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Senate District 66 News |
| February 2007 |
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by Juanita Lewis, SD 66 DFL Chair
Congratulations on all of your hard work during a wonderful election season. Your hard work was directly responsible for sending Senator Ellen Anderson, Represenative John Lesch, and Representative Alice Hausman back to the legislatures with strong and decisive margins in November’s election. Our district is exceptionally honored to have our state legislators chairing committees and setting a legislative agenda that reflects the values of our district and Minnesota.Because of your commitment to the DFL, we took back the state house, maintained control of the state senate, made Lori Swanson the first female Minnesota Attorney General, took back the offices of Secretary of State and State Auditor, with Mark Ritchie and Rebecca Otto winning those respective elections, elected our amazing new DFL Senator, Amy Klobuchar, and put Democrats firmly in control of Congress.
One example of the extraordinary efforts of our district’s volunteers took place on a weekend in August. The Minnesota DFL coordinated a state-wide door knock on a sticky, hot, and otherwise overwhelming August weekend. Though it was a statewide effort, SD 66’s volunteers, you, were responsible for knocking on nearly 15% of all the doors visited that weekend. Though we are only one of many districts, that weekend demonstrated our district’s commitment to progressive policies and electoral victories, and we should all be proud of our efforts. Everyone who made phone calls, knocked on doors, walked in a parade, and put up lawn signs contributed to our November successes.
However, our momentum cannot stop with November’s election. I urge all of you to get involved in the upcoming Saint Paul City Council and School Board races and please participate in the caucuses and conventions. These elections are exceptionally important and the Senate District looks forward to working with the leaders of our city Wards to make sure that they enjoy as much success on the city level as we did in November.
Senate District 66, keep up the great work!
by Alice Hausman, State Representative, 66B
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| Rep. Alice Hausman |
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The proposals address issues in a fiscally responsible way and achieve goals like lowering property taxes, making sure every child in Minnesota has health care and expanding access to voluntary allday kindergarten. The costs of these proposals are within the current budget projections. Included among the proposed legislation are:
A Property Tax Relief Bill that uses a combination of aid increases to cities and counties, more school aid and levy support and direct credits and refunds to homeowners to reduce property taxes;
A Cover-All-Kids Bill that will ensure that every child in Minnesota has health care;
A Full-Day Kindergarten Bill that will make voluntary full-day kindergarten available in every school district in the state;
An Early Education Bill that restores funding to 2003 levels and increases school readiness and Head Start funding;
An Increased K-12 Funding Bill that will increase the basic formula by 3% in 2008 and 3% in 2009;
A 25/20 Renewable Energy Bill that increases the percentage of retail electric sales that must be generated from eligible renewable sources from the current 10% by 2015 to
A Lights-On Bill that will prevent a future government shutdown.
In addition, on January 11th, the House of Representatives passed a Federal Tax Conformity Bill that provides $20 million in tax relief to Minnesota taxpayers.
On a personal note, I am truly honored to serve as Chair of the House Capital Investment Committee for the
To stay on top of the actions at the House of Representatives, I suggest subscribing to Session Weekly, a non-partisan publication produced by the House Public Information Office. For additional information about the legislative process go to the House of Representatives website or sign up online for a free subscription to Session Weekly.
As part of my effort to keep you informed of activities at the Minnesota Legislature, I will be sending out periodic
by Toni Carter, County Commissioner, District 4
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| County Commissioner Toni Carter |
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On Central Corridor, the Metropolitan Council recently named a Community Advisory Council that is representative of the diversity of the corridor. I am committed to ensuring that this body receive all the resources it needs to maximize meaningful citizen involvement in all phases of the project, and to ensure we design and build Central Corridor in a manner that honors our city’s histories and cultures. I am also constantly working so that the neighborhoods most immediately affected by Central Corridor benefit the most from the opportunities and connections it will provide.
On
Finally, I am very grateful that you have reelected legislators as talented as Ellen Anderson, Alice Hausman and John Lesch, all of whom are strong partners with the County on critical issues such as transit, renewable energy and fair funding for our social safety net.
Thank you again for the wonderful opportunity of working for you. Please contact me anytime on these issues or with any other concerns at
by Senator Ellen Anderson, District 66
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| Senator Ellen Anderson |
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| Senator Ellen Anderson with other members of the renewable energy study tour |
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In December I was privileged to travel to Washington DC and Germany, along with 10 other U.S. state and local officials, for a renewable energy study tour. I want to share some of the highlights of the trip with you.
We met with various experts in D.C., including former Senator Tom Daschle. In Germany we visited two cities, Cologne and Freiburg. We learned that U.S. per capita energy use is twice as high as Germany’s per capita use. We studied the German policies that have led to reduced CO2 production and made Germany a world leader in renewable energy. To encourage the use of biofuels, German gas taxes automatically go up 3 eurocents per year, while biofuels are exempted from the fuel tax (also known as an “energy independence tax”). In order to expand biofuel production beyond corn-based ethanol, Germany ties sustainability standards to biofuel subsidies.
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| Wind turbines in Freiburg, Germany. The city wants to build houses that don’t need energy. |
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We also learned that Germany leads the world in wind energy. Of 60,000 megawatts (MW) wind capacity worldwide, Germany produces 18,100 megawatts. Minnesota has 5 times the wind resources of Germany but only 800 MW of wind energy. Several of Germany’s northern states are at
The German policies on renewable energy have revolutionized the solar energy industry. At schools, teachers finance solar panels as an investment and receive a financial return based upon the energy savings. Manufacturing plants are springing up to produce all kinds of new photovoltaic applications, like roof shingles and window glass. The industry leaders believe that someday, in the near future, solar products will be incorporated into standard building products like bricks so that solar energy sources will be completely integrated into new construction.
The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has companies that make gears, generators, and electrical management systems for wind electricity. I encouraged them to come to Minnesota to build new factories!
Freiburg is a beautiful university town where 5% of the residents are employed in renewable energy. We climbed to the roof of the town soccer stadium, which hosts hundreds of solar panels owned by a cooperative of local residents. The Freiburg city planner told us his vision for the future—build houses that don’t need energy! We also toured one of his beautiful family-friendly housing developments.
As I said in a recent press conference, the stars are aligned for passage of a comprehensive clean energy plan for Minnesota this year. It gives me great hope to be able to lead the charge to eliminate Minnesota’s contribution to global warming, bring green sustainable jobs and investment to our state, and begin to build a better world to leave for our children!
Please stay in touch with me:
Capitol email link
Capitol telephone:
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Senator Ellen Anderson and others watch Governor Pawlenty sign the Renewable Energy Standard |
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| After Sen. Anderson wrote the article above, her Renewable Energy Standard did reach Governor Pawlenty’s desk and was signed. This photo became available as the online version of the newsletter was in preparation. | |
| — photo courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio |
by John Lesch, State Representative, 66A
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| Rep. John Lesch |
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When Tim Pawlenty gave his State of the State speech he was more conciliatory that he had been in past years. Indeed, he had promised to be as much after November 7 when he was spared from the tsunami which swept from office so many of the politicians who took out contracts on America in 1994. The electoral surge of ’06 (as opposed to the troop surge of ’07) was an opportunity for DFLers to refocus the debate and enact progressive, substantive policies that reflect Minnesotan values. But apparently Tim Pawlenty saw it as one as well.
Instead of using electoral gains to roll back so many of the hurtful policies enacted by Republicans in the last 10 years, our side of the aisle is instead feeding the why-can’t-we-all-just-get-along monster. Phil Krinkie, the conservative erstwhile House Tax Chairman, has noted that each of the tax proposals rolled out by DFLers this year were regressive. Everyone seems to know this. And yet there is still a sentiment amongst some DFL office holders that we must quiver with relief
Well I’ll tell you what our lot is. It is fair taxation. It is health care for all. It is safe working conditions with livable wages. It is educational opportunity for all our children. It is clean air and water. Democrats of the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s understood this (even if the more recent of that brood began taking it for granted). It’s time we stopped pausing to check our pulse and just run the race already. This is not an effort that starts from the top down. Nor is it a burgeoning grassroots movement that throws all the bums out. It is an idea that moves at all levels. It reclaims forgotten dreams and risks loss in the quest for their realization. For we do not hold power for the sake of power, but to use it for the betterment of all Minnesotans.
Senate District 66 has created an Organizing Committee to lay the foundation for 2008 and make sure that Democrats build on the gains that we made last year. If you are interested in getting involved contact Mike Dean to learn how you can help the DFL endorsed City Council candidates, give back to our community by helping out local non-profits, and build a strong DFL to take back Paul’s seat.
by Laurence Reszetar, SD 66 DFL Associate Chair
On September 26, Senate District 66 DFL hosted its inaugural issue forum at the Hamline-Midway Public Library. The forum’s title was “Health Care Reform” and we were exceptionally honored to have Rick Varco, Director of Communications for SEIU Local 113 and former Community Organizer for the Lex-Ham Community Council, and DFL Senator John Marty, SD 54, as the forum’s featured presenters. We were also privileged to have all three of our state legislators, Senator Ellen Anderson, Representative John Lesch (66A), and Representative Alice Hausman (66B), take time from their busy campaign schedules and join our discussion.The forum started with Rick providing a summary of the national and local health care systems. Rick also discussed some of the proposed reforms, ranging from larger systemic reforms to smaller modifications related to the delivery of care, and covered the pros and cons of each. Senator Marty followed Rick’s remarks with a brief synopsis of the recent legislative proposals and proposals that will likely see legislative action after the new DFL-controlled legislature reconvenes.
The forum’s attendees then had the chance to discuss their experiences and opinions regarding health care reform and how the current health care system has impacted their lives. We heard from neighbors who have seen their parents financially stressed because of a lack of insurance coverage for long-term care. Some of our neighbors also work in health care and have seen how the quality of care has been affected by the financial needs of providers and insurers. We also heard from our friends on how their own chronic illnesses have led to their own financial hardship. With all of these stories as valuable background, the forum attendees continued to consider how Minnesota can lead the charge to prevent these problems so that in twenty years, SD 66’ers are not sitting in another library trying to determine what when wrong and how to resolve it.
The recommended prescriptions for the health care system ranged from a mandatory publicly-financed insurance system, based loosely upon the Medicare model, to requiring that health care billing information contain a disclosure statement similar to the “Schumer Box” found in credit card solicitations. Senator Anderson, Representative Lesch and Representative Hausman had the opportunity to hear their constituents’ opinions and left the forum with a deeper appreciation of the need for reform. The forum was a great educational opportunity for our community and for our elected representatives.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for the next SD 66 DFL “Issue Forum” and please contact Laurence Reszetar with any topic recommendations.
Caucuses convene at 7 PM. Doors should be open at 6:30 PM.
This information was the best available at publication. Check the St. Paul DFL Website for the latest information.
Ward 2 will caucus in several locations. Precinct 10 is among those meeting at the Galtier Plaza, Skyway Level, 380 Jackson St (actually, on Sibley between 5th and 6th Streets)
Where: Hancock Elementary School, 599 Englewood (corner of Englewood and Snelling)
For more information contact Beth, phone
Announced candidates seeking endorsement:
Bernie Hesse
Randy Schubring
Russ Stark
Where: Como Park Senior High School, 740 West Rose Ave (near Como and Maryland)
For more information contact Brian
Announced candidate seeking endorsement:
Councilman Lee Helgen
Where: Hazel Park Middle School, 1140 White Bear Ave North (south of Maryland Ave)
Announced candidate seeking endorsement:
Pakou Hang