I was born in Elbow Lake, MN and moved to Little Falls when I was five. Growing up in Morrison County, I was fortunate to attend some of the finest public schools in the state; my elementary school invited national artists to teach new lessons, we had access to the latest technology, and our high school industrial tech department featured robust automotive, woodworking, and drafting programs. I put my education to use, first attending Hibbing Community College and finally earning a degree in elementary education from St. Cloud State.
Like many people, my life was completely upended in 2008, during the great recession, when employers stopped hiring and millions lost their careers. I paid bills doing janitorial work, selling phones, packing mail, and substitute teaching around the county. After 5 years of working to make ends meet, I was fortunate to land a job teaching 4th grade in St. Cloud where I continue to work today.
Along the way I met a beautiful woman, Amy, and together we raised her infant daughter. Despite Amy’s better judgement, she agreed to marry me and we now live in Little Falls with our dog and two cats (I never agreed to a second cat).
Throughout my life my teachers, scoutmasters, neighbors, and pastors have all had a huge impact on my life and taught me the importance of community; Minnesotans take care of each other. I have never forgotten the progressive values I was taught living in rural Minnesota and I’m looking to bring those same values to the Minnesota House of Representatives.
The Issues
The Democratic Farmer Labor party has made a lot of progress in the last few years to improve the lives of rural Minnesotans. We brought more local government aid to help smaller towns, reduced childcare needs with all-day kindergarten, and helped reduce the gap between the rich and poor by increasing wages, keeping taxes low for 98% of Minnesotans while using higher taxes on the extremely wealthy to pay for community services.
We’ve still got a lot of work to do to keep things fair for all Minnesotans, which is why I will work to improve the following policies…
Minnesota Care
- No one should ever go bankrupt because they need lifesaving surgery. I want to see Minnesota Care expanded to cover allMinnesotans.
- This means moving away from employer-based insurance–let’s start by expanding Minnesota Care and allowing all Minnesotans the option to buy-in.
- It’s not just a moral choice, providing healthcare for all Minnesotans will lower the costs of healthcare in the long run and allow entrepreneurs to take risks without worrying about keeping their family safe.
Labor Rights
- Unionizing is a right of every worker–it gives every worker a voice at the table. Republicans in Minnesota want to take away the rights of most employees to collectively bargain.
- Supporting Prevailing wage
- Preventing Republicans from enacting ‘right to work’ laws. Allowing employers to fire employees for any reason doesn’t give workers a fair chance.
Farming
- Tariffs enacted by national Republicans are causing real problems for our farmers and local communities. Steel tariffs are driving up the price of storage equipment and driving down the prices for crops, particularly soybeans and corn. We can’t fix what the feds broke, but we can lend a hand to struggling farmers, and in turn our communities, through expanded state crop subsidies.
- Increasing insurance premiums on the individual markets are also eating away at farmer’s profits–this is why its necessary to expand Minnesota Care to drive down expensive health care costs.
Local Values
- I’ve listened to your voices not the extremists and hear what matters to our community. I’ll represent our community as apro-life DFLer at the state capitol–I’ll always vote to reduce the number of abortions in the state.
- But people are tired of all talk and no action. The primary reason for abortions is unplanned pregnancy–let’s stop talking and start working to actually reduce abortions in Minnesota. This means…
- Making adoptions cheaper
- Fully educating our youth about sex–abstinence and birth control
- Most important, making birth control free and easy for women and men–this could reduce the number of abortions from 60-80% …don’t tell me it isn’t worth it!
- More than half our residents own firearms, myself included, and any legislation we pass at the capitol shouldn’t burden any lawful gun owners. Again, I’m listening to your voice, not the extreme voices.
Rural Minnesota Needs I’ll fight for…
- Expanded Broadband Access
- Affordable Child Care & Preschool
- Long Term Care Availability
- Investments in rural infrastructure
This content was originally published at https://www.electingbrowning.com/