A Message from Kathy…
Dear friends and neighbors,
Thank you! I am so honored to have been elected by the people of Senate District 56 to serve for the next four years as your state senator. I am truly grateful for the opportunity you have given me to work on behalf of our eleven communities. With the election behind us, it’s now time to restore bipartisan leadership and focus on the most important issues impacting Minnesota.
During the past year, you shared with me the issues that you believe are most critical to ensuring the future of our next generation and Minnesota’s continued economic success. With the legislative session underway, I will focus on the priority areas that have the greatest impact on our children, our families and our communities.
• Controlling property taxes: residential property taxes have increased by an average of 58 percent between 2002 and 2006. Action is needed to curb further increases.
• Better funding of early education, K-12 schools and higher ed: Minnesota needs better and more stable funding of schools, affordable tuition, and more emphasis on preparing our youngest citizens to succeed in life.
• Improving transportation: The state’s transportation system is the backbone of commerce in Minnesota. The entire transportation network needs upgrading to meet the demand – the state economy cannot expand under the current structure.
• Health care reform: administrative costs and red-tape are consuming too large a share of the health care dollar. Fiscal sense needs to be brought to the state’s health care system.
