Samantha Pree-Stinson - Minneapolis BET Vice President

06/18/2025

I inquired about our previous process of requiring that people who show up to give public comment put their address on paper and state it for the record.

The only thing required is the name. We ask for ward or neighborhood but it is not mandatory.

I wanted to make sure that after what happened last weekend, we do everything we can to protect everyone equally whether a neighbor or constituent.

I will inquire if future data requests will omit names.

06/18/2025

This is fantastic news and I look forward to partnering with him on our continued investment for public housing.

Earlier today, the Minneapolis City Council approved Mayor Jacob Frey’s appointment of former Councilmember Kevin Reich as the Chair of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners.

Kevin is a long-time community leader with decades of experience in economic development, public infrastructure investment, and sustainable land use and environmental practices. Kevin currently serves as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO), where he oversees daily operations and leads initiatives aimed at promoting stewardship of the watershed through capital projects, education, and outreach.

Prior to MWMO, Kevin represented the City of Minneapolis Government' First Ward on the City Council from 2010 to 2021, where he served as Chair of the Transportation and Public Works Committee from 2014 to 2021. As chair, Kevin led the council’s work to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in public works projects across the city every year. During his time on City Council, Kevin helped shape Minneapolis’ built environment through contributions to the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan, the Transportation Action Plan, and the Complete Streets Policy.

Kevin Reich replaces Tom Hoch, who was appointed Chair in May 2022 and has been serving in an interim capacity since January 1, 2025. Read more about the newly approved appointment: bit.ly/MPHABoardChair2025

06/14/2025

This should never be the case.

Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark—assassinated.

Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette—targets of a planned assassination attempt.

And now we know: there was a hit list. A list of names. People. Loved ones. Public servants. Families.

This isn’t just politics anymore—this is terror. This is domestic terrorism. And it should rattle us to the core.

To their families—my heart aches.
To those whose names were found on that list—I’m holding you close in thought and prayer. This trauma will ripple, and I pray you are wrapped in protection, love, and care.

This should never be the cost of public service.

When elected leaders recklessly stir up hate—when they feed fear and sharpen division for clicks, clout, or control—they open the door for violence. And this—this—is what walks through it.

We must call this what it is: cowardice. Hatred. There is no neutral here. There is no excuse.

And to our communities—especially those of us who keep showing up, organizing, testifying, speaking truth, caring for each other—I see you. I love you. Please take a moment to breathe.

Because I’m not going to pretend I’m not scared.
I am a mother. I am a soldier. I am a public servant.
But more than anything, I am human.

Fear is real. But it cannot consume us.

The best way to honor the lives of those lost is to stand fully in our humanity—our love, our compassion, and our care for one another. Not just in words, but in how we protect each other, how we hold space, how we fight for a world where this is not what we pass down.

We cannot let hate win.
Not on our watch.

06/12/2025

They are targeting our people. Elected officials, community leaders, neighbors.

Senator Padilla is just the latest example. Isa Lopez, one of our own MN constituents. The mayor in Newark, New Jersey- Ras Baraka.

People who dare to stand with and for their communities are being harassed, assaulted, jailed, and crucified in the media for doing exactly what they were elected to do: represent the people. Show up. Speak truth. Refuse to look away.

We need to be very, very clear—this is not politics as usual.

This is coordinated. These are not isolated attacks. Our cities are being used to manufacture trauma for optics and sound bites. These acts are meant to shock, destabilize, and force people into silence. They are using our people as collateral damage to normalize dictatorship. A regime.

And if you’re an elected official at any level and you’re not speaking out, you’re putting the rest of us in danger. Period.

We must be careful about the media we share. We must ask questions, demand answers, and do more than post—we need to show up. At meetings. At council chambers. On the street. And in our votes.

As a veteran, I’ve seen what militarization looks like. I’ve seen what submission by force looks like. And I will not be complicit in it here. This is not what I fought for. This is not the oath I took.

This country—flawed and complex as it is—has a constitution. A legal system that says due process, trial by jury, the presumption of innocence is a right. Not a privilege for the few. A right for all.

I refuse to vote for one decommissioned penny toward walls, fences, or prisons. That’s not what I stand for. And I never will.

We’re not just in a political moment—we’re in a moral reckoning. Choose wisely. Act boldly. Protect each other. Because this moment is going to define us and will define what future our babies even have to inherit if we refuse to act.

I am proud to serve and do the job I was elected to do and represent the people. All people. Period. I will continue to do that with integrity and respect for myself, and those I represent- especially our youth and our elders.

Commissioner Samantha L. Pree-Stinson

VP, Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation

06/12/2025

Great meeting today. I would say the theme is process and coordination.

One process point, is thst we don’t get to vote on specific projects like council but we fo vote on the bonding (loan/pay) for said projects. I reiterated today that I/we do not serve to pencil whip. If a projects cost and impact is of a concern, we can pull it out and vote not to bond it. No one should just say yes because of a process that can be changed that would allow for us to work stronger together not yet existing.

While there were comcessions and financial support for the diseased tree removals, I heard community loud and clear on this topic. I made an amendment today that I withdrew because by not bonding to reimburse the city for dollars ready spent, it wpuld have increased taxes more over 20 years causing more harm.

This is why we need better coordination, process, and flow of infornation between the bodies of government. I will be moving to get our new staffer an approved work plan that includes starting the work of what an equity analysis looks like for the BET. Just because other bodies have it doesn’t mean we do by proximity. It matters and I will be speaking to it at the next meeting on June 25th. I encourage written or in person public comment on June 25th.

You can hear my remarks specifically at the 13:24 mark amd 1:55:00 mark.

We moved a few agenda items to our June 25th meeting because accessibility justice is real and legally we must provide closed captioning. Our closed captioning team could only extend to 630 pm.

This was a really productive and indughtful meeting and I look forward to our next one to solidify a lot of what was said today.

Welcome Ms. Christina Keiderling as our Sr. Financial Advisor. We are grateful to have you in the role.

For more information on this meeting, visit https://lims.minneapolismn.gov. The City of Minneapolis’ YouTube channel is the city’s primary means of sharing l...

01/08/2025

12/18/2024

I condemn the recent acts of hate toward our Jewish and Muslim community. A synagogue was vandalized with a N**i symbol. Threats were made towards Mosques after several bombings, fires, and vandalism. This behavior has been escalating for quite some time.

It is violent, traumatic, and meant to instill fear. This level of violence, hate, and the inability to respect the right to religious freedom is abhorrent and is not welcome here. Period.

Everyone in our community across all intersections deserves a safe community and protection. They deserve opportunity and access to resources so they can thrive.

Those responsible need to be held fully accountable gor their actions. There is no excuse or justification to be made for hate.

This intolerance and false orientation to who deserves to be here and who/what is American is dispicable. History repeats itself, especially when we are taught an altered version.

If there was ever a time to meet each other where we are at, find common threads, and recognize our collective belonging to humanity, it is now.

Start small. Speak to your neighbors, learn about their culture, the land you are on, and the struggle of our beautiful diverse fabric of different cultures that co-exist here. Attend a community meeting or event. Be informed. Educate yourself. Seek answers to that you do not understand. See each other with good eyes.

A community of people that stays together will overcome all obstacles and thrive together. It is the North star we should all look toward.

Community violence exists within many spaces and communities. The impact, harm, and generational trauma runs deep and is very painful.

My role does not make policy but it does make decisions on bonding and setting the max levy. In many ways, we hold a great responsibility in what we invest in our community. It also means we have to look at what we divest from and be intentional to do our part to make sure that the decisions we make are just and restorative. We must speak respectfully to and about our community. We must actively and authentically engage with our community. We must honor our community, their histories, and their struggles. We must make our work accessible to community. We must co-create budgets and policy with community. We are accountable to you.

Bottom line, we have to stand together. This week it was our Jewish and Muslim communities. A few weeks ago it was our labor force. Today it was a tragic Northside accident on Emerson. For decades it has been our Indigenous community and MMIW. For decades it has been our predominantly Black and red lines communities with environmental harms and lack of investment. For decades it has been women with pay parity. For decades it has been our LGBTQIA community. Recently our Palestinian community. Our unhoused have consistently been under threat and attack of being evicted from outside. On the daily, it is gun violence and too many stollen futures from our babies. Sadly, there is no shortage of tragedy and suffering cross culturally and across identities.

We cannot wait until it is us to care. Solidarity is no longer optional, it never was.

I am already seeing divisive reporting alluding to a connecting of the vandalism to Palestinian supporters. I condemn that narrative and framing as well. Let me be abundantly clear that I stand with Palestine and comdemn the human rights violation of genocide. AND, I stand with our Jewish community against anti-semitism.

I wish ease, peace, protection, compassion and strength to all those suffering. I stand with you not just as an elected official but most especially as a fellow neighbor. You are not alone and I am fully committed to do my part . Hate has no place here. Liberty and justice is absolutely for all.

With deep respect and in unwavering commitment,

Commissioner Samantha Pree-Stinson, VP Board of Estimate and Taxation

12/12/2024

I have seen several statements from both Council and Mayor. They are greatly different across the spectrum of ideology and political affiliation.

Last night at BET, I heard very different versions of the same budget.

I have sent a memo asking for
clarification:

The Mayor said last night that reserves will be low but within legal limits. What is the legal lower limit allowable for reserves? What had been the reserve fund balance for the last 4 years?

The mayor stated that there are millions of dollars of unnecessary spending. What are the categories and or specific programs or departments that are being “slashed” as the mayor stated?

What is the exact nature of the slash to encampment response and how much is it? Is the slash in police response to encampments or actual direct support services? The mayor publicly said he was solving homelessness in 5 years. This is year 5 so in relation to slashing funding, I would like general clarification and specific clarification as outlined above.

What basic city services are being cut and define the city definition of basic city service. How much is being cut in each identified category based on the definition?

What is the unsustainable financial future the Mayor mentioned. I would like to see the financial projections as soon as biennium budget info is available. 2 years ago we had a presentation that said 6.5 levy ask for this year. This year we got 8.1%. The council’s new budget is less than 6.5 %. The Mayor stated last night that property tax would be higher next year as a result of the council this year. I would like to see the comparison between the Mayor’s proposed budget if it had passed as written vs this one to see which budget factually costs more overall and see the implications to next years property taxes.

This will allow me to start thinking about my own decision making and be able to speak from a point of fact and not personal feelings when asked about these things.

12/12/2024

After 3 years of work to get a full time staffer that is paid a living wage with benefits, me and my colleagues finally moved to hire with a 5 to 1 vote. Mayor Frey was the only no vote.

I am incredibly fortunate to have been a city staffer that served as a Sr. Policy Advisor and had the institutional knowledge to serve as President without the usual support this body historically was afforded.

I look forward to moving on to the interview phase next year and in our 4th year of service being able to have qualified full time support. Thank you to our city staffer for their work to get us here. Thank you to Abdo Financial Services for making our 1st ever capital audit happen.

For my remarks, you can watch here at the 48 min mark.

As Commissioner Abene stated, “We gave it the old college try”.

We met our previous colleauges and our Mayor where they were to outsource. Today we made a just decision that is in the best interest of this body and the people that we serve.

Commissioner Pree Stinson, VP Board of Estimate and Taxation

For more information on this meeting, visit https://lims.minneapolismn.gov. The City of Minneapolis’ YouTube channel is the city’s primary means of sharing l...

06/01/2024

Congrats to the C/O 2024. Can’t wait to see you change the world. Everything is possible.

05/27/2024

Today is memorial day and I want to honor all of our fallen soldiers but especially those from 10th Mountain Division.

SGT. Wakkuna Jackson was my best friend and team leader. She was god mother to our son Gabe that is graduating this weekend.

I will forever love and honor her.