Who is Kobey?

Growing up, Kobey was one of 8 children in a blended family. Her mother, a homemaker, and her dad, a small business owner. Kobey’s family was rooted in tradition — family dinners at the table every night, attending the Fourth of July parade in Walker, Minnesota, reminiscing old memories at their family reunion, and attending Mass on Christmas, Ash Wednesday, and Easter. Public service is a value she’s always been committed to. In high school, she led her Interact Club, a subsidiary of Rotary International; she organized volunteers for projects around the Leech Lake community. In college, Kobey served as a resident assistant, helping students navigate personal and interpersonal conflict along with navigating the higher education system (many of them first generation students). In the summer before her senior year of college, she participated in the Public Policy and International Affairs - Junior Summer Institute (PPIA JSI). This 7-week program prepared her to pursue further education in the realm of public policy and public affairs. During her senior year of college, she served on the Hamline Midway Coalition board of directors, an organization that gathers community voices to inform the city of St. Paul’s policies. 

She attended the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota on a full-tuition scholarship, and she graduated with a Master of Public Policy degree in 2022. She was equipped to understand the science behind public policy, and Kobey worked on projects ranging from:

Studying perceptions of civic engagement.

Studying wayfinding in downtown St. Paul by analyzing signage ordinances in St Paul’s zoning code

Best practices in other states for dual enrollment education opportunities, and

Interning with the City of Walker, MN.

By the end of graduate school, she had been in school for 17 years straight (not including pre-school), and was ready to put her skills and education to use.

Kobey’s first job post-graduation, was with Minnesota Senator Jim Abeler serving as his Committee Legislative Assistant on the Human Services Reform Committee. It was there that she learned how crucial and hidden disability services are, with nursing homes and group homes in a closure crisis. Kobey left the republican party in 2022 after realizing that the party’s values do not truly align with her own and refused to campaign for them. After being laid off from the Minnesota Senate after the 2022 election, she found a job with a disability services company in their administrative support department after 9 months of unemployment. It took three months for her to realize that there is no financial or job security. It was particularly disappointing to see direct support professionals making $12-$13 per hour while some directors made around $100k/year. Kobey left that job and landed at AVEDA, a national beauty brand, working her way up from a keyholder to an assistant store manager where she works currently. One of Kobey’s latest vocations is creating and organizing community in the Twin Cities trans community. Living in a trans refuge state, she has worked with community organizations to connect transplants to local resources.

Kobey started this campaign because she, and many others of the working class, are tired of not receiving the help they are promised by their elected leaders. Kobey represents the working class because she lives the working-class life. She doesn’t have wealth, political access, or connections to fall back on. Kobey is standing up for the Minnesotans who are tired of being let down by their elected leaders, and she is standing up for working class Minnesotans despite the millions of dollars in the political establishment machine. Kobey is running not as a politician, she is running as a public servant.