Paul Thissen: Innovation in Action

One-Minute Videos (Nos. 1-6)

SMART NEW LEADERSHIP

We have built an incredibly strong state-wide campaign.

First of all, it’s built on hard work and energy. We have gone out in 2009 to 83 of our 87 counties, most of them several times, met with thousands of Minnesotans. And you know what? The lesson I take from Massachusetts is you win elections by working hard and bringing a lot of energy to it. That’s what we’ve done, and that’s what we’re going to do.

Second is, it’s built on a simple message. And that is: our job is to rebuild Minnesota and its economy. And we have to do it in a way that works for middle-class families.

It’s built on the idea that what happens inside the Capitol, what happens over there, doesn’t matter as much as what happens in real people’s lives. And we’ve got to get away from the political gamesmanship, whether it’s within our own party, or whether it’s within our state government. And I’m committed to doing that.

And the last thing is we’ve got to understand that politics as usual won’t cut it anymore. We have built a campaign that is about bringing new ideas — rising to the task of meeting the challenges of this state.

Smart leadership. Smart new leadership. That’s what I have to offer you. And I’d really appreciate your support.

BUDGET SOLUTIONS

I think we all agree that jobs is the first job of the next governor. But I think it’s important that it’s not just any job, but good paying jobs that a family can live on. Because you know what, the way we have to rebuild this economy is to get away from what we’ve been doing for 15 years and focus in on the economies of middle-class families. And letting them succeed. Key to that is a good-paying job.

The second thing — and this is the key I think to solving our budget crisis. We do have to address taxes, we do have to address getting people back to work, but we have to get health care costs under control. They are going up 20 percent. They’re squeezing out our ability to invest in anything else.

If you’re conerned about college tuition, look at the slope of increase in health care costs in our state budget, and the slope of decrease in our investment in higher education. They’re identical but in opposite directions. That’s what we have to get after.

The last thing, which I think we really have to do if we want to do anything, is restore trust in our government. The public doesn’t trust government to do things. And that is opening up government, making it more transparent, moving decisions to the local level, and making sure people are getting engaged.

And that is really up to all of us.

HOW TO GROW

As we get our budget back under control, the places that I would invest our money are early childhood, higher education and our transportation infrastructure, because that is the future of our prosperity in this state.

But two other things we really need to think about. The first is there’s a lot of benefit we can get by incorporating our colleges and our universities more — closely integrated with the rest of our communities. You know I was just speaking with someone earlier here who was saying that the graduates of the urban design classes in this university serve 90% of the cities in this state. Those are the kind of stories we’ve got to get out there. Because there’s a connection between our institutions and the larger community and we need a governor who understands that and is going to connect that more.

The second thing we need to do is we’ve got to stop the brain drain from this state. One way to do that is to model a program in Maine that says that if you go to school in Minnesota, and graduate, and stay here in Minnesota, you’re going to get a tax credit against repaying your tuition. That keeps people here in Minnesota, especially in greater Minnesota. And that’s about –[TIME]. Thank you.

A PLAN FOR REVENUE

As I’ve gone around the state, everywhere the number one issue that people talk about are increasing property taxes and what that’s meaning for their schools and for their cities. We need to move away from reliance on property taxes and move back to a fair state-level tax. And I think that is a winning issue for Democrats next year because people are incredibly frustrated. But that’s the first place to go.

We need to look at the income tax, and I think if you ask Minnesotans: Is it better for someone making $300,000 to pay maybe $300 a year more, as opposed to taking a hundred bucks out of someone’s pocket who’s living on $1200 a month? I think most Minnesotans would say yes, that’s the direction we need to go.

The second thing we need to do is get people back to work, But the third thing we need to do and I can’t say this enough, is we do need to get health care costs under control. It’s a third of our budget today, in 20 years it’s going to be two-thirds if we don’t do anything about. And think about what that means for your ability to invest in your schools, or in this college, or in public safety. We need to change that around. And we can do it — not by the way the governor did, throwing people off of health care — but paying smarter for health care. And there’s no one in this race [TIME] that knows more about that than I do.

GETTING RESULTS

Experience in the tough partisan environment at the Capitol, I think, is a really important qualification for the next Governor. Because it is tough, and it is partisan.

But I’ve only been in the legislature seven years. I’ve been in private practice before that, and I’ve actually continued my law practice while I’ve served in the legislature. I haven’t made a career out of politics.

And so coming into that atmosphere, particularly as a member of the minority for my first years, was an eye-opening experience. Because that’s not how things are done in the private sector — people figure things out. I got a lot done as a member of the minority. It’s one of the greatest blessings I had, coming in, not being a member of the majority. Because you learn to work across the aisle.

I want to share one story with you. Representative Seifert, who’s likely to be the governor’s candidate on the Republican side, has made a career out of welfare-bashing. And would get up on the House floor, year after year, making these arguments. Last year I said, -I’m going to give him a hearing, in committee, let the light of fact shine on what he’s talking about. When we did that his arguments fell apart, except for a few, and I actually had to change my mind on a few things. And we passed those things.

Focusing on the facts, allowing transparency and openness, that’s how you get stuff done. And that’s the kind of leader I want to be for you.

PLAYING TO WIN

I’m State Representative Paul Thissen.  And I’m running for Governor because I think that our party, and our state, has been playing not to lose for too long. And I think it’s time we start playing to win.

And as an example, you know there’s are 80,000 kids in this state that don’t have health care coverage tonight. And I think that’s absolutely wrong, as I’m sure most of you do.

So last year, despite the fact that there was a lot of legislative fear over the budget deficit, a hyper-partisan environment, a just-say-no governor, I stood up and said -We have a moral obligation in Minnesota to make sure every child can see a doctor or nurse when they need to.

And because I stood up, we passed a law that means tonight 20,000 more kids have health care coverage.

You know we have a lot farther to go, and I’m committed to making sure we get all the way there. But I think it’s that kind of decisive leadership that we need in this state. A clear vision, tested in the partisan environment over at the State Capitol, and with a record of delivering results and not just excuses.

That’s the kind of governor we need to lead us out of this crisis we’re in. That’s the kind of candidate that we need to win in November. And that’s what I want to offer to all of you.