Nikki Villavicencio was sworn in as Maplewood councilor in January. This month, due to the pandemic, she attended her first face-to-face meeting since her election.
MAPLE, Minn. (FOX 9) – She has lobbied the halls of the Minnesota State Capitol for years, and now a top advocate for the disabled is swapping roles as one of the few Minnesota politicians living with a physical disability.
Nikki Villavicencio was sworn in as Maplewood councilor in January. This month, due to the pandemic, she attended her first face-to-face meeting since her election.
Maplewood Councilor stands up as a disability advocate
Maplewood City Councilor Nikki Villavicencio makes her mark as an advocate for the disabled.
“It’s been a challenging transition, but it’s a transition that I really enjoyed,” she said.
For more than a decade, Villavicencio has been known at the Minnesota Capitol as one of the top advocates of disability in the state. Before the pandemic, she and her partner Darrell could be seen in the hallways of the Parliament building several days a week, often with their young daughter in tow.
“I have developed from outside to shouting from inside to speaking from inside,” she said of her transition to becoming a politician.
Not only is she the only member of Maplewood City Council living with a physical disability, she is the only one who does not drive, the only mother of a young child, the only tenant and, to the best of her knowledge, the only one who lives below the poverty line.
“If I create the community for people who look and be who I am, it will work for a lot more people,” she said. “The young mothers, the seniors, the families who don’t have a car.”
Villavicencio says her full-time job continues to be advocacy as the city council is a part-time position. During this term, she helped pass laws that help parents live with disabilities.
At the local level, their focus is broader but still focused on equality.
“It’s the streets, it’s the rubbish, it’s the bumpy road, it’s the ‘Why did you put the parking lot over there and not here’,” “she said. “Before I ran for office, I never thought I would be able to make decisions about where to live – which is really great for me.”
She says she doesn’t know what the future of her political career holds in store, but she’s just happy to be a councilor.
“I could imagine being a member of the city council for a long time, because I really enjoy it and I see how I can make a lasting difference.”
Comments are closed.