On the Issues

Education

Educational excellence for Minnesota is my top priority, and requires a continuous investment in our education system. 

Early Childhood

• Children entering Kindergarten must be prepared and ready to learn.  We need to further invest in 0-5 education so that all children enter Kindergarten with the necessary and basic skills to begin learning.  Many children who start behind never catch up. 
• Studies show that investments in early childhood education have a ten-fold payoff in economic return for the state.
• Early childhood funding must be insulated from volatile State cuts.

K-12

• We must secure adequate funding for our public schools so that all children have the opportunity to learn and excel.  The St. Louis Park and Hopkins school districts lost significant funding because of budget cutbacks.  I will continue to fight to increase needed funding for our schools.
• Past budget cuts resulted in teacher layoffs, larger class size, reduced range of classes, and elimination of extra-curricular activities.  These cuts had real-life negative impacts on our students.  I helped to reverse those cuts.
• I support accountability measures to help schools find efficiencies and cost savings.

Higher Education

• A quality education system is the cornerstone of Minnesota’s economic success.  We must invest in our universities and colleges and maintain our nationally known level of excellence as a center of higher learning.   
• College should be affordable in order to allow all students to reach their educational potential.  We must provide more financial aid for families who need it.  
• Businesses in Minnesota and across the nation rely on the high-quality graduates we produce.  An educated workforce promotes our economic versatility, vitality and strength. 

Health Care

• We must provide help for the thousands of Minnesotans who do not have access to basic health insurance by ensuring the availability of quality, affordable health insurance.
• I will work to reinstate health insurance for the tens of thousands of children and families who lost health insurance benefits in recent years.
• I support universal health insurance for children by expanding existing government medical programs to cover all children in Minnesota. 
• Children must have access to immunizations and other basic health care that will allow them to grow and thrive.
• I support a Medicare prescription drug benefit that is easy to use and provides a meaningful drug benefit.  I also would push the Federal government for a waiver to allow prescription drug importation.
• I support legislation to require managed care entities to make public their (now-hidden) criteria for coverage decisions based on “medical necessity.”
• I support legislation to curtail the current use of private medical treatment information in computer databases.

Local Aid and Tax Fairness

• Hopkins and St. Louis Park sustained severe and outrageous cuts in local aid from the Republican legislature.  These shortsighted cuts were far out of proportion to their fair share.  As a result, our cities have had to make deep cuts in basic health and safety services, including in our police and fire departments. 
• The Republicans took an oath to oppose new State taxes, but as a result of the aid cuts, localities have had to increase property taxes to meet their budgets.  I support legislation that will promote a fair tax system for the state and all localities.
• I want government to rely less on unfair property taxes and more on revenue based on ability to pay. 
• I support restoration of limits on property tax increases.

Transportation

• We must make a meaningful investment in our transportation infrastructure.   We need to develop creative ways to integrate roads, buses, rail lines, and bikeways to deal with an increasingly congested, traffic-plagued commute. 
• I have made Highway 100 a top priority.  The recent postponement of the Highway 100 expansion until 2014 is unacceptable. Although the Department of Transportation will construct an interim solution, the permanent solution should come sooner rather than later.
• The Hiawatha Light Rail line is a commendable start.  I support an eventual expansion of the light rail system to the western suburbs, with a possible connection to the airport.  I will work to make sure that the citizens of St. Louis Park and Hopkins will be able to take advantage of new light rail expansions.
• I support transportation transparency.  Citizens have the right to know how, when, and where the Department of Transportation makes decisions about how to spend taxpayer money. 

Environmental Protection

• Over 1,900 different lakes and rivers in Minnesota may now be polluted with mercury, dioxin, PCBs and other pollutants.  When the state has to issue warnings that restrict our children from eating Walleye, it is more than time to take action. 
• I will actively support cleanup and water pollution prevention efforts and will promote enhanced water quality monitoring.
• I support dedicated funding for statewide conservation efforts.  Our outdoor heritage is an important part of our identity as a state. 
• I support adoption of new technologies, for use by industry and agriculture, which would convert waste products into natural fertilizers and clean drinking water.
• Minnesota can do much more to become energy independent.  I support the expansion of ethanol use, as well as a goal of 20% renewable energy production by 2020.    

Supporting Workers and their Families

• Thousands of Minnesota families are struggling to make it on their own and get out of poverty.  These families need and deserve basic support, such as health care and childcare that are essential in their fight for self-sufficiency.  
• I support job training and education for these families and for others who are dislocated or have lost their jobs due to a changing economy. 
• An investment in all workers and their families will help both individuals and the Minnesota economy reach our full potential. 
• I am proud to have voted for the first increase in Minnesota’s minimum wage in eight years. 
• I support the right of workers to organize and to bargain collectively.

Jobs and Economic Development

• I support an economic development agenda that consists foremost of world-class schools, an efficient transportation network, and the empowerment of consumers.
• I believe that government should help businesses to survive and thrive through public/private partnerships and incentives.

Law and Public Safety

• I believe that homeland security starts with strong support for our “first responders” - police and firefighters.
• I support community policing efforts.
• I will work to safeguard and enhance our consumer protection laws.
• I am particularly committed to cracking down on identity theft.  I authored the current Minnesota law which for the first time criminalized the practice of “phishing” – which is the use of fraudulent e-mails to obtain personal financial information

State Budgeting

• Political leaders must show courage and honesty by rejecting budget gimmickry and accounting tricks.
• I will support a balanced approach to state budgeting, and a rejection of irresponsible “no new taxes” pledges.
• We must be willing to try new and creative ways to lower the cost of government without compromising the quality of government services.
  
  

Political Reform

• I voluntarily gave up my own extra pay during the recent legislative “special session.”
• I authored a bill to cut off salary to legislators and the governor in case of a government shutdown.
• I authored campaign finance reform legislation to keep big money out of judicial elections. 
• I support efforts to make our campaign finance system more open and less dependent upon contributions by special interest groups.  
• I want to make voting as easy and accessible as possible.  I oppose efforts to throw obstacles in the way of Minnesotans who simply want to cast a ballot.  
• I believe that the state should allow local governments to experiment with Instant Runoff Voting as a way to strengthen democracy and voter participation.

Social Issues

• I am pro-choice.
• I will not support any change in the State constitution to prevent same-sex couples from marrying.  The proposed amendment is an unnecessary and hopelessly vague distraction.  I spoke out against the measure on the House floor.
• I do not believe that we currently need the death penalty in Minnesota.
• I oppose the so-called “Terry Schiavo” legislation that would second-guess family decisions about end-of-life care for loved ones. 

Leadership

• Being a legislator means more than being an “officeholder.” It means being a community leader.
• A legislator must have the courage to do what he or she thinks is right -- even in the face of opposition and pressure.
• A leader must also have the courage to consider the needs both of his or her constituents and the greater good.