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Tom Lopac and Bianca Virnig are the two candidates running for Minnesota House District 52B. Our candidate questionnaire covers priorities, local funding, fraud, housing, and more.
- More: See our full voter’s guide for information on other local races.
Race profile: Minnesota representatives are elected to a two-year term. District 52B represents most of Mendota Heights, parts of Eagan, and Mendota.
Who’s running:
- Tom Lopac – GOP – Lopac did not respond to our questionnaire.
- Bianca Virnig – DFL – Incumbent first elected in 2023, Virnig is the owner of Virnig Consulting and a substitute teacher.
Candidate Questions
We asked the candidates a series of six questions and asked them to respond in 250 words or less. The questions cover priorities, local funding, fraud, housing, immigration, and transparency around Flock cameras.
Priorities: What are your two to three top priorities as a statesenator/representative and how will you address those issues and actually accomplish something?
Bianca Virnig: My priorities are strong public schools, accessible healthcare and mental healthcare, and making government work better for Minnesotans. I’ll focus on targeted investments, measurable outcomes, and bipartisan problem-solving. I’ve already worked across party lines to advance local infrastructure, school supports, and improvements to government technology.
The state is facing declining enrollment due to lower birth rates. This will have a real impact on how we fund our schools and serve students. Funding for public education needs to be modernized. We need to look at more flexible funding, address the cuts to special education and the high cost of insurance, and capture more federal dollars through third-party billing. I led the House effort for compensatory aid, a fund transfer for ISD 197, and flexible funding options so schools can fix leaky roofs, but we need to do more.
Minnesota also needs to look at its fire response. Year-round wildfires mean we need to improve community fire resiliency through investments in firewise initiatives, a fire safety council, and stronger post-fire response efforts. We also need to better support our wildland firefighters and emergency managers.
Minnesota can make healthcare more accessible and affordable by investing in more school-based health centers. We also need to ensure that our enterprise-wide technology systems are not failing. This critical IT infrastructure requires serious, long-term investment so we can better serve the people of Minnesota.
Finally, I am working with Eagan Neighbors for Clean Air, Councilmember Supina, and Commissioner Halverson to ensure we have clean air and water.
Local funding: Education funding continues to fall short, and more burdens are being shifted to local counties. What, if anything, will you do to address these local funding gaps and unfunded mandates?
Bianca Virnig: The state needs to fund the commitments it makes and do more to support local governments. I’ll continue advocating for adequate education funding, special education, and predictable funding for counties. There is room for greater efficiency and flexibility, as well as opportunities to capture more federal dollars.
As a former school board member, I know the impact of state mandates. Some are good, some need revision, and over time, some should be sunsetted. It’s important that we continually evaluate our work, from policies to finances. Programs such as Literacy Incentive Aid, PSEO, the Enhanced Asthma Care Services Act, and MAWQCP should be evaluated. Are they working as intended, or do they need to be reformed?
When the state and federal governments don’t adequately fund the work they require, costs shift to local taxpayers. I am thankful to live in a community that has historically supported school referendums and tax increases for libraries, parks, and county services. Unfortunately, this is not sustainable.
Federal policies—including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, tariffs, changes to federal spending, and other economic pressures—can have significant impacts on Minnesota families and local governments. We need to be honest about those impacts and make sure we are not simply shifting costs onto local taxpayers.
I will work hard to advocate for the needs of our community, improve efficiencies, and fight for the people of 52B.
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Fraud: With overwhelming bipartisan support, last session the legislature created an Office of the Inspector General to combat fraud. Is there more the state should be doing to stop fraud?
Bianca Virnig: Creating the Office of the Inspector General is an important step, but we also need modern technology, better data-sharing between agencies, strong internal controls, timely investigations, and meaningful consequences for fraud.
The Office of Grants Management should be required to review grant-management practices, establish and enforce policies and procedures, and require agencies to adhere to those standards.
Fraud is unacceptable, and it often hurts the people who need services and supports the most. It also erodes trust in government. I have worked in private industry and for state and local governments. It is incumbent upon us to be good fiscal stewards of taxpayer dollars. Failing to invest in adequate controls to ensure that programs are administered to the highest standards is not acceptable. Failing IT systems and poor grant administration are not acceptable either.
I have worked on investing in and improving the IT infrastructure necessary to identify suspicious activity earlier while protecting legitimate recipients from unnecessary barriers. I have also proposed legislation based on recommendations from the Office of the Legislative Auditor. Most recently, I was appointed to the Legislative Commission on Human Services Systems to address our outdated IT systems.
Housing: In the last several sessions, various proposals have sought housing reform with the goal of increasing affordable housing with measures that often take away local control. What, if any, housing measures will you support?
Bianca Virnig: I support increasing housing supply and affordability while respecting local communities. I’m open to targeted reforms that remove unnecessary barriers, encourage housing near transit and jobs, expand affordable housing and homeownership opportunities, and provide resources to communities willing to build.
Constituents are concerned that they can’t afford to live in the communities where they grew up, while others are struggling to find housing as they move into the next phase of life. The housing crisis touches communities across the state and there is room for improvement.
Immigration: Minnesota saw significant impacts from the increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations earlier this year, including closed businesses, students missing school, protests, and law enforcement conflicts. What was your reaction and what changes, if any, should the legislature implement to address future conflicts?
Bianca Virnig: I am deeply concerned by the fear and disruption caused by ICE operations in Minnesota. Schools and local governments need clear rules about how to respond to federal immigration enforcement, including warrants and access to public facilities.
Minnesota should protect constitutional rights, keep schools safe and welcoming, and ensure local law enforcement can focus on community safety rather than being pulled into federal immigration enforcement. We should help those most impacted recover from the trauma inflicted on our communities by federal immigration enforcement.
This can include:
- Banning ICE agents from schools, hospitals and health care facilities, child care centers, and youth programs unless they have a judicial warrant.
- Providing flexibility in delivering education and health care services to students and families.
- Funding additional community support in areas deeply impacted by federal immigration enforcement operations.
- Requiring federal agents to be clearly identifiable and distinguishable from local police or National Guard members, and requiring them to transport people in marked vehicles appropriate for the task.
- When federal agents violate the law, seeking appropriate legal remedies and restitution.
Minnesota has a history of supporting our neighbors. We are better because of the diversity of our immigrant communities. I’ve never been more proud to be a Minnesotan.
Transparency: Data privacy is an increasingly important issue with concerns about Flock cameras and sharing data with the federal government. Do you support the continued use of Flock cameras in Minnesota? Why or why not?
Bianca Virnig: I support using technology that helps keep communities safe, but Flock and other automated license-plate readers require much stronger privacy protections. Minnesotans should know who can access their data, how long it is retained, and where it can be shared.
I support legislation that keeps Minnesota data in Minnesota and requires a warrant or judicial process for access beyond legitimate law-enforcement purposes.
Lightning Round
We asked candidates a series of 10 simple questions and asked them to respond briefly in 25 words or less.
1. Do you have a library card? When did you last use it?
- Bianca Virnig: Yes. Last week.
2. Do you support restrictions on data centers?
- Bianca Virnig: Yes. We can have data centers that don’t adversely impact the community and its resources.
3. Have you volunteered in your community in the past year? Where?
- Bianca Virnig: Yes – at local schools and community organizations.
4. Do you support legalizing sports betting?
- Bianca Virnig: No. From a public health perspective, I have deep concerns about sports betting.
5. Have you attended community events in a non-campaign capacity in the past year? Which ones?
- Bianca Virnig: Yes—school events, local festivals and more.
6. Do you support the new state flag?
- Bianca Virnig: Yes. It does a nice job of reflecting Minnesota, with the colors representing the night sky and water and the North Star.
7. What’s your favorite local park?
- Bianca Virnig: Lebanon Hills
8. Do you support partisan gerrymandering?
- Bianca Virnig: No.
9. Who is someone that inspires you?
- Bianca Virnig: My kids. They are fun, quirky, resilient and at times unabashedly unfiltered.
10. Do you support mail-in and early voting and same-day voter registration?
- Bianca Virnig: Yes. Minnesota has made voting secure, accessible, and convenient while maintaining strong election-integrity safeguards.
More Information
See our full local voter’s guide for information on more races and candidates.
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