Karin Housley
Name: Karin Housley
Public Office Sought: Minnesota State Senate - District 39
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 651-260-8905
Campaign website: housleyforsenate.com
Twitter handle: @karinhousley
Facebook page: KarinHousleyMN
Candidate Bio
It truly has been an honor to represent Senate District 39 (Forest Lake, Stillwater & the surrounding St. Croix Valley) for the last eight years. I’ve worked very had to get a lot of great things done for our district and I’ve done that by working across the aisle. More than 70% of the bills I have authored have been bi-partisan. As the chair of the Family Care and Aging Committee, my passion has been children, families and protecting our elderly. I was able to get landmark legislation signed into law to help keep our seniors safe that live in assisted living homes. I also authored and got passed into law multiple bills to help prevent the financial exploitation of vulnerable adults. Listening to my constituents, hearing what their issues are and how I can help is at the core of what I do every day. I have always had an open-door policy and have met with thousands of residents of our district to hear their concerns. As a small business owner, wife to my husband, Phil, for 35 years, mother of four, and grandmother of three, I continue to bring real life experience to the senate.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
I also sit on the Commerce Committee and the Jobs & Economic Growth Committee. Small businesses are the backbone of our state, so making sure that government isn’t mandating any unnecessary or overburdensome regulations to prohibit our job creators from prospering is a top priority. Also, a top priority for me is to bring law and order back to our state. I am honored to be endorsed by the Minnesota Police and Peace Officer Association. Residents need to know that our streets and communities are safe. When the City of Forest Lake was attempting to dismantle their police department, residents asked me to help, and I did. When talking with our residents, safety is at the top of everyone’s minds. I also sit on the Education Committee and both of my parents were teachers. Making sure that we provide our kids, our state’s future, with the best education possible, is a priority of mine. We were able to fund our schools with a 12% increase over the last few years, the largest education bill in history.
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?
Again, small businesses are our state’s foundation. Listening to these job creators about where we can help, and where we should take action to get it done, is always needed. Whether it’s lowering taxes, removing unnessesary regulations or streamlining processes, it should all be on the table. We lost a lot of small businesses during COVID-19 and now, more than ever, we need to come to the aid of these folks so we don’t lose anymore. I have worked with both local chambers in my district, and I know firsthand that a strong business community is vital to supporting the quality of life in our communities.
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?
Our state needs to have a friendlier tax climate in order to attract new businesses and retain our existing businesses. I’ve continued to fight for this as we’ve lost many businesses to our surrounding states because of the poor tax climate we have. There’s a reason we see South Dakota’s governor advertising on Minnesota television trying to persuade our businesses to relocate to SD. Also, we must make sure that government doesn’t continue to mandate even more regulations than they already have, many of which hinder growth. Removing these roadblocks will help retain and attract. I have worked very hard with many small businesses, from wedding barns to builders, from radon mitigators to freelance hair & makeup artists, when big government started to apply a heavy hand to their businesses. Government should be helping our businesses, not getting in the way.
Do you support any specific employment-related proposals (such as minimum wage, sick time, or mandatory scheduling notice)? If so, what steps would you take to understand the impact of an ordinance on the many types of businesses in the east metro and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
I believe in a free market, and businesses will pay the wage that they need to attract employees – a supply and demand, free market economy. I don’t believe any type of government, city, county or state, should mandate what a private businesses should pay their employees or how much sick time they must give to their employees. These individual city-by-city mandates will really hurt our small businesses. Many of them do business in multiple cities and it would be an accounting nightmare.
What is your strategy to address public safety, transportation, and housing issues?
Public Safety - making sure we support our police and peace officers. We need to provide them with funding for training when it comes to cultural awareness, mental illness and crisis response. What happened to George Floyd should not have happened, but we need to build trust between law enforcement and their communities with training and common-sense accountability measures. Transportation – we need to fund our infrastructure to make sure that our roads and bridges are safe. The Senate passed a nearly one-billion-dollar bonding bill that focuses on key infrastructure projects that will get Minnesotans working. $688 million of that was for our roads, bridges, airports and freight rail to provide safe and fast transportation for commerce, education and recreation. It is disappointing that at the time of this survey, the House of Representatives has not passed the bill. I’m still hopeful they pass it in a special session. Housing - I have also spent a lot of time during my time in the senate on the housing shortage issue. Why is it that to build the same house in Hudson Wisconsin is 30% cheaper than it is in Stillwater? Regulations & Processes. We have to work to make housing more affordable in MN and we start with looking at our state mandates.
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?
First off, we need have a balanced budget and we can not spend more than we bring in. Because of COVID we have a projected deficit to be more than five billion dollars. We need to streamline government. There is still a lot of waste, fraud and abuse happening and we need to continue to hold the state accountable for every hard earned dollar they take from us to spend. No department is immune to it, every area should be scrutinized with a fine tooth comb to help save our taxpayers money. That being said, the programs that are working efficiently and have proven to be successful should most definitely be expanded if there is room in the budget.
What will you do to expand your district’s tax base?
Of the four most used tax bases, we have individual income tax, corporate income tax, sales tax and property tax. I have yet to meet a person who is begging us in the legislature to raise their taxes. We already have the 8th highest individual income tax in the country at 9.85%. We are losing many residents to states like Florida that have zero income tax. As for business taxes, we are the 5th worst in the country. Out of the 50 states, we rank number 45 as a business-friendly state with a corporate income tax rate of 9.8%. The only states with higher business tax than us are New Jersey, New York, California, and Arkansas. South Dakota has no corporate business tax. This is exactly why their governor is appealing to our businesses to move to her state. We are 18th highest when it comes to average combined state and local sales tax, and 19th highest in property taxes. Minnesotans don’t want to their taxes increased, any of them. We need to hold government accountable by spending within their means, and not increase our taxes because there is an appetite to spend, spend, spend
How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce?
I have seen many private businesses partnering with both K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions that have programs that are working. Whether that be through holding a Manufacturing Expo in the high school and inviting businesses in, or an actual program within a high school subsidized by a company. These can lead to careers in welding, auto-mobile repair, law enforcement, carpentry, plumbing, web programming, graphic design and the list goes on. We have more than a hundred of accredited career and technical schools in Minnesota. Programs that emphasize real world skills and knowledge with a career focus. A four-year university education isn’t for everyone so we must incentivize career and technical colleges in addition to previously traditional post-secondary schools. Also, encouraging these programs in the high schools have proven to be very successful in helping our youth on their way to a career path. When it comes to K-12, we need to continue to address our achievement gap, beginning with our youngest children, using data to identify which programs are working best and make them our top priority.
What is the role of the State in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses?
I think the state has done a good job in the law changes that went into effect the last four years to help increase minority and women owned businesses. Those changes are working and our minority, women-owned and veteran owned businesses are on the rise. We will continue to listen to the needs of the state when it comes to all small business owners. In our COVID Grants for Small Businesses we made sure that $15 million was awarded to minority-owned, veteran-owned or women-owned businesses.
What further policies can the State of Minnesota adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
I think the state has done a good job in the law changes that went into effect the last four years to help increase minority and women owned businesses. Those changes are working and our minority, women-owned and veteran owned businesses are on the rise. We will continue to listen to the needs of the state when it comes to all small business owners. In our COVID Grants for Small Businesses we made sure that $15 million was awarded to minority-owned, veteran-owned or women-owned businesses.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
One of the things that I’m continuing to work on is to help our childcare providers. They were hit hard when the pandemic struck, with enrollment being down by 50%, that’s if they chose to or were able to stay open. I authored a bill to help childcare providers, both at-home providers and child-care centers across the state to be able to apply for $30 million dollars in grants. Then we got another $100 million to the providers through the Cares Act dollars to help them stay open. For our economy to recover, we need to have care for our children so their parents can go to work. It truly has been an honor to chair the Family Care & Aging committee because my issues range a lifetime. From newborns to hospice, it’s where my passion truly is, in caring for people. I would love to serve the people of Forest Lake, Stillwater and the surrounding St. Croix Valley for another two years.
Public Office Sought: Minnesota State Senate - District 39
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 651-260-8905
Campaign website: housleyforsenate.com
Twitter handle: @karinhousley
Facebook page: KarinHousleyMN
Candidate Bio
It truly has been an honor to represent Senate District 39 (Forest Lake, Stillwater & the surrounding St. Croix Valley) for the last eight years. I’ve worked very had to get a lot of great things done for our district and I’ve done that by working across the aisle. More than 70% of the bills I have authored have been bi-partisan. As the chair of the Family Care and Aging Committee, my passion has been children, families and protecting our elderly. I was able to get landmark legislation signed into law to help keep our seniors safe that live in assisted living homes. I also authored and got passed into law multiple bills to help prevent the financial exploitation of vulnerable adults. Listening to my constituents, hearing what their issues are and how I can help is at the core of what I do every day. I have always had an open-door policy and have met with thousands of residents of our district to hear their concerns. As a small business owner, wife to my husband, Phil, for 35 years, mother of four, and grandmother of three, I continue to bring real life experience to the senate.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
I also sit on the Commerce Committee and the Jobs & Economic Growth Committee. Small businesses are the backbone of our state, so making sure that government isn’t mandating any unnecessary or overburdensome regulations to prohibit our job creators from prospering is a top priority. Also, a top priority for me is to bring law and order back to our state. I am honored to be endorsed by the Minnesota Police and Peace Officer Association. Residents need to know that our streets and communities are safe. When the City of Forest Lake was attempting to dismantle their police department, residents asked me to help, and I did. When talking with our residents, safety is at the top of everyone’s minds. I also sit on the Education Committee and both of my parents were teachers. Making sure that we provide our kids, our state’s future, with the best education possible, is a priority of mine. We were able to fund our schools with a 12% increase over the last few years, the largest education bill in history.
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?
Again, small businesses are our state’s foundation. Listening to these job creators about where we can help, and where we should take action to get it done, is always needed. Whether it’s lowering taxes, removing unnessesary regulations or streamlining processes, it should all be on the table. We lost a lot of small businesses during COVID-19 and now, more than ever, we need to come to the aid of these folks so we don’t lose anymore. I have worked with both local chambers in my district, and I know firsthand that a strong business community is vital to supporting the quality of life in our communities.
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?
Our state needs to have a friendlier tax climate in order to attract new businesses and retain our existing businesses. I’ve continued to fight for this as we’ve lost many businesses to our surrounding states because of the poor tax climate we have. There’s a reason we see South Dakota’s governor advertising on Minnesota television trying to persuade our businesses to relocate to SD. Also, we must make sure that government doesn’t continue to mandate even more regulations than they already have, many of which hinder growth. Removing these roadblocks will help retain and attract. I have worked very hard with many small businesses, from wedding barns to builders, from radon mitigators to freelance hair & makeup artists, when big government started to apply a heavy hand to their businesses. Government should be helping our businesses, not getting in the way.
Do you support any specific employment-related proposals (such as minimum wage, sick time, or mandatory scheduling notice)? If so, what steps would you take to understand the impact of an ordinance on the many types of businesses in the east metro and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
I believe in a free market, and businesses will pay the wage that they need to attract employees – a supply and demand, free market economy. I don’t believe any type of government, city, county or state, should mandate what a private businesses should pay their employees or how much sick time they must give to their employees. These individual city-by-city mandates will really hurt our small businesses. Many of them do business in multiple cities and it would be an accounting nightmare.
What is your strategy to address public safety, transportation, and housing issues?
Public Safety - making sure we support our police and peace officers. We need to provide them with funding for training when it comes to cultural awareness, mental illness and crisis response. What happened to George Floyd should not have happened, but we need to build trust between law enforcement and their communities with training and common-sense accountability measures. Transportation – we need to fund our infrastructure to make sure that our roads and bridges are safe. The Senate passed a nearly one-billion-dollar bonding bill that focuses on key infrastructure projects that will get Minnesotans working. $688 million of that was for our roads, bridges, airports and freight rail to provide safe and fast transportation for commerce, education and recreation. It is disappointing that at the time of this survey, the House of Representatives has not passed the bill. I’m still hopeful they pass it in a special session. Housing - I have also spent a lot of time during my time in the senate on the housing shortage issue. Why is it that to build the same house in Hudson Wisconsin is 30% cheaper than it is in Stillwater? Regulations & Processes. We have to work to make housing more affordable in MN and we start with looking at our state mandates.
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?
First off, we need have a balanced budget and we can not spend more than we bring in. Because of COVID we have a projected deficit to be more than five billion dollars. We need to streamline government. There is still a lot of waste, fraud and abuse happening and we need to continue to hold the state accountable for every hard earned dollar they take from us to spend. No department is immune to it, every area should be scrutinized with a fine tooth comb to help save our taxpayers money. That being said, the programs that are working efficiently and have proven to be successful should most definitely be expanded if there is room in the budget.
What will you do to expand your district’s tax base?
Of the four most used tax bases, we have individual income tax, corporate income tax, sales tax and property tax. I have yet to meet a person who is begging us in the legislature to raise their taxes. We already have the 8th highest individual income tax in the country at 9.85%. We are losing many residents to states like Florida that have zero income tax. As for business taxes, we are the 5th worst in the country. Out of the 50 states, we rank number 45 as a business-friendly state with a corporate income tax rate of 9.8%. The only states with higher business tax than us are New Jersey, New York, California, and Arkansas. South Dakota has no corporate business tax. This is exactly why their governor is appealing to our businesses to move to her state. We are 18th highest when it comes to average combined state and local sales tax, and 19th highest in property taxes. Minnesotans don’t want to their taxes increased, any of them. We need to hold government accountable by spending within their means, and not increase our taxes because there is an appetite to spend, spend, spend
How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce?
I have seen many private businesses partnering with both K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions that have programs that are working. Whether that be through holding a Manufacturing Expo in the high school and inviting businesses in, or an actual program within a high school subsidized by a company. These can lead to careers in welding, auto-mobile repair, law enforcement, carpentry, plumbing, web programming, graphic design and the list goes on. We have more than a hundred of accredited career and technical schools in Minnesota. Programs that emphasize real world skills and knowledge with a career focus. A four-year university education isn’t for everyone so we must incentivize career and technical colleges in addition to previously traditional post-secondary schools. Also, encouraging these programs in the high schools have proven to be very successful in helping our youth on their way to a career path. When it comes to K-12, we need to continue to address our achievement gap, beginning with our youngest children, using data to identify which programs are working best and make them our top priority.
What is the role of the State in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses?
I think the state has done a good job in the law changes that went into effect the last four years to help increase minority and women owned businesses. Those changes are working and our minority, women-owned and veteran owned businesses are on the rise. We will continue to listen to the needs of the state when it comes to all small business owners. In our COVID Grants for Small Businesses we made sure that $15 million was awarded to minority-owned, veteran-owned or women-owned businesses.
What further policies can the State of Minnesota adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
I think the state has done a good job in the law changes that went into effect the last four years to help increase minority and women owned businesses. Those changes are working and our minority, women-owned and veteran owned businesses are on the rise. We will continue to listen to the needs of the state when it comes to all small business owners. In our COVID Grants for Small Businesses we made sure that $15 million was awarded to minority-owned, veteran-owned or women-owned businesses.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
One of the things that I’m continuing to work on is to help our childcare providers. They were hit hard when the pandemic struck, with enrollment being down by 50%, that’s if they chose to or were able to stay open. I authored a bill to help childcare providers, both at-home providers and child-care centers across the state to be able to apply for $30 million dollars in grants. Then we got another $100 million to the providers through the Cares Act dollars to help them stay open. For our economy to recover, we need to have care for our children so their parents can go to work. It truly has been an honor to chair the Family Care & Aging committee because my issues range a lifetime. From newborns to hospice, it’s where my passion truly is, in caring for people. I would love to serve the people of Forest Lake, Stillwater and the surrounding St. Croix Valley for another two years.