Bob Lawrence
Name: Bob Lawrence
Public Office Sought: Minnesota House of Representatives District 47A
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 612-440-2601
Campaign Website: bobformn.com
Twitter handle: @boblawrenceiv
Facebook Page: boblawrenceiv
Candidate Bio
I was born and raised in Oakdale. My wife Stacey and I have lived and raised our family in Woodbury for 17 years. After high school, I joined the Army Reserve as a combat medic and enrolled at Marquette University. With a Psychology degree in hand, I moved back to Minnesota and started my plumbing apprenticeship. As a master plumber, I owned a mechanical contracting company in St. Paul and employed over 100 union plumbers, pipefitters, tinners, and sprinks. In 2014 I made a career change and opened a State Farm Insurance agency on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. Now my agency is in Oakdale.
My Volunteer experience:
Boy Scout Troop 9005 St. Ambrose
Woodbury Athletic Association – Director of Football & VP of WAA & Coach
Grand Avenue Business Association – President and Chair of Grand Old Day
Hill-Murray High School – Father’s Club President & Trap Coach
Hasting Veterans Home
Woodbury Chamber of Commerce
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
Public Safety - Everyone deserves to live in a safe community. Funding and supporting the men and women that work in law enforcement is the foundation of that safety. Just as important is making sure that our prosecutors hold criminals accountable.
Economic Security - The people of Minnesota deserve the opportunity to earn a good living. By creating jobs, small businesses are essential in providing stability and growth to our economy. The role of government is to ensure the people are not harmed by over-taxation and inflation.
Education - Parents are uniquely positioned to determine what is in the best interest of their children. Therefore, the education of our children needs to be a partnership between parents and educators. That education needs to take place in the classroom, not on a screen.
How would you characterize the business climate in the East Metro and what role do businesses play in supporting quality of life issues in East Metro communities?
I own a business in the East Metro. I am active in the Woodbury Chamber, which gives me the opportunity to meet with business owners on a regular basis. Most business owners are optimistic and positive by nature. But the challenges from an overreaching government and a lack of employee availability have caused hardship. Our small businesses are the lifeblood of the East Metro.
What role do you think the State should have in attracting and retaining jobs, and what steps would you take to solicit new businesses to and retain existing businesses in the East Metro?
Safe communities attract businesses. The state sets the tone for policing and prosecuting at the county and local level. That tone needs to be adjusted.
What policies, if any, would you support to help employers address our state’s critical labor shortage?
First of all we need to produce the true unemployment numbers. I challenge everyone to take a few minutes to educate themselves on the process used to calculate the unemployment numbers. Minnesota is an amazing place to live. People will come and stay here if we adjust the income tax, focus on the basics in our education system, and never again arbitrarily shut down businesses.
Do you support any specific employment-related proposals? If so, what steps would you take to understand the impact of a proposal on the many types of businesses in the East Metro and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
Legislators have ideas that they believe are for the greater good. That seems like an obvious statement, but when some of these bills come through it appears not much thought was given to the ramifications. Talking to the business owners and the employees that are affected by new employment-related proposals is the key to crafting new legislation.
Public safety and rising crime rates are of serious concern to the business community and residents. What strategies or policies would you use to address public safety issues?
We have a serious shortage of police officers. In order to attract more men and women to these positions, the leaders in our state and communities have to vocalize their support for those that are risking their lives for the rest of us. Just as important is the role of prosecutors and judges to hold those that are engaging in criminal activity accountable.
What strategies or policies would you use to address transportation issues? Have your strategies or views changed on transportation since we’ve seen shifts in road use, public transportation use, work from home models, etc. due to the pandemic?
The State must focus on updating our infrastructure of roads and bridges. August 1st will mark 15 years since the 35W bridge collapsed. One of my high school friends, Pat Holmes was one of the 13 people that died. I do not want to see another tragedy that results in loss of life to remind us the importance of investing in our transportation infrastructure.
What strategies or policies would you use to address housing issues?
In order to continue to have workers that provide our goods and services in our communities, there must be a plan for affordable housing. We rely on the private sector to provide that affordable housing, while the government extends tax incentives to make it a profitable investment. Cities like St. Paul capping rent increases that are already regulated by HUD is a sure way to cease any further development.
What are your priorities for the State’s budget? Are there any services currently provided by the State that you believe should be expanded, cut back or eliminated? Are there new opportunities to share services with other entities?
We are now up to a 13 billion dollar surplus. In simple terms, the state is collecting too much money in the form of taxes. Government spending should focus on infrastructure, public safety, and providing help to folks that are in need.
What will you do to expand your district’s tax base?
Tax base can be increased by either increasing taxes or attracting more business and residences which then increase the gross amount of revenue to be taxed. I am in favor of attracting more business and residence to my district.
How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce, and address the achievement gap?
Focus on teaching our children math, language, science, and technology. This prepares our youth not only for post-secondary education but also gives them a base for life skills.
What is the role of the State in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses?
A quick Google search brings up a multitude of programs, grants, loans, and targeted procurement programs that are in place to assist minority and women-owned businesses. The State should facilitate a mentorship program where existing business owners can guide start ups.
What further policies can the State of Minnesota adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
The State must never again arbitrarily decide which businesses stay open and which close. Citizens can make choices that are best for them on what level they want to patronize a business, but the State cannot close a business based on the perceived level of importance of that business. To every business owner and employee, their business is vital.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
Public Office Sought: Minnesota House of Representatives District 47A
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 612-440-2601
Campaign Website: bobformn.com
Twitter handle: @boblawrenceiv
Facebook Page: boblawrenceiv
Candidate Bio
I was born and raised in Oakdale. My wife Stacey and I have lived and raised our family in Woodbury for 17 years. After high school, I joined the Army Reserve as a combat medic and enrolled at Marquette University. With a Psychology degree in hand, I moved back to Minnesota and started my plumbing apprenticeship. As a master plumber, I owned a mechanical contracting company in St. Paul and employed over 100 union plumbers, pipefitters, tinners, and sprinks. In 2014 I made a career change and opened a State Farm Insurance agency on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. Now my agency is in Oakdale.
My Volunteer experience:
Boy Scout Troop 9005 St. Ambrose
Woodbury Athletic Association – Director of Football & VP of WAA & Coach
Grand Avenue Business Association – President and Chair of Grand Old Day
Hill-Murray High School – Father’s Club President & Trap Coach
Hasting Veterans Home
Woodbury Chamber of Commerce
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
Public Safety - Everyone deserves to live in a safe community. Funding and supporting the men and women that work in law enforcement is the foundation of that safety. Just as important is making sure that our prosecutors hold criminals accountable.
Economic Security - The people of Minnesota deserve the opportunity to earn a good living. By creating jobs, small businesses are essential in providing stability and growth to our economy. The role of government is to ensure the people are not harmed by over-taxation and inflation.
Education - Parents are uniquely positioned to determine what is in the best interest of their children. Therefore, the education of our children needs to be a partnership between parents and educators. That education needs to take place in the classroom, not on a screen.
How would you characterize the business climate in the East Metro and what role do businesses play in supporting quality of life issues in East Metro communities?
I own a business in the East Metro. I am active in the Woodbury Chamber, which gives me the opportunity to meet with business owners on a regular basis. Most business owners are optimistic and positive by nature. But the challenges from an overreaching government and a lack of employee availability have caused hardship. Our small businesses are the lifeblood of the East Metro.
What role do you think the State should have in attracting and retaining jobs, and what steps would you take to solicit new businesses to and retain existing businesses in the East Metro?
Safe communities attract businesses. The state sets the tone for policing and prosecuting at the county and local level. That tone needs to be adjusted.
What policies, if any, would you support to help employers address our state’s critical labor shortage?
First of all we need to produce the true unemployment numbers. I challenge everyone to take a few minutes to educate themselves on the process used to calculate the unemployment numbers. Minnesota is an amazing place to live. People will come and stay here if we adjust the income tax, focus on the basics in our education system, and never again arbitrarily shut down businesses.
Do you support any specific employment-related proposals? If so, what steps would you take to understand the impact of a proposal on the many types of businesses in the East Metro and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
Legislators have ideas that they believe are for the greater good. That seems like an obvious statement, but when some of these bills come through it appears not much thought was given to the ramifications. Talking to the business owners and the employees that are affected by new employment-related proposals is the key to crafting new legislation.
Public safety and rising crime rates are of serious concern to the business community and residents. What strategies or policies would you use to address public safety issues?
We have a serious shortage of police officers. In order to attract more men and women to these positions, the leaders in our state and communities have to vocalize their support for those that are risking their lives for the rest of us. Just as important is the role of prosecutors and judges to hold those that are engaging in criminal activity accountable.
What strategies or policies would you use to address transportation issues? Have your strategies or views changed on transportation since we’ve seen shifts in road use, public transportation use, work from home models, etc. due to the pandemic?
The State must focus on updating our infrastructure of roads and bridges. August 1st will mark 15 years since the 35W bridge collapsed. One of my high school friends, Pat Holmes was one of the 13 people that died. I do not want to see another tragedy that results in loss of life to remind us the importance of investing in our transportation infrastructure.
What strategies or policies would you use to address housing issues?
In order to continue to have workers that provide our goods and services in our communities, there must be a plan for affordable housing. We rely on the private sector to provide that affordable housing, while the government extends tax incentives to make it a profitable investment. Cities like St. Paul capping rent increases that are already regulated by HUD is a sure way to cease any further development.
What are your priorities for the State’s budget? Are there any services currently provided by the State that you believe should be expanded, cut back or eliminated? Are there new opportunities to share services with other entities?
We are now up to a 13 billion dollar surplus. In simple terms, the state is collecting too much money in the form of taxes. Government spending should focus on infrastructure, public safety, and providing help to folks that are in need.
What will you do to expand your district’s tax base?
Tax base can be increased by either increasing taxes or attracting more business and residences which then increase the gross amount of revenue to be taxed. I am in favor of attracting more business and residence to my district.
How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce, and address the achievement gap?
Focus on teaching our children math, language, science, and technology. This prepares our youth not only for post-secondary education but also gives them a base for life skills.
What is the role of the State in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses?
A quick Google search brings up a multitude of programs, grants, loans, and targeted procurement programs that are in place to assist minority and women-owned businesses. The State should facilitate a mentorship program where existing business owners can guide start ups.
What further policies can the State of Minnesota adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
The State must never again arbitrarily decide which businesses stay open and which close. Citizens can make choices that are best for them on what level they want to patronize a business, but the State cannot close a business based on the perceived level of importance of that business. To every business owner and employee, their business is vital.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?