spaces, especially in Food Deserts (or Food Desert-like conditions) in/near Low-Income Neighborhoods and Communities of Color

Our city's budget is a reflection of our priorities and values. As a council member, I will work to ensure we empower community members to directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. Allowing residents to propose and vote on projects that address community needs and improve quality of life, such as park improvements, road repairs, or after-school programs is a democratic right. Participatory budgeting is designed to increase transparency, accountability, and civic engagement in local government. It also aims to build trust between residents and government officials by giving community members a direct say in how their tax dollars are spent. This includes advocating for investments in affordable housing, education, public transportation, and other critical services that benefit our residents. I will also work to ensure that our budget is transparent and accountable to the people of Minneapolis.

By engaging in a democratic process, community members can ensure that their voices are heard and that their needs are addressed through the allocation of public funds. I will fight for:

• Transparency and Community Inclusion, Outreach and Education about the Year-Round Cycle of Budget Planning and Negotiations

• Promotion and Systemic Involvement of Community Members and Leaders in the Budgeting Process

• Mandatory Requirement of All Council Offices and City Departments to Host Community Inclusion/Outreach Sessions to Discuss and get Community Feedback on Budget Priorities, Issues, and Concerns