February 23, 2010| Posted in Events, Front Page Slideshow, Uncategorized
Thissen rallies for GAMC.
Paul Thissen rallied with hundreds of Minnesota nurses today at the Minnesota State Capitol rotunda. The rally focused on saving GAMC, a health care program for vulnerable Minnesotans.
Thissen told the cheering crowd that, “Tim Pawlenty crossed a moral line when he vetoed GAMC.” He urged the nurses to pressure Legislators to override Pawlenty’s veto. “The movement needs to happen outside the walls of the Capitol and come in to put pressure on Legislators to do the right thing,” Thissen said.
Thissen has traveled the state in support of GAMC last summer and has strongly supported protecting vulnerable Minnesotans, including 8,000 veterans, from this harmful budget cut. Last week, he rallied thousands of his supporters to call their Legislators to override Tim Pawlenty’s veto of the program.
Thissen is a leader on health care in Minnesota. He received a “Legislative All Star” award for his work on health care. Thissen earned the Minnesota Nurses Association endorsement in his campaign for Governor this fall.
March 2, 2009| Posted in Articles, Events, Health Care, In the News, Innovating Government, News Media
Rep. Kory Kath, center, speaks with educator Mary Jenatschek, left and Waseca school board member Cathy Hoy at Saturday
KATH HOLDS TOWN HALL MEETING
By Ruth Ann Hager, Waseca County News, March 2, 2009
At a town hall meeting here Saturday, State Rep. Kory Kath said balancing the state budget will be difficult but that the cuts that are made must be fair and residents should have a voice in determining those cuts.
Kath, newly elected DFL representative from Owatonna, was joined at Waseca City Hall by Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis), chair of the Health and Human Services Committee and also a declared candidate for governor in 2010.
Thissen came along to answer questions about the sizable cuts to Health Care and Human Services in Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s proposed budget.
Kath’s legislative committee assignments include k-12 education, public safety, crime victims and ag policy.
The group of approximately 35 people who attended Saturday’s forum included a Waseca County commissioner and members of both the Waseca City Council and the Waseca Board of Education.
Kath gave the governor credit for his efforts to balance the budget but he said 87 DFL House members have 87 different ideas about how to do it.
“This is going to be very, very contentious,” he said.
Using a deficit of $5 billion would mean cuts of $2 billion, $1 billion from the federal stimulus program, a $1 billion tax shift in k-12 education funding, and $1 billion in general obligation bonds, according to Kath.
“I’m adamantly opposed to bonding for our future,” he said.
Tuesday’s budget forecast makes obsolete everything proposed to date by the governor, Kath said, and he anticipates a realignment of government and an end to some local mandates.
He asked the audience for “push back” to tell their representatives if they are going too far in cuts.
“What are the sacred cows?” Kath asked.
Waseca Mayor Roy Srp said local government aid is not a sacred cow for him but he would like state mandates lifted from cities. “There are plenty of them that would sure help us out,” he said.
If LGA is cut, however, city hands shouldn’t be tied by a 3.9 percent cap on property tax increases, said council member Les Tlougan.
One suggestion, Kath said, is a “blink tax” that “blinks on” and “blinks off” when the economic crisis is over.
Revenue options include increases to sales tax, income tax or fees, which, he said, are also a tax.
“It’s the wrong time for a sales tax,” said Pete Fog, a retired agriculture instructor, because with so many unemployed, people can’t afford a sales tax.
Kath said the sales tax is the most regressive but it is also the least volatile.
Ron Purcell, a local Soil and Water Conservation supervisor, said he fears that conservation will take the biggest hit. He asked Kath to keep his eyes on conservation and to “keep it fair.”
The biggest struggle will be to keep conservation funding coming from the newly passed sales tax amendment, Kath said. “The amendment will be raided,” he said. “There are too many people eyeing that.”
State art funds were cut 50 percent in the governor’s budget, Kath said, which is an indication that cuts to the arts will be severe.
Thissen said health care will take serious cuts. The governor is proposing $1.5 to $1.8 billion in cuts out of a $9 billion budget, eliminating people from health care and reducing rates to hospitals and nursing homes. The stimulus package would put $2 billion in health care and “help to cushion the blow,” Thissen said, but legislators must determine who needs health care services the most. Because of the economy, he hopes for a four to five month bridge to help people who have lost their jobs and health care.
The good news of the federal stimulus money coming now, Kath said, is that the governor and legislature will have to work together.
What he is trying to determine through meetings with his constituents is what a fair budget would look like.
“There are two levels of sacrifice,” Kath said.
“The first is what you’re willing to give up and the second is what you’re willing to give.”
February 11, 2009| Posted in Current Issue - Frontpage, Events
Minneapolis Club
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
7:30 – 8:45 am.
729 Second Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Briefings by
-Jill Stever-Zeitlin on Education Reform
-Carole Specktor on Children’s Healthcare
-Rep. Patti Fritz on Supporting Longterm Caregivers
Host Committee
Kara Barrow • Jeanette Bazis • Marianne Budde • Andrea Carruthers • Julie Chosy • Kathy DiGiorno • Christine Esckilsen • Suzanne Fenton • Paula Goldberg• Janis Heaney • Andrea Kaufman • Anne Mahle • Olivia Mastry • Jennifer Prestholdt • Carol Prince • Amy Rotenberg • Elizabeth Schmiesing • Christine Smalley • Robin Sternberg • Mary Wahlstrand • Karen Wilson Thissen • Kathy Woodruff Luehr • Holly Ziemer
February 6, 2009| Posted in Events, Past Events
Tuesday, February 10
7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Richfield Community Center
7000 Nicollet Ave. S. – Richfield, MN
Minnesota faces one of the largest budget deficits in decades. The current shortfall is exacerbated by the global recession. But a recent commission report to the legislature warned of a long-term problem, with expenses outpacing revenue growth.
Join elected officials from District 63 to hear ideas from Minnesota leaders for addressing our budget challenges. The event is open to the public. There will be time for audience questions.
Symposium participants include:
-Jay Kiedrowski, former Minnesota Finance Commissioner
-Bill Blazer, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
-Mark Haveman, Minnesota Taxpayers Association
-Dane Smith, Growth and Justice
-Javier Morillo, SEIU, Minnesota State Council
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