Sen. Zaynab Mohamed represents Senate District 63, which includes Tangletown, Windom, Kenny, and parts of Armatage in Southwest, as well as communities around Nokomis, Longfellow, and Powderhorn.

Dear Neighbors,

My first biennium as senator for District 63 has come to a close. It has been a fantastic experience to hear your concerns and take them to our Senate committees. With our DFL majority, we ended the partisan gridlock holding up decades of progress in our State and passed some of the most progressive and productive legislation in modern history. Here are a few highlights of our work.

The overturning of abortion rights by the U.S. Supreme Court has left Minnesotans reeling. Our majority is steadfast in upholding your fundamental rights and doing all we can to protect access to this vital healthcare. As such, the very first bill we introduced was the Protect Reproductive Options Act. This law provides every Minnesotan a fundamental right to make individual decisions about reproductive healthcare, including pregnancy, contraception, abortion, and more. Further, the law prevents politicians from interfering with a person's fundamental right to make their own reproductive health care decisions. I will continue to stand for your right to healthcare, free from political interference.

The Senate DFL has continued to focus on fundamental rights by passing the Democracy for the People Act. This legislation strengthens our democracy by implementing many pro-democracy programs like automatic voter registration, making it easier for eligible voters to register.

Like many of you, I am concerned with our district's lack of affordable housing. In 2023, we invested $1 billion in new housing construction—the most significant single investment ever from the state to construct new housing in Minnesota. This investment will build thousands of units of workforce and affordable housing throughout the state. I followed up that work by leading a $10 million investment into the Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program. This is Minnesota’s main statewide program for homelessness prevention and has a track record of keeping our neighbors housed.

Thirty percent of Minnesotans are renters, including myself. Over 500,000 Minnesotans pay more than 30% of their income towards rent. This overburdens family budgets, making our neighbors choose between rent, food, utilities, and other basic needs. In 2023, I was proud to lead an ongoing investment of over $100 million every two years for a new statewide rental assistance program. This strategy is critical to combat the housing crisis, especially during a time when family homelessness is at a record high.

I was proud to continue my work on tenant rights this session. I led the tenants' rights bill, which included rights to organize and start tenant associations, protections for survivors of domestic violence in eviction cases, and remedies for cases where rental units are not ready by the agreed move-in date, as we saw at Identity Dinkytown.

In 2023, I passed Drivers Licenses for All, ensuring our undocumented neighbors can access driver’s licenses and fully participate in our communities. Since then, we have seen an increase in non-English written tests of more than 46,000 compared to the same time last year. Our State continues to uphold dignity and humanity for all.

During this session, I was part of the negotiations to increase rideshare drivers' wages. Many of you contacted my office, and I knew we must address this vital service for our city. With the drivers, Uber, Lyft, City Council members, legislators, and Governor Walz at the table, we were able to craft the most progressive rideshare legislation in the nation. We ensure drivers are paid fairly, have insurance that covers their needs, and require a transparent deactivation policy. Bringing people together for progress is a significant part of my legislative work. I’m proud of this win-win for fair wages and continued rideshare service in Minnesota.

Lastly, I am proud of our work around the minimum wage this year. While I continue to fight for $15, we were able to eliminate many of the sub-minimum wage rates that were legal in Minnesota. While our city's local minimum wage ordinance protects most of us, many in our district work outside of our city and outside of those protections. Raising the minimum wage is one way to fight rising wealth inequality and ensure our communities can thrive.

With our part-time legislature, I am getting back into the swing of life as a Minneapolitan. Please contact my Senate office if you would like to speak with me. It is an honor to represent you in the Minnesota Senate, and I hope to see you all at community events to discuss priorities for the 2025 legislative session.

-Sen. Zaynab Mohamed

Sen. Mohamed was elected in 2022, one of the first three Black women elected to the Minnesota Senate. She is the first hijabi and youngest woman ever elected to the Minnesota Senate.