| Hello, I am Bonnie Westlin. I am challenging the 21 year incumbent for Senator in district 34. I am an attorney/mediator in my professional life, and I will bring desperately needed skills as a negotiator to the Minnesota Senate. Every day, I help negotiate compromises in difficult situations. This is the true responsibility of Senators in Minnesota.
My values match the values of this district. Education must be well-funded from early childhood through high school; we need to make postsecondary education affordable for everyone. Like many Minnesotans, my postsecondary education provided a way for me to transition from poverty to the middle-class but left me with a huge burden of debt. We must ensure the middle class isn't priced out of the American Dream.
I have used social services; I have worked hard; I have built a successful life. Government helped me when I truly needed it. This is the role of government-to provide the services people need to contribute to their families, communities, and the economy.
As a small business owner, I am responsible for purchasing my own health insurance without the help of an employer. I understand how difficult it is to pay both premiums and co-pays for most working Minnesotans. The system needs to be improved to truly ensure access to all the health care people need. The federal government provided a mandate for health insurance; the state needs to create policies to guarantee that people get the health care services they need.
As a suburban single mother, I want to make policies that will improve the lives of not only my children but all of our children. I understand personally the difficulties so many families face financially and emotionally. I do not think enough people in the legislature have experience like mine. My experience means I will craft bills to make our community better without leaving people to fend for themselves during difficult times. |