WRITE-IN CANDIDATE · General Election Tuesday, November 3, 2026 See how to write in →
Tzianeng Vang Minnesota Senate District 44

Priorities

Let us reinvest, restore and reconnect our urban natural resources

Five priorities for Senate District 44 — each one with the problem as it stands today, what I will do about it, and what you get out of it.

Priority 01

Clean, safe, accessible water for every neighborhood

Our ponds, lakes, rivers and creeks are the wealth this district already owns. They should be cleaned, safe, and open to everyone — not only to those who can drive somewhere else.

The problem

Urban waters carry the cost of everything upstream: runoff, litter, invasive species, aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance. Access points, shorelines and trails get repaired last, and the neighborhoods closest to the water are often the ones least able to use it safely.

What I will do

Work with every level of government — city, county, watershed district, state and federal — and with foundations, grassroots groups and nonprofits, so that cleaning and maintaining our waters is funded on a schedule instead of after a crisis. Reconnect the chain of lakes so a canoe can travel from Little Canada and North Saint Paul through Maplewood to the Mississippi.

What residents get

Water you can paddle, fish and swim in. Shorelines and trails that are maintained. A recreational corridor in the middle of a metro area — and the property values, small businesses and public health that come with it.

  • Savage Lake — Little Canada
  • Long Lake — Pine Springs
  • Silver Lake — North Saint Paul
  • Lake Kohlman
  • Gervais Lake
  • Spooner Lake
  • Round Lake
  • Phalen Lake
  • Phalen Creek
  • Swede Hollow
  • Wakan Tipi
  • Or via Tanners Lake
  • Battle Creek Lake
  • Mississippi River

Priority 02

Siesta Minnesota — paid rest for the people who care for us

Minnesotans and our natural environment can only be well taken care of if the caretakers themselves are taken care of.

The problem

Caretakers — family caregivers, personal care assistants, nursing and group home staff, childcare workers — work long shifts with no real rest built into the day. Burnout drives good people out of the work, and the shortage lands on the families who need them most.

What I will do

Initiate the Siesta Minnesota program: up to two hours of mandatory paid rest time for caretakers, and tax incentives extended to other lines of work and to volunteer capacities that adopt it.

What residents get

Safer care and fewer mistakes made by exhausted workers. A workforce that stays. Employers rewarded rather than punished for treating people well — and Minnesotans with enough energy left over to actually enjoy the parks we are restoring.

Priority 03

Year-round ice in Senate District 44

We are the hockey state, home to famous hockey figures in Minnesota. There is no reason we cannot skate — or at least glide freely — all twelve months.

The problem

Outdoor ice arrives late, melts early and is getting less reliable every winter. Indoor ice time is scarce and expensive, which quietly turns a state tradition into a sport for families who can afford the fees and the drive.

What I will do

Initiate a year-round ice rink in Senate District 44, honoring Minnesota’s hockey history and the legacy of a famous hockey figure in Minnesota — built as public recreation, with open skate hours that ordinary families can reach and afford.

What residents get

Somewhere for young people to go every day of the year. Ice time that is not rationed by income. A facility in District 44 that draws tournaments, visitors and business.

Priority 04

Decongest I-94, Highway 35E and Highway 52

Residents of this district should be able to cross town for business or for leisure without losing the evening to a merge.

The problem

Traffic on all three highways is forced to merge through the I-94/35E interchange, including drivers who never intended to stop in downtown Saint Paul. The result is a daily bottleneck that delays commuters, freight, emergency vehicles and anyone simply trying to visit family across the district.

What I will do

Pursue the construction of an overpass so traffic from Highway 52 can bypass the I-94/35E intersection, letting flow on all three highways continue to the suburbs without merging for drivers who do not need a downtown exit.

What residents get

Shorter, more predictable trips. Less idling and less exhaust settling over the same neighborhoods and lakes we are working to clean. Better access to jobs and customers across the metro.

Priority 05

The Boundary Waters, and fire prevention statewide

Once the urban work is under way, the same standard of care goes to the rest of Minnesota.

The problem

Minnesota’s greatest natural inheritance — above all the Boundary Waters — faces mounting pressure, and our wildfire seasons keep arriving earlier and burning harder. Too much of the budget goes to fighting fires that better preparation could have kept small.

What I will do

Extend the restoration work to natural resources throughout Minnesota, with the Boundary Waters as a priority, and initiate and implement fire prevention work — not only fire response.

What residents get

Cleaner air in the metro during fire season. Lower long-term costs for the state. A wilderness that our grandchildren inherit in better condition than we found it.

Agree with this list?

Then the only thing left is the hard part: getting my name written in by hand, one voter at a time.

How to write me in Help the campaign