Candidate Viewpoint: Katie Sieben

Talk about it

Earlier this year over a breakfast conversation, the head of a local manufacturing company implored me to keep working across the aisle to get things done for the good of all Minnesotans. It’s a message I heard over and over from residents and employers alike following the disastrous government shutdown last year. It’s a message I have always taken to heart. Our priorities — the need for good jobs, high quality public schools, safe and efficient roads and bridges — are too important to be lost in endless partisanship. I am seeking re-election to the Minnesota Senate because I know that working together we can deliver results that Minnesotans expect.

During the past legislative session, I reached out to Republicans and Democrats to seek agreement on the Minnesota Investment Fund, which helps provide financing to Minnesota businesses that want to expand and create new jobs. While this bill did not ultimately become law, bipartisan progress was made, and I’ll keep working across the aisle until it does pass. As our economy recovers, it is reasonable that Minnesotans look to the Legislature to be a partner and work with our governor to help make our recovery as successful as possible. This is a goal that should cut across party lines.

Unfortunately, current leaders controlling the Legislature have focused most of their energy on a narrow, divisive agenda. The result has been a government shutdown that caused critical construction delays on the Hastings Bridge. Debate over controversial constitutional amendments has taken precedent over progress on jobs and economic development. Key opportunities to deliver for middle class families have been missed. We can and must do better. Minnesotans deserve better.

We can begin by turning the page on the extreme partisanship that has failed to address the one issue that unites all Minnesotans: jobs. We need to reach across the aisle whenever we can. We need to restore common sense and end “my way or the highway” political games. It’s time that we chart a different path — that puts Minnesotans first.

I am working in the Legislature to put people back to work, and ensure those workers have rights in the workplace. I want people who have worked all their lives to be able to retire with dignity and security, and I want their children and grandchildren to have access to the best public schools that prepare them for a lifetime of success.

We all want to live in a community with safe and efficient roads and bridges. I am working in the Legislature to rebuild our state by supporting a jobs bill that puts investments in our community and our state ahead of partisan payback and division.

These are my values, because they are the values of this area — where five generations of my family lived in Hastings, where I grew up in Newport and where I live and worship in Cottage Grove now.

As my husband Josh and I raise our two young boys, I understand now more than ever the importance of clean air, high quality public schools and the affordability of college. Like most parents, I worry about their future. I am running for re-election because I want every child in Minnesota to have a bright future, with a real possibility that if they work hard, economic security will be a reachable goal. I look forward to hearing your goals and vision for Minnesota as I door-knock this summer and fall.

Your support has allowed me to bring your voice to the Minnesota Senate. As I run for re-election, I hope I can again earn your vote. Working together, Republicans and Democrats alike, we will return our state to a path of greatness that made us the envy of the nation and the world — the best schools, the best infrastructure, the best place to live and work and the best place for our children to grow.

Sieben is the DFL-endorsed candidate for Senate District 54. For more information, call 651-458-3194 or go to katiesieben.com.

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