The Issues
Taxes
Minnesota currently ranks in the bottom ten for individual, corporate, and unemployment taxes. I support comprehensive tax reform and looking at other ways to lower taxes including:
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Broadening the income base
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Permanent revenue streams
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Lowering tax rates
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Eliminating waste and fraud
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Monetizing assets
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Leveraging public-private partnerships
Housing
Crow Wing County is 4,800 homes short and thousands more across the district. The lack of housing affects our economy, labor force, and education. Research has shown that children with housing insecurity are more likely to have fair to poor health, developmental delays, lower test scores, lower graduation rates, and a variety of other preventable outcomes leading to lifelong negative impacts on quality of life. Therefore, I support:
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Permitting reform,
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Incentivizing and streamlining development
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Modifying current housing program requirements for rural Minnesota
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Working alongside counties and municipalities to reduce local restrictions
Childcare
Childcare costs continue to rise with limited access to childcare centers across rural MN. Working parents with children know this all too well. I will continue to support local and state incentives to increase access and decrease costs. Special child care licensing has seen many successes around the state, and I support all efforts to support those efforts locally.
Education
As a continuation of my legislation efforts over the last decade, I will advocate for teachers and parents to give our kids the very best. Teachers and schools deserve resources and support from state governments to provide quality education to our district’s children. Parents and local community leaders need to be adequately communicated with to have involvement in their local schools and a seat at the table when it comes to their child’s education. Two recent bills I have supported include:
SF 4553- Allowing public schools to utilize long-term revenue maintenance for energy efficiency upgrades.
SF 4995- provides seasonal tax base replacement aid to school districts like Pequot Lakes and Crosby, where our operating levy increase is more than double on full-time residents because the seasonal tax base is excluded.
Small Business
As a member of the Government Affairs Committee, through the Brainerd Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce for the past three years, I’ve spent time at the capital and in D.C. lobbying for small businesses, permitting reform, and working on legislation that affects businesses across Minnesota.
Bipartisanship
I have spent over ten years working on bipartisan legislation and leveraging relationships across the aisle to make positive change for Minnesotans. I believe we need elected officials willing to represent everyone in their district, not just the party.
Healthcare
We need bipartisan support to address healthcare issues we face in Minnesota, which includes prioritizing prevention care, greater access to healthcare in rural MN, supporting Direct Primary Care, lowering prescription drug prices, expanding EMS services, funding and incentivizing senior care living centers, providing more options for seniors to get to and from appointments, and support outcome based insurance treatments.
Mental Health
I support all efforts to expand mental health resources.
Veterans
I support expanding VA services and benefits.
Pro-Mining
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Pro-Life
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