By: Ryan Wolfe on January 2025
On January 6th of 2025, I had the opportunity to interview Kailez Campbell, a student that attends the University of Minnesota. Her major is philosophy, and she’s studying music for her minor. She got started in political work by being involved in the activism section of politics when she was younger. Campbell received recognition when she testified at her local school board meeting and the House member running in her district noticed her by seeing the video of this testimony. He asked her to go door knocking and to help with his campaign. Campbell then went on to help elect the first woman of color to the Blaine City Council. She was proud of being able to see “someone [who] reflects parts of my identity” in a government office and that opportunity opened the door to more opportunities.
After that, Campbell got to work with the Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL) during the trifecta they held in the Minnesota House, Senate, and Governor’s office. She helped with some of the bills including the “Democracy for the People Act,” “Minnesota State Grant Program,” and some environmental bills. Campbell later led a partnership with MN Teen Activists with the Legal Rights Program at the state capital. She wanted more young people to have a voice when it came to legislative action in the state of Minnesota.
On the day-to-day side of things, Campbell had different tasks when she campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris, and when she worked behind the scenes for the state congress. On the campaign side, she did a lot of door knocking and making phone calls to help promote her candidate. On the office side, she interned for Senator Heather Gustafson (36, DFL) and helped with constituents’ interactions and assisted with the legislative process. Senator Gustafson authored the “Free School Lunch Bill” along with some legislation focused on gun control. It was a “challenging,” yet eye-opening experience for Kailez because she worked in a purple district in Minnesota where there tends to be a variety of liberal, conservative, and moderate views.
Senator Gustafson helped author over 100 bills last session, and Kailez was tasked with writing briefs for each of these bills. A lot of those bills would eventually be revised then edited in committee before making it to the floor of the House and Senate. It was interesting to Campbell because she got to experience the campaign side of politics, but also the legislative side too. She saw the campaign promises come to life as she worked on the bill process and experienced the bills come to fruition. Being in that purple district, it was a learning experience for Campbell as she listened to issues pertaining to more rural areas compared to the issues she heard in urban areas. It was tough to navigate at first, but it helped her see the whole spectrum of problems from the cities to farms across the state.
Kailez has met a lot of high-ranking officials during her time on the campaign trail and in her internship, but the most meaningful “interactions were actually with constituents.” She was able to see, firsthand, people testifying over prominent issues in our state including the SRO bill (School Resource Officers) and a family discussing the death of their daughter due to cancer because of toxic chemicals relating to PFAs, also known as forever chemicals. She enjoyed the sense of purpose that comes with working with the legislature because she knows that what she’s doing is having an impact for the citizens of our state.
Campbell is grateful that she can serve her community as she changes lives for the better, whether it’s on the legislative or activist side. She says that helping others is important to her because she wants what’s best for everyone. Her future goals in government include running for office someday, but she would like to attend law school first to become a civil rights attorney. This goal stems from volunteering for the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Community as a grievance officer. She has also attended a police use of force class that put her future path in one direction, and with that, she hopes to work on prison reform in the future. Campbell is unsure about a particular office position at the moment, but she wants to exemplify the point that people can still have an impact by “testifying before a school board meeting or congress,” and that there are several other ways to have a voice.
I went on to ask about the collaborative process among the DFL, and their cooperation with the Republicans of Minnesota. Campbell mentioned that the last session was “kind of chaotic,” but that they managed to get some bipartisan bills passed. She has worked on the Senate and House floors so she’s aware of the entire process when it comes to creating a bill. It must go through a lot of negotiations and committees before it makes it to a vote. The more “controversial” bills can take days on end to get through debate before it gets a vote, and that happened last legislative session with the bonding bill being passed at the last minute.
Kailez Campbell is a Native American woman and identifies with the Anishinaabe tribe. I asked if she looks up to Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan since she is a Native (Ojibwe) woman as well. Campbell remarks that they’re “from the same reservation” and there is a strong personal connection with that alone. Campbell notes how “Flanagan helped pave the way for many other women of color including herself” to get into politics. Lt. Governor Flanagan is the highest-ranking Native person in the country, and with that representation, it could inspire many other women of color to strive for their goals and dreams. She explains that Flanagan took her under her wing and helped her fundraise as a national delegate at the Democratic National Convention.
A pivotal moment for Campbell regarding Lt. Governor Flanagan is how she called out the art that glorified colonization inside the Minnesota capitol building, and she covered them up with Native art instead. We must be weary of our history and how certain ideas and concepts can be racist and offensive to particular groups, so calling out the art was just one piece to the larger puzzle. Flanagan can be seen as an inspiring figure for many (Natives Americans, women, and others alike), and because she started out as an organizer in college like Campbell did, it feels close and personal when it comes to the Lt. Governor and her impact on Campbell and her fledgling career.
Lt. Governor Flanagan has bridged the gap between tribal communities and government officials in our state. Education is a top priority and learning the history of Native communities is essential in reconciling one group with another. Education is the only avenue to change the world, Campbell mentions the many routes that can come with change including helping with bills, testifying, music projects that connect to social justice, and art can just be a few select ways to change the community for the better.
Campbell’s concluding thoughts came with some advice for younger people who want to get involved with government or change in general. She explains how conversations with younger folks at the capital were the “best parts of the day” and how they would try to draft bills that could help each of the young people they talked to. She also believes that there “should be more resources for young people getting involved” just like how she had an avenue to get involved relating to the House candidate mentioned earlier. “Young people deserve to have a seat at the table,” and that can come in many ways across the spectrum of involvement. The process should be much easier for everyone and anyone to get the opportunity to make the world a better place.
Ms. Campbell’s route into government is just one example of how someone can create change no matter the circumstances one is given. Her dedication to change can be quite admired by people of different backgrounds. I’m thankful for the opportunity to interview her on some of the work she has done for the Minnesota government and I’m excited to see what she has in store for the future.