►
Description
The views and opinions expressed within this program do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or the City of Bloomington.
A
A
I
would
like
to
thank
the
audience
members
for
being
here
and
to
voters
in
our
new
district
50b
for
being
here
this
evening,
an
additional
thanks
to
the
city
of
bloomington
for
recording
this
event,
so
that
residents
can
view
the
candidate
forums
through
bloomington
tv
and
youtube
channels.
Your
participation
is
an
important
component
of
making
democracy
work.
So
thank
you.
A
Today's
forum
is
for
candidates
in
the
only
primary
contest
for
state
legislative
seats
on
the
bloomington
ballots,
the
league
of
women
voters
is
nonprofit
and
nonpartisan,
meaning
that
the
league
does
not
support
or
oppose
political
candidates
or
parties.
Our
league
volunteers
encourage
informed
and
active
participation
in
government.
A
A
A
A
B
Good
evening
I'm
deb
brinkman,
I'm
a
member
of
the
league
of
women
voters,
st
louis
park
and
moderator
for
tonight's
forum.
I've
completed
all
moderator
training
required
by
the
league
of
women
voters
and
I've
been
moderating
candidate
forms
for
several
years
before
we
get
started,
let's
all
get
our
cell
phones
out
and
make
sure
that
they're
either
off
or
on
silent.
Thank
you
very
much.
B
B
B
The
district
50b
house
race
is
the
only
primary
contest
this
year
for
candidates
seeking
to
represent
bloomington
in
the
state
legislature.
The
purpose
of
this
evening's
forum
is
to
hear
the
primary
election
candidates
for
the
minnesota
house.
District
50b
discuss
issues
that
are
important
to
residents
of
the
district.
B
B
The
fact
that
the
league
is
sponsoring
this
forum
does
not
imply
support
of
any
candidate.
Here
are
the
rules
and
format
for
tonight's
forum.
Speaking
order
was
set
before
the
forum
and
will
rotate
with
each
question.
Each
candidate
will
have
two
minutes
for
an
opening
statement
and
one
minute
for
closing
remarks.
B
This
form
may
have
one
or
more
lightning
rounds,
and
that
is
where
candidates
will
be
requested.
To
answer
a
question
very
briefly
in
one
word
or
one
sentence
as
a
moderator
I'll
ask
all
the
questions
leak
of
women
voters,
bloomington
determines
which
questions
will
be
asked
and
attempts
in
good
faith
to
cover
the
topics
of
interest
that
were
indicated
by
the
questions
submitted
by
bloomington
residents
to
the
league
of
women
voters.
B
This
forum
is
being
video
recorded
candidates.
Please
speak
directly
into
the
microphone
so
that
your
responses
are
heard
and
picked
up
by
the
video.
When
you
speak,
please
remember
to
look
at
the
audience
and
not
at
me,
and
so
here's
an
introduction
of
the
candidates
here
are
the
primary
election
candidates
for
minnesota
house
district
50b.
B
Andrew
carlson
and
steve
elkins,
we
are
required
to
disclose
candidates
that
are
league
members
and
mr
elkins
and
his
wife
are
members
of
the
league
of
women
voters.
Bloomington.
Both
candidates
are
currently
house
representatives
after
redistricting.
Both
candidates
currently
reside
in
district
50b.
C
Well,
good
evening,
everybody
I'm
andrew
carlson
and
I'm
excited
to
be
running
again
for
the
minnesota
house
of
representatives.
I
believe
minnesotans
care
deeply
about
our
state
and
want
to
see
one
another
succeed.
Working
together.
We
can
strengthen
our
communities
by
improving
educational
opportunities,
making
affordable
health
care
a
reality
and
increasing
racial
and
economic
prosperity
for
all
minnesotans.
C
I've
been
elected
to
the
bloomington
city
council
twice
and
served
on
several
boards
and
commissions,
including
the
bloomington
housing
and
redevelopment
authority
as
parents,
my
wife,
cary,
and
I
understand
the
need
for
safe
communities
and
quality
schools.
I
support
measures
to
prevent
gun
violence
and
keep
guns
out
of
the
hands
of
people
who
have
shown
themselves
to
do
us
harm.
C
C
As
a
three-term
state
representative,
I
have
experienced
the
experience
and
professional
relationships
to
advocate
for
the
needs
of
our
city
at
the
state
capitol.
Why
am
I
running
I'm
running
because
I
believe
by
working
together,
we
can
make
a
real
difference
on
the
issues
that
matter
most
to
you,
without
leaving
anybody
behind.
D
Thank
you.
First
of
all,
I'd
like
to
thank
the
bloomington
league
of
women
voters
for
providing
this
opportunity
to
address
you.
My
wife
judy
and
I
are
long-time
members
of
the
league
and
strong
supporters
of
its
mission
to
promote
free
and
fair
elections
in
the
city.
I'm
state
representative,
steve
elkins,
and
I'm
here
to
ask
for
your
support
in
my
reelection
campaign
to
continue
representing
western
bloomington
and
the
minnesota
house
of
representatives.
I
have
over
20
years
of
public
service
to
the
residents
in
bloomington
as
a
planning
commissioner,
housing
and
redevelopment
agency.
D
Commissioner
three
terms
as
a
bloomington
city,
council,
member
and
two
terms
representing
bloomington
on
the
metropolitan
council.
Before
being
your
elected,
your
representative,
in
2018,
throughout
my
public
service
career,
I've
been
a
public
policy.
Workhorse
I've
always
been
the
guy
who
did
the
research
and
brought
forward
the
solutions,
one
always
the
guy
who
the
city
council
member
who
did
the
research
that
showed
that
bloomington's
pioneering
workplace
smoking
ban
would
not
put
restaurants
out
of
businesses
and
when
we
passed
that
ordinance,
bloomington's
restaurants
thrived
when
residents
complained
about
speeding
on
our
residential
streets.
D
C
So
minnesota
loves,
divided
government
and
working
in
a
bipartisan
way
is
a
and
how
we
get
things
done,
and
we
have
proven
that
in
the
past
the
past
two
legislative
sessions
have
been
split
and
we
were
able
to
get
work
done
so
that
primarily
requires
building
relationships.
It's
it's
in
relationships
require
effort.
C
I
am
a
part
of
the
civility
caucus
which
involves
members
from
both
the
house
and
the
senate
and
members
from
both
parties,
of
course.
So
that's
an
opportunity
for
us
to
find
common
ground
right.
Finding
common
ground
and
once
you've
established
that
there
is
a
need
within
a
certain
area.
You
can
work
forward
with
finding
solutions.
C
This
is
hard
work.
This
is
the
this
is.
This
is
the
important
part
of
the
job.
It's
not
necessarily
giving
up
our
values.
We
need
to
ensure
that
those
stay
at
the
forefront
of
our
decision-making
process
but
hearing
others,
and
you
know
truly
listening
in
terms
of
what
other
ideas
that
they
may
have.
So
we
have
been
successful
in
the
past
and
hopefully
with
despite
the
the
environment
we
find
ourselves
in
that
you
can
count
on
me
to
con,
continue
to
do
that.
Bipartisan
work.
D
Yes,
thank
you,
so
I
am
also
a
founding
member
of
the
civility
caucus
and
attend
all
of
the
the
meetings
I've
discovered
early
on
that.
If
you
want
to
get
bills
passed
in
a
divided
legislature,
you
have
to
find
bills
that
are
are
not
at
least
yet
labeled
as
as
partisan
find
a
republican
senator
that
you
can
work
with
and
and
work
as
a
team.
D
So,
on
all
of
my
initiatives
related
to
housing,
reform
and
health
care
pricing
reform,
I
work
with
senator
rich
drayheim
on
all
my
initiatives
related
to
transportation
and
local
government.
I
work
with
senator
john
jaczynski
and,
along
with
our
own
senator
melissa,
wikland
and
fellow
dfl
house,
member
kristen
bonner
and
republican
house
members,
jim
nash,
eric
lucero
and
senator
mark
corin.
We
have
an
informal
I.t
caucus
that
we
work
collaboratively
work
on
on
on
I.t
reform
issues
that
we
bring
forward
as
a
as
a
group
on
a
non-partisan
bill.
D
B
D
Yeah,
our
our
voting
records
are
virtually
identical.
We
all
show
up.
We
both
show
up
for
every
vote.
We
pretty
much
cast
the
same
votes.
We
all
both
care
very
much
about
gun,
violence,
protection,
equal
rights
for
women.
You
know
living
you
know
having
affordable
housing
just
about
all
the
way
down
the
line.
D
So
the
way
you
know
I
like
to
differentiate
myself
is
just
as,
as
I
said
in
my
opening
remarks,
I'm
a
work
horse
policy
analyst
and
I
am
willing
to
roll
up
my
sleeves
and
always
have
been
to
to
do
the
research
needed
to
develop
legislation
from
scratch,
working
with
with
with
colleagues
doing
the
the
heavy
lifting
seeking
out
the
opinions
of
stakeholders
on
all
side
of
an
equation
to
come
up
with
legislation.
That
is,
you
know,
nonpartisan
enjoy
broad
support
that
that
you
can
actually
make
it
through
the
legislature.
D
It's
what
I
love
doing.
I
I'm
you
know
proud
to
wear
the
the
badge
of
being
a
policy
walk.
I've
been
that
way
since
I
was
a
city
council
member
in
in
bloomington,
and
there
aren't
that
many
of
us
in
the
legislators
legislature,
but
it's
easy
to
just
take
a
bill
that
an
interest
group
has
brought
to
you
and,
as
they
say,
carry
it
it's
a
lot
a
lot
different
to
actually
develop
legislation
to
address
a
serious
problem
from
scratch.
Thank
you.
C
So
I've
achieved
quite
a
bit
in
my
first
three
terms
in
the
legislature,
but
there's
still
more
work
to
be
done.
I
feel
like
I
have
not
reached
my
full
potential
while
there,
so
I
want
to
continue
this
work.
I
feel
like.
I
have
a
lot
more
to
offer,
not
not
only
at
the
legislature,
but
the
residents
of
bloomington
as
well
being
a
strong
voice
for
bloomington
at
the
capitol
means.
A
lot
to
me.
C
C
In
sticking
with
that
work
and
continuing
on
a
leadership
path
within
our
dfl
house
caucus,
I
feel
like
I
can
do
more,
not
only
for
our
community
but
for
our
state
as
a
whole
and
I'll
also
add,
since
I've
got
30
seconds
left.
You
know.
A
lot
of
this
work
too
is
helping
our
colleagues
in
more
challenged.
Districts
win
their
races,
having
served
both
in
the
minority
and
in
the
majority.
I
would
love
to
stay
in
the
majority.
C
B
C
Yeah,
this
is
really
exciting.
This
is
something
I
think
at
the
legislature.
We
can
be
champions
of
and
help
in
promoting
this
world
events
come
to
our
community.
Bloomington
has
made
application
for
this
in
the
past
and
has
been
unsuccessful.
I
think
another
shot
at
this.
We
have
a
good
chance
of
of
securing
the
event
here
in
our
community,
so
putting
bloomington
on
the
world
stage
bringing
people
from
around
the
world
to
experience
our
wonderful
community.
D
B
D
Well,
we
have
the
site
it's
there,
but
we
will
need
you
know,
state
financing
to
to
help
pull
it
off.
We,
you
know,
don't
have
the
resources
to
do
this
all
by
ourselves.
We're
certainly
not
going
to
make
bloomington
taxpayers
put
the
bill
for
this,
but
this
is
a
benefit
to
the
entire
state.
It
won't
just
put
bloomington
on
the
map
worldwide.
It'll
put
the
state
on
the
map
worldwide.
C
Yeah,
maybe
just
to
build
on
that
a
little
bit
I
mean
we
have
a
lot
of
the
existing
infrastructure
in
place,
I'm
sure
you're
all
familiar
with
the
location.
It's
just
to
the
east
of
the
mall
of
america.
I
mean
we
have
an
international
airport
literally
across
the
street,
across
the
highway
10
000
hotel
rooms
in
bloomington
to
accommodate
guests.
So
we
are
well
situated
in
terms
of
hosting
such
a
international
event.
I
would
imagine
there
would
be
an
ask
before
the
legislature
for
some
funding.
B
C
C
Folks,
we
got
a
nine
billion
dollar
surplus
and
there's
great
need
not
only
in
our
own
community
but
throughout
the
state,
and
it's
a
it's
a
real
disservice
to
the
residents
of
this
state
that
those
funds
weren't
made
available.
That's
taxpayer
money,
that's
sitting
in
government
coffers
right
now,
and
everything
from
early
childhood
education
to
prescription
drug
prices,
to
our
environment,
to
clean
drinking
water.
You
name
it
there's
a
multitude
of
excellent
excellent
legislation
that
is
on
hold
for
reasons
that
leadership
can't
seem
to
resolve.
D
Yeah,
this
is
the
situation
we
find
ourselves
in
right
now
is
extremely
frustrating
and
you
know
it
and
it
gets
worse
every
year.
You
know
every
I've
been
in
in
the
legislature
now
for
four
years
and
at
the
end
of
each
year.
I
I
tell
myself,
god
it
can't
possibly
get
any
worse
than
this,
and
yet
every
year
the
the
next
year,
it's
it
is
even
worse,
and
certainly
the
divided
government
is
a
significant
contributor
to
that
problem.
You
know
that
the
house
is
doing
its
business.
D
The
senate
is
doing
this
business
at
the
end
of
the
session.
You
come
forward
into
conference
committees
and
you
try
and
compare
them
the
the
two
bills
and
in
each
subject
area
and
and
reconcile
the
differences,
but
in
this
in
this
year
it's
like
there
were
no
commonalities
at
all.
It
made
it
very
difficult,
some
of
its
personalities
we
have
chairs
of
key
committees,
especially
in
the
senate,
who
seem
to
think
that
waiting
until
the
very
last
minute
gives
them
some
kind
of
negotiating
superpower,
and
so
the
conference
committees
aren't
being
held
productively.
D
You
know
I've
been
active
in
the
national
conference
of
state
legislators
who's
given
me
a
point,
a
way
to
observe
how
things
are
done
in
other
states.
There
are
lots
of
other
states
that
have
sessions
that
are
shorter
of
ours
or
even
shorter,
but
the
one
thing
I
notice
is
that
the
those
city
states
they
do
a
lot
more
of
their
hearings,
chewing
up
their
bills
between
sessions
and
information
hearings,
and
I
think
we
need
to
do
more
of
that,
so
that
we
get
more
of
our
bills
vetted.
Even
before
we
start
the
session.
B
D
D
You
know
state
revenues
were
going
to
fall
off
shortly
sharply
and
instead,
because
of
all
of
the
stimulus
funny
money
that
the
feds
produced,
the
economy
actually
did
quite
well,
and
so
that
resulted
in
revenues
coming
in
much
higher
than
than
forecast
and,
and
that
would
in
terms
of
changing
things,
I
don't
know
if
we
can
avoid
something
like
that.
I
think
having
a
robust
rainy
day
fund,
which
we
have
as
a
is
a
big
part
of
the
solution
to
to
create
a
buffer
and
the
other.
D
The
major
reform
that
I
would
like
to
see
us
make
is
to
build
inflation
into
the
the
baseline
cost
of
of
our
budget.
You
know
we
we
don't
we,
we
know
that
costs
are
going
up,
and
yet
we've
come
to
this
situation
out
of
an
agreement
that
was
20
years
ago,
where
we
reflect
the
cost,
the
inflation
of
revenues,
we
do
not
reflect
the
the
inflation
and
costs.
We
know
that
teachers
salaries
are
going
to
go
up
every
year.
Every
year
we
ought
to
be
building
that
into
the
baseline
budget.
C
Well,
I'll
start
by
saying
the
last
two
years
haven't
exactly
been
predictable
and
I
think
that
applies
to
those
that
are
looking
at
the
models
for
these
economic
forecasts
as
well.
So
I
think
they've
taken
a
very
conservative
approach
and
that's
why
you're
seeing
the
surpluses
it's
been
a
bit
of
a
wild
ride.
C
The
good
news
is
minnesota
is
doing
quite
well.
We
have
a
9
billion
dollar
surplus.
I'm
going
to
try
to
say
that
as
many
times
as
I
can
tonight,
but
there's
also
great
need
out
there
right.
We
know
how
that
money
can
improve
people's
lives,
not
only
improve
people's
lives,
but
save
lives
like
literally
save
lives.
C
So
I'm
you
know
to
focus
on
the
financials
of
all
this.
I
do
serve
on
the
tax
committee
and
with
chair
mark
court
retiring
and
losing
that
leadership.
It's
a
great
loss
to
the
state
of
minnesota,
but
that
being
said,
we
do
have
amazing
staff
that
provide
for
the
data
that
we
all
are
privy
to
in
terms
of
looking
at
the
numbers.
C
I
think
that
you'll
start
to
see
some
stabilization.
Obviously,
inflation
is
a
concern
for
all
of
us
as
we
go
forward.
So
there
are
a
multitude
of
factors
that
will
come
into
a
play
with
future
forecasts,
and
it's
just
going
to
be
a
matter
of
you
know,
making
sure
that
we
are
taking
the
prudent
measures
in
which
to
ensure
our
financial
stability.
B
C
Yeah
education
is
is
important
to
me.
I'd.
Imagine
it's
important
to
all
of
us
and
it
is
one
of
the
biggest
line
items
on
the
state
budget,
but
also
in
the
state
of
minnesota.
We
have
one
of
the
largest
disparities
in
terms
of
educational
attainment
between
black
indigenous
people
of
color
and
kids
with
disabilities,
so
improving
the
opportunity
gap
is
clearly
where
a
lot
of
those
funds,
I
think,
should
be
directed
towards.
C
D
Yeah
in
in
the
the
grand
overall
bargain
that
was
negotiated
among
the
the
governor,
the
speaker
of
the
house
and
the
house
senate
majority
leader,
a
billion
dollars
was
was
allocated.
You
know
to
for
edu
for
k-12
education
and
and
the
the
house
dfl's
caucus
proposal,
for
that
was
to
you
know,
put
it
mostly
into
relieving
the
unfunded
mandate
that
school
districts
provide
special
education.
D
That
was
that's
about
the
size
of
the
what
the
school
district
was
referred
to
as
the
cross
subsidy,
the
the
amount,
basically,
that
is
coming
from
local
property
taxpayers-
to
provide
those
special
education
services
that
are
required
by
the
federal
government
but
heretofore
are
not
funded
at
all
by
by
either
the
state
or
the
or
the
federal
government.
There's
also
money
in
there
to
help
schools
boost
bolster
their
mental
health
services.
D
B
D
D
There
was
only
50
million
dollars
to
subsidize
the
creation
of
affordable
housing,
and
I
partner
partner
with
fellow
representative
mike
howard,
who
represent,
will
be
representing
richfield,
he's
represented
parts
of
bloomington
up
until
now,
as
well
on
that
on
that
issue,
the
issue
where
I've
taken
a
real
lead
is
addressing
the
the
regulatory
reforms
that
need
to
be
need
to
be
addressed.
So
last
summer,
you'll
recall
that
the
star
tribune
ran
a
big
full
page
story.
D
Talking
about
how
zoning
regulations
in
the
twin
cities
had
fostered
segregated
living
living
patterns
over
over
a
half
century,
I
put
my
heart
and
soul
into
a
bill
this
year.
That
would
address
those
regulatory
burdens.
I've
worked
with
the
republican
senator
drayheim
on
that
bill
and
with
members
other
members
of
our
housing
housing
committee,
especially
the
members
of
our
our
posse
caucus,
the
people
of
color
caucus
who
are
working
very
hard
to
try
and
address
these
segregated
living
patterns
through
zoning
reform.
C
So
minnesota
has
faced
a
housing
crisis
before
the
pandemic,
and
the
pandemic
unfortunately
has
made
it
even
worse.
We
could
do
a
lot
for
workers
and
families
in
minnesota
by
addressing
the
housing
crisis.
We
know
that,
with
the
increase
of
inflation,
that
housing
is
probably
the
number
one
expense
that
people
face.
C
So
if
we
can
look
at
ways
in
which
to,
for
example,
one
of
the
items
in
the
tax
bill
was
the
renter's
tax
credit
that
would
go
very
far
towards
helping
folks
pay
their
rents,
not
everybody's
a
homeowner,
so
those
that,
even
here
in
bloomington
60,
is
multi-family
housing.
A
big
chunk
of
that
is
is
rental,
so
that
would
be
of
direct
support
and
benefit
to
many
bloomington
residents.
C
When
it
comes
to
housing,
you
need
to
have
a
spectrum
of
housing
options
right
from
the
starter
home
to
the
next
house,
up
with
a
few
extra
bedrooms
when
you
have
a
few
kids
to
when
you
retire
for
the
empty
nesters
to
as
well
as
assisting
living
for
later
in
life.
So
we
are
very
fortunate
here
in
bloomington
to
have
a
that
wide
spectrum
of
housing
options
so
that
people
can
stay
within
their
community
and
continue
to
thrive.
B
C
C
Obviously
we
have
approved
by
referendum,
ranked
choice
voting
here
in
bloomington
and
had
our
first
election
this
last
year
to
great
success,
and
that
will,
of
course,
continue
into
the
future.
I
have
a
bill
on
my
own
with
regards
to
link
choice,
voting.
One
of
the
concerns
I
want
to
address
on
the
part
of
constituents
as
well
as
members
within
our
own
caucus.
C
Is
that
the
you
know
just
the
aspect
of
learning
something
new
right
if
you're
gonna
change
something
as
important
as
how
people
vote
there
has
to
be
an
educational
component
to
that,
as
well
as
public
outreach,
so
the
bill
builds
on
what
originally
was
brought
forward
and
appropriates
a
million
dollars
for
community
outreach,
as
well
as
any
technical
assistance
in
terms
of
the
the
necessary
software
that
communities
would
need
to
allow
for
that
accounting.
So
the
benefits
are
abound.
D
Our
bill
would
extend
rank
choice,
voting
statewide
for
all
constitutional
offices,
congressional
offices
and
and
local
governments,
and
you
know
it's
it
rank
choice.
Voting
is
you
know
it
expands
the
the
the
breadth
of
viewpoints
that
can
be
expressed
in
the
marketplace
it
it.
You
know
it's
the
the
antidote
to
bullet
balloting
for
getting
extremist
candidates
on
the
school
board.
It
is
you
know,
a
way
of
getting
more
voters.
You
know
involved
in
the
process.
D
It's
a
a
great
way
to
you
know
to
sub.
You
know
eliminate
the
problem
of
of
you
know:
what's
called
strategic
voting
or
wasted
voting
syndrome,
where
people
vote
for
the
the
least
bad
candidate,
they
think
they
can
get
elected
instead
of
the
candidate
that
they
really
want.
So
I
will
continue,
as
in
my
role
as
a
chief
author
of
this
legislation
and
we'll
do
so
until
it
passes.
B
D
One
of
the
things
that
I
observed
along
the
way
is
that
any
time
a
a
governing
body
was
subject
to
frequent
turnover
from
one
right,
one
reason
or
another
that
those
organizations
ended
up
in
processes
that
were
completely
staff
driven
because
all
of
the
institutional
knowledge
in
the
organization
resided
in
in
the
staff
and
the
new
members
of
the
governing
body
were
always.
You
know
climbing
the
power
curve,
and
nowhere
was
that,
worse
than
my
eight
years
in
the
metropolitan
council,
I
came
to
that
position.
D
Having
served
on
metropolitan
council
advisory
committees
before
and
knowing
something
about
the
about
the
organization,
its
processes,
but
for
people
who
are
coming
onto
that
body
from
scratch.
The
learning
curve
was
enormous.
It
was
the
most
staff
driven
organization
that
I
have
ever
participated
in,
but
it's
generally
been
the
case
that
any
time
where
all
of
the
institutional
knowledge
resides
in
the
staff,
it
becomes
a
very
staff
driven
organization
and
that's
one
of
the
negative
consequences
of
term
limits.
C
Another
aspect
that
worries
me
with
term
limits
is
at
some
point.
You
would
have
your
government
run
by
lobbyists
yeah
and
that's
not
something
any
of
us
want.
We
want
our
elected
officials
to
be
knowledgeable
on
the
subject
matter
and
be
able
to
speak
truth
to
power
right
so
allowing
folks
the
time
they
need
to
to
learn
the
job,
to
develop
a
level
of
expertise,
I
think,
is
in
all
of
our
best
interest.
B
C
I
think
we
do
now
well,
maybe
that's
caught
up
in
one
of
the
bills
that
hasn't
been
passed.
Yeah
there
is
a
civics
requirement,
I
think
is
part
of.
I
don't
think
it
was
approved
off
the
as
a
standalone
bill.
I
think
it's
been
one
of
the
omnibus
bills.
If
I'm
not
mistaken,
yes,
we
should
have
a
civics
requirement.
Absolutely
it's
important
for
people
to
understand
what
it
means
to
be
a
good
citizen,
what
it
means
to
be
a
good
neighbor
and
I
think,
there's
a
lot
of
value
in
that.
C
D
Yeah,
it
was
one
of
our
republican
colleagues
dean
erdahl,
who
was
a
campaign
for
this
in
the
house
for
for
years.
I
can't
remember
myself
whether
it
made
it
into
a
bill.
It
probably
would
have
been
in
the
the
the
k-12
bill
that
would
which
is
not
passed
yet.
I
definitely
you
know
supported.
You
know.
D
B
D
Who
played
that
role,
and
I
would
have
to
say-
and
I
think
my
wife
judy
would
agree-
that
the
education
on
how
to
use
a
library
how
to
conduct
research
faired
them
very
well
for
the
rest
of
their
lives,
and
it
was
an
extremely
valuable
learning
for
them,
because
it
taught
them
how
to
learn
how
to
do
research.
So
I
would
be.
I
think
I
would
be
supportive
of
that.
C
B
B
C
C
They
are
a
lot
of
times
working
on
on
software
and
and
programs
that
are
older
than
me,
which
is
just
terrible
so
providing
for
again.
This
is
this
is
another
issue
that
can
be
solved
with
with
money
right
in
terms
of
providing
them
with
software
that
can
help
them
do
their
jobs,
which
in
turn
serves
us
as
residents
of
minnesota.
C
It's
also
very
very
important
that
we
safeguard
our
technological.
You
know
technologies,
and
you
know
the
government
has
a
lot
of
private
data
right
and
that
needs
to
be
kept
safe,
so
ensuring
that
hackers
can't
get
into
our
systems
and
steal
that
information,
I
think,
is
also
vitally
important
so
and
we
can
go
on
further
and
talk
about
the
importance
of
that
even
with
elections.
D
D
But
what
what
surprised
me
is
that
I
ended
up
being
called
upon
more
frequently
for
my
25
years
in
information
technology.
I
I've
been
an
active
participant
in
the
governor's
blue
ribbon
council
and
on
I.t
reform
and
which
turned
into
a
a
a
permanent,
formal
technical
advisory
committee
that
includes
people
from
both
government
and
and
business.
D
That's
working
to
you
know
promote
best
practices
throughout
I.t
in
state
government,
as
I
mentioned
before,
I'm
a
member
along
with
senator
wicklund
in
our
informal
I.t
caucus
in
the
house,
which
is
both
bicameral
and
bipartisan,
where
we
collectively
come
together
and
agree
on
on
what
kinds
of
reforms
and
funding
is
necessary
for
state
government.
Our
systems
are
grossly
out
of
date,
we're
not
even
keeping
up
applying
the
patches
to
to
our
our
software
and
I've
been
very
involved
in
the
the
data
practices
area.
D
B
D
Throughout
bloomington,
these
are
major
revenue
sources
for
the
city
and
the
refer
you
know
for
like
forever.
The
city
has
had
a
strategy
of
you
know:
leveraging
its
proximity
to
the
airport
to
promote
tourism
within
within
the
city.
It
was
a
big
part
of
the
strategy
of
of
building
the
the
mall
of
america,
so
you
know
liquor
and
hospitality.
Taxes
in
a
good
year
will
provide.
D
You
know:
10
million
dollars
to
the
city's
bottom
line
and
some
of
those
revenues,
I
think,
with
what
the
question
is
getting
at-
is
that
some
of
those
revenues
are
dedicated
to
be
spent
only
in
the
mall
of
america
area.
For
for
things
like
redevelopment-
and
I
I
think
that
it
is,
you
know,
valid
to
say
to
question
whether,
maybe
that
some
of
that
revenue
should
be
going
more
or
more
of
that
revenue
go
into
the
general
fund
to
pro
to
support
other
general
general
operations
for
the
city.
C
Right
so
you
know:
we've
got
10
000
hotel
rooms
here
in
bloomington,
and
we
do
generate
quite
a
bit
locally
in
terms
of
our
liquor
and
lodging
tax.
Again,
I
think
what
the
question
is
getting
towards
is
how
those
funds
are
dedicated
towards
specific
areas
within
the
city
and
making
them
available
more
city-wide.
C
B
C
Okay,
so
good
question
and
I'll
try
to
be
succinct
in
this
with
the
with
the
90
seconds
we've
got
here,
so
we
passed
an
amazing
public
safety
bill
off
the
house
floor
and
even
just
anticipating
that
such
an
important
question
would
come
up.
I
wanted
to
kind
of
get
my
facts
straight,
so
we,
the
dfl,
put
forth
100
million
dollars
in
public
safety,
this
past
legislative
session,
which
would
provide
funding
tools
and
collaboration
needed
to
keep
people
safe.
C
The
bill
includes
crime
prevention,
funding
to
recruit
police
officers
to
build
trust
in
the
communities
they
serve.
Training
to
ensure
police
officers
have
the
proper
training
in
the
use
of
force
duty
duty
to
intercede
and
conflict.
De-Escalation
also
includes
funding
for
transparency
and
accountability.
Measures
in
the
police
officers,
standards
and
training
board
crime
investigation
grants
the
opioid
crisis.
Let's
not
forget
that.
That's
still
a
major
issue.
C
It
hasn't
gone
away
because
of
cove,
but
it's
still
ever
present
we
put
puts
funding
available
for
opioid
epidemic
crisis
response,
as
well
as
funding
for
police
officer
body
cameras.
So
this
this.
This
is
an
amazing
piece
of
work
put
together
by
chair
mariani
and
it's
one
of
the
again
another
one
of
these
lost
opportunities
to
really
bring
forth
some,
not
only
the
needed
funding,
but
also
the
account
they
needed.
Accountability
within
public
safety.
D
D
The
senate
had
had
none
of
that
and
the
the
house
bill
was
more
of
a
focused
on
prevention,
whereas
the
senate
bill
was
just
nothing
more
than
lengthening
sentences
and
and
being
tough
on
crime,
and
the
discussion
this
year
led
me
to
you,
know,
seek
out,
and
you
know,
read
a
non-partisan
house
research
report
that
look
address
this
issue.
Is
you
know
what
what
is
the
most
effective
way
to
to
prevent
or
to
deter
crime
and
the
the
the
answer
was
that
longer
sentences?
D
You
know,
don't
really
do
much
if
somebody's
facing
a
term
of
five
years
versus
ten
years,
they
probably
don't
even
know
what
the
term
is
and
that
what
they're
most
concerned
about
is
whether
they're
going
to
get
caught
or
not.
So
I'm
not
a
public
safety
expert,
but
I
am
a
data
expert,
and
so
I
was
pulled
in
to
you
know,
convene
a
group
of
state
and
local
law
enforcement
officials
to
look
at
the
question
of
how
could
we
better
improve
our
data
and
the
result
of
that?
B
D
I
just
build
on
my
my
last
answer.
One
of
one
of
the
gaps
that
that
we
identified
when
we
were
collected
into
the
end
of
this
group
was
that
if
a
youth
offender
comes
into
the
system,
they
are
generally
directly
referred
to.
The
juvenile
justice
authorities
and
no
arrest
record
is,
is
then
corrected
or
created
until
that
juvenile
is
brought
forward
to
arraignment.
D
Maybe
days
later,
and
so
we
identified
a
need
to
make
sure
that
those
are
being
recorded
at
the
time
that
they're
first
arrested,
because
what
was
happening
with
some
of
these
kids,
who
were
doing
all
the
carjackings
is
that
they
would
be
arrested,
referred
to
the
juvenile
justice
authorities
and
then
released
without
any
record
being
created
of
their
arrest,
which
left
them
free
to
go
out.
And
do
you
know
one
carjacking
after
another
for
a
period
of
weeks?
C
C
B
B
C
C
I
have
literally
knocked
on
thousands
of
doors.
I
probably
have
knocked
on
everybody,
that's
listening
and
everybody
in
this
room
door
and
when
you
show
up
at
somebody's
house
uninvited
and
unannounced,
it's
an
extremely
humbling
experience,
because
you
get
to
hear
firsthand
what's
going
on
in
people's
lives
and
it's
everything
from
the
fact
that
people
are
paying
40
of
their
income
for
child
care
and
having
to
make
the
impossible
decision
of
do.
C
I
quit
my
job
to
stay
home
with
my
kids
or
you
know,
do
I
leave
them
home
unattended,
looking
at
the
cost
of
rent
and
what
that
means
in
terms
of
having
a
community
to
where
so
many
people
work
within
our
community,
but
can't
afford
to
live
here
right.
So
it's
addressing
those
basic
needs.
Those
kitchen
table
issues,
so
I
am
laser
focused
on
what
matters
most
to
you.
Without
leaving
anybody
behind.
D
Yeah,
I
think
I
mentioned
in
my
opening
remarks
that
just
using
you
know,
traffic
safety
is
an
example.
You
know
going
back
to
when
I
was
a
city
council
member,
and
you
got
the
the
policy
enacted
that
what
allows
the
city
or
under
which
the
city
is
converting
its
four-lane
roads
to
three
and
I've
stayed
with
that
that
issue
all
the
way.
Through
my
public
service
career,
I
actually
spent
three
days
at
mndot's
training
center
in
shoreview.
D
Last
week
I
was
taking
a
class
on
road
design,
so
I
could
have
better
informed
discussions
with
engineers,
but
in
my
first
year
in
the
legislature,
I
passed
a
bill
that
I
wrote
myself
that
allows
cities
to
reduce
their
speed
limits.
Minneapolis
and
saint
paul
have
taken
advantage
of
it.
Bloomington
is
in
the
process
of
of
doing
that
now
as
well.
So
it's
a
good
example
of
a
an
issue
where
I've
taken
the
research
and
seen
legislation
or
an
ordinance
in
the
city
of
legislation.
You
know
through
to
completion
and
then
the
other.
B
D
Sure
again
would
like
to
thank
the
the
league
for
providing
this
opportunity
and
to
everyone
is
attended
today
for
for
your
wrapped
attention-
and
you
know,
as
you've
heard,
you
know
andrew
and
I
are
you
know,
pretty
much
aligned
on
on
the
issues.
I'm
surprised
the
issue
of
gun
violence
didn't
come
up,
and
I
I
do
I
want
to
you
know,
highlight
the
fact
that
my
wife
judy
and
I
are
very
active
in
the
moms
demand
action
organization.
D
We
did
pass.
You
know
a
pair
of
bills
in
the
2019
session
and
we
will
continue
working
on
that,
but
the
the
contrast
in
the
styles
you
know
andrew
has
characterized
himself
as
pursuing
kind
of
a
leadership
style,
I'm
a
policy
wonk
and
I'm
proud
of
it
and
proud
of
the
the
legislation
that
I've
already
crafted.
In
my
time
in
in
the
in
the
legislature,
I
love
what
I'm
doing
and
I
would
like
to
continue
doing
this
kind
of
serious
policy
work
on
your
behalf.
Thank
you.
C
C
C
B
B
Thank
you
to
the
league
of
women
voters
bloomington
for
sponsoring
this
forum.
It's
been
recorded
in
its
entirety
and
can
be
viewed.
Unedited
on
youtube
links
will
be
posted
on
the
city
of
bloomington
website
and
on
the
liga
women
voters
bloomington
website.
It
will
also
be
rebroadcast
on
bloomington
cable
tv
until
primary
election
day.
Thank
you
to
future
online
and
cable
tv
audiences,
remember
to
vote
on
or
before
tuesday
august
9th,
for
more
information
about
registering
to
vote
voting
early
and
voting
in
person
visit
the
minnesota
secretary
of
state's
website
www.mnvotes.org.