Making a Difference

If you really want to see something happen during the 2010 legislative session, contact the caucus leadership and demand support from our elected officials on area issues.

By Teresa Bohnen

During the St. Cloud Area Chamber’s Government Affairs Legislative Preview, our members had an audience with seven of our state senators and representatives. Participants were given the opportunity to express their biggest concerns for the 2010 Legislative Session. Here’s a sample of their comments:

"Uncertainty in the business community about what government is going to do next is stifling decisions that will promote growth. We need to know what you’re going to do so we can move ahead."

"No more mandates without appropriate funding. The legislature needs to eliminate unfunded mandates."

"Simplify the tax code."

"Fund transportation adequately. Transportation and education are the only two services the legislature is required to fund constitutionally, so do it."

"Obtain full funding to complete the St. Cloud Civic Center this year."

"Biggest concerns? Tax increases and health care."

"Tighten spending – show the same restraint that businesses have shown for more than a year."

"Use contract employees effectively."

"Operate like we all want you to operate – get your jobs done."

"Use our extensive and successful network of health and human service not-for-profits and their volunteers and staff. Fund them to be innovative and creative in solving problems instead of putting additional money into the state health and human services budget."

"Commit to no government program expansion in the next two years."

"Small businesses should be able to self-insure and reward healthy life styles to reduce their insurance bills. We need flexibility to develop real financially based programs to encourage and reward healthy employees."

Our legislators took the opportunity to address many of these concerns and talk about the coming session. There is a general acknowledgement that this will be an incredibly difficult session with another deficit forecast, our Governor on the national radar and many key legislative leaders running for governor this fall.

One point rang clear with me. When our local elected officials stand up for us against their caucus members, we need to show them strong support. That means making calls to leadership expressing how important the decisions being made are to our community.

Consider this: to become an elected official, people are recruited, courted and supported by the party who is seeking them to run. They are supported with funds, volunteers and leadership participation in their campaigns from their party. Once they are elected, it is natural to assume they will dance with the ones who brought them.

To stand against your caucus on an important issue is political suicide, unless you have the strong support of your constituents. As constituents, we often write notes of thanks to the elected officials who took the position. What we really need to be doing is contacting leadership in their caucuses to tell them we demand support from our elected leaders, or it will impact their ability to be re-elected.

This session in particular, we need to support our elected officials for the decisions they make on our behalf that make us happy. We all want bi-partisanship. To quote one of our legislators, "Don’t blame us, engage us."

Teresa Bohnen is president of the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce