Candidate for Minnesota State Senate - District 38 in 2020 Minnesota General Election.
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Get StartedWhile Minnesota’s small businesses and entrepreneurs drive our economy forward, it has never been more challenging for innovators to get ahead. The Great Recession wiped out nearly 6,400 small businesses in Minnesota and the number of small firms in the state remains well below pre-recession levels. In addition to our Main Streets being less full, fewer new businesses are forming in Minnesota than at any time in the past four decades. Learn more
We must also do more to make sure we are investing in early childhood education, which economic research has shown is one of our most effective economic development investments. It is also time that we work to lower the costs of higher education from our two-year community colleges to four-year univerisities so we don't saddle future generations with massive debts. Learn more
I will work to prioritize funding for our local schools, including increasing equalization aid so that districts with lower tax base such as Centennial do not have to saddle residents with high property taxes. I will also work to strengthen and encourage programs like Career Pathways at White Bear Lake and other Career and Technical Education programs that can help build the workforce of the future. Learn more
In the Senate I will work to ensure that when bad actors recklessly violate Minnesota’s environmental and public health regulations our state agencies hold them accountable. I will also advocate for reinstatement of the citizens advisory board that could provide the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency with important grassroots feedback. Minnesota must also act to ensure we are positioned as a leader in the clean energy economy of the future. Learn more
From White Bear Lake to the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes, Senate District 38 is blessed with incredible natural amenities that make our communities amazing places to live and help drive economic development. Protecting our environment is critical, but between reports of Minnesota's impaired waterways along with the recent problems in White Bear Township concering Water Gremlin, it is clear Minnesota can do much more to ensure clean air and clean water for current and future generations. Learn more
Reign in the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs by utilizing the negotiating power of the state’s healthcare programs to drive down costs, put protections in place to prevent price-gouging, guarantee access to life-saving medications such as insulin, and curb the power of pharmacy benefit managers. Learn more
Pursue the use of an "all-payer" model and global budgeting to reduce costs. Such a system will bring together healthcare stakeholders including providers, hospitals, insurance companies and patient advocates to establish uniform pricing. In Maryland this system has eliminated costly billing bureaucracy, driven down hospital prices, and saved taxpayers billions. Global budgeting can further contain costs by eliminating the fee-for-purchase model and incentivize quality of care over quantity of care. Learn more
Protect the state's Medicaid program from unnecessary cuts. Nearly 75% of Medicaid costs are from providing needed coverage to seniors and those with disabilities. Learn more
Allow all residents to purchase into the MinnesotaCare program, which is a fiscally prudent way of expanding access and creating competition in the individual market. Learn more
Making investments in our infrastructure not only entails making sure we are maintaining our roads and bridges, but investments in public transit and bicycling, which can spur economic development, enhance quality of life, and make mobility optioins available to underserved populations. Learn more
Having spent my career working to create a fairer tax code, I know as well as anyone how broken it is. I will continue that work in the Senate by fighting to eliminate special interest tax breaks that distort markets and cost taxpayers millions every year. Learn more
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