Winona Yang

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Winona Yang

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Johnson High School

Bachelor's

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Contact

Campaign website

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Winona Yang ran for election for the Position 29 judge of the Minnesota Second Judicial District. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Yang completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Winona Yang earned a high school diploma from Johnson High School and a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Ramsey County, Minnesota (2024)

General election

General election for Minnesota 2nd District Court Position 29

Incumbent Timothy Mulrooney defeated Winona Yang in the general election for Minnesota 2nd District Court Position 29 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Timothy Mulrooney (Nonpartisan)	59.1	109,308
		Winona Yang (Nonpartisan)	40.4	74,738
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	763

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 184,809
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Timothy Mulrooney and Winona Yang advanced from the primary for Minnesota 2nd District Court Position 29.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Yang in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released September 30, 2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Winona Yang completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Yang's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a first-generation attorney, a mother, a longtime community organizer, a published legal author, an adjunct professor, and a daughter of refugees. Within Ramsey, I have lived in Frogtown, Mounds View, and the East Side of Saint Paul, where I still live with my husband and our two children.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• A large key message of this campaign is the effort to bring the judiciary to the community. I believe in a justice system where judges are a part of our communities, not just our courtrooms. They must be civically engaged. Yet, the majority of voters do not know who their judges are, even though judges are our local elected officials. Here in Ramsey, the most diverse and densest county in Minnesota, our judiciary must reflect the values and lived experiences of our residents. The administration of justice itself is a public service, and we need to reimagine it as such.
• We need to build trust in our justice system. When people do not trust our justice system, people do not use it. This can look like victims not reporting sexual assault or harassment, gun violence, or youth delinquency. As a second-generation Hmong American daughter, my first glance at jurisprudence occurred at home. The clearest memory of it was when my young cousin and her mother knocked on my family's door late one night. My grandparents were clan leaders, and instead of calling 911, they came to our doorstep seeking help. An extended relative sexually assaulted my cousin. That relative moved out of state, and she was told to move on. This is the reality of far too many. We need to build a justice system we trust in.
• Overcrowded court dockets cause significant delays, resulting in prolonged legal proceedings that may hinder timely justice. All are impacted. In January, the Board authorized $2 million in additional ARPA funds for the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office to address court backlogs and increased complexities in our systems. There is an administrative need for change. Judges must collaborate to adopt effective case management practices, encourage resolutions amongst parties, and streamline processes, ensuring justice is delivered efficiently and fairly.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Youth justice transformation, building a more accessible and equitable judicial system, protection of women and children, preserving families, pardon awareness, and engaging in community outside of the courtroom. As an individual civically engaged over the last fifteen years, I also hope to collaborate closely with other stakeholders and elected leaders to effect change in our public policy.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my mother and father. My mother was born in the jungle en route to Thailand while escaping Laos during the Vietnam War. My father was a boy who swam his family across the Mekong River. He was able to come to this country because his own father, my grandfather, was a Major who gave his life protecting the Boumlong military base, one of the few military bases that was not lost to communists.

My mother gave birth to me in her senior year of high school. Although I grew up in a working class home, both of my parents would obtain their doctoral degrees much later in their 40s. They taught my siblings and me the power of grit, education, and believing in one's self against all odds. I am the first attorney in my family, but my three siblings have also emerged as responsible citizens who are dedicated to service and community. My brother is a Captain in the United States Air Force, my second sister obtained her doctoral degree, and my youngest sister is finishing her third year of law school. As a mother myself, now, I wish to follow the example that my own mother and father have set for me.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

A heart's desire to create a more just society, the ability to work well with others, and a fair mind to rule with accountability under the law balanced with compassion for one's future.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was as a 3M STEP intern at Johnson High School. I held that role for the entirety of the internship in my senior year of high school.

What is your favorite book? Why?

I do not have a favorite book, but I have always enjoyed Sufi poetry because of the depth of language.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

In Minnesota, a judge may serve until they are seventy years old. Attorneys, particularly those with the ability to build coalition, rarely run against sitting judges. A judge may loan his or her campaign committee an unlimited amount of campaign contributions. Unlike other groups of elected officials, a campaign contribution to a judicial campaign committee is $2,500 per person or $5,000 per couple and they are the only class of elected officials marked as "incumbent" on the ballot. Additionally, our appointment processes do not appoint judges based solely off of experience. These little-known powers are largely unique to judicial races.

Furthermore, our judges are local elected officials. Yet, many voters do not flip the ballot to vote for judges. Of those that do, many still vote on a whim. There exists ample room for civic engagement and education.

How would you describe your legal philosophy?

I do not run to prove myself as the best attorney or the sharpest legal mind, but rather, the best public servant. My legal philosophy is simple. I will serve with fairness, impartiality, and heart. I will rely on community engagement to build a more accessible justice system that we collectively can trust in.

Do you believe that empathy is an important quality for a judge?

For most of my life, my father worked at a cereal factory and my mother worked as a social worker and a pre-k teacher assistant. As a refugee family, we received social services and relied heavily on Catholic Churches. We struggled with housing instability, and I remember growing up on the East Side studying in a flooded basement.

Yet, my parents raised me to value education as the key to my own independence. I pursued law school as a path to further build my passion for public service. It was not an easy road. As a law student, I also found myself a mother. I had two children in law school. I raised them on medical assistance, Women and Infant Care, and in a rental unit on the East Side.

These are the lived experiences of so many in Ramsey County. These experiences cannot be taught or learned, they are lived through. I strongly believe that those difficult moments will continue to greatly shape my ability to have empathy and compassion for all, particularly in our justice system, where a large majority of those in our courtrooms also experience housing instability, broken families, poverty, mental health issues, and more.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for a judge to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe it's beneficial for a judge to have previous experiences in public service and engaged with residents. For myself, as the principal assistant to a Ramsey County commissioner, I've worked directly with residents in need of housing, medical assistance, transportation, food, heat, and other social services. When we have experience working hand in hand with community to solve problems collectively, we are better positioned to make decisions that contribute to the greater whole of our society.

What is your primary concern about today's legal system in your state?

Many people, particularly our low-income communities and our communities of color, do not have full access or trust in our justice system. When people do not trust in it, we may resort to alternative forms of justice. This can perpetuate harm, both instantaneous and generational. In Minnesota, we have the power to take greater involvement in our judiciary. We can challenge the status quo to create a more equitable bench, building a legal system that we are comfortable relying on.

Do you believe that Bar Association ratings are an accurate reflection of a judge’s ability?

No.

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Minnesota 2nd District Court Position 29

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Footnotes

Minnesota courts

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Federal courts:

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Minnesota • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Minnesota

State courts:

Minnesota Supreme Court • Minnesota Court of Appeals • Minnesota District Courts • Minnesota Problem-Solving Courts • Minnesota Tax Court • Minnesota Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals

State resources:

Courts in Minnesota • Minnesota judicial elections • Judicial selection in Minnesota