Ann Johnson Stewart is a civil engineer who has worked with townships, cities, counties, and the state on multiple publicly-funded projects. Her experience gives her an informed perspective on collaboration in government. For more than 20 years, she has taught at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and local technical colleges, helping to train and advance the careers of maintenance workers, engineers, tradespeople, and managers.
Inspired to run to change a Minnesota Senate stonewalling the most important issues facing Minnesotans, Johnson Stewart is championing locally-produced clean energy, increased funding for schools, making health care accessible and affordable for all, and improving public transit.
Ann Johnson Stewart on electrification:
“The state can be effective in expanding rebates and incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles and appliances, and the deposition of gas and oil-powered ones. MnDOT can work with cities, counties, and private businesses to expand the network of charging stations across Minnesota.
“We can also incentivize new housing developments to be electric with credits and incentives. Colorado adopted the first-ever state building code requiring single-family homes and low-rise buildings to be more efficient and to install rooftop solar panels, which, in combination with efficiency measures like insulation and better windows, ensure that all new single-family homes and low-rise apartments will use net-zero electricity (Natural Resources Defense Council 2018). Aside from environmental benefits, the code dramatically lowers utility costs in new buildings, improving affordability. However, I would carefully review a proposal like this, as codes and permitting costs are already making first-time home ownership prohibitively expensive for many. I would support the inclusion of credits or rebates with any such program.”
