Michael Willemsen, Sauk Rapids
When I made the decision to run for Minnesota State Senate, I was excited to make a difference for our community. This is a time of wealth inequity, rampant discrimination and hatred, poorly-funded schools and an immediate need to avert climate catastrophe. These are problems that touch me deeply, and I am determined to work on setting things right.
A recent column by Connor Kockler in the Newsleader discussed our current inability to discover the truth about politics because we often only listen to sources that we agree with. Instead, the time has come for us to look beyond our partisan differences and discover what we have in common rather than what divides us. As a local candidate, I plan to focus on issues that affect us directly in our area of Central Minnesota. Our local issues affect us on a daily basis, and yet many people are more concerned with the presidential election than the state and local elections. As I talk with more and more people, I have come to realize many of us don’t know our state senator, city mayor or city council members.
These “down ticket” races are just as important.
Here’s the math: Minnesota has 67 senators and 134 representatives, or 201 state legislators. Each senator represents about 80,000 people, while each representative has a district of about 40,000. Legislators make laws that affect the daily lives of Minnesotans. Every two years, our representatives run for election, which means we could have a fresh start in our federal and state houses every two years. This means we must stay informed on a daily basis, so we know how we want to vote in every cycle. Staying informed takes a lot of effort on the part of every voter, and for that reason it is important we study a variety of sources for information.
Please get informed on a local level, and vote based on issues you care about most; www.mn.gov is an excellent source of information for the issues affecting our state.
