George Gilmour
Name: George Gilmour
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 952-444-0195
Campaign Website: gilmourformnhouse.com
Twitter handle: N/A
Facebook Page: Gilmour for MN House
Candidate Bio
College graduate, Minister, former Business Manager for Business Equipment company and Telecommunications Company, Author, Volunteer.
As Sales Manager, I supervised 15 direct reports and took the branch from a low performing level to one of the company’s top performing branch offices. I currently work part-time for Internation Ministerial Fellowship as the Pastor of Member Care. I feel I am qualified to be a MN State Representative because I know how to work with people, negotiate and find common ground. I add humor to defuse difficult situations to keep discussions moving forward.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
Accountabiity – Fighting fraud in Government; Affordability – Reduce taxes, attract business; Parental Rights – restoring parents’ choice in Health & Education of their children.
How would you characterize the business climate in the East Metro? Please elaborate on your answer.
Minnesota’s business environment is not attractive to new businesses. We need to make it easier to both start and/or expand one’s business. Give Tax incentives and eliminate regulations and mandates that keep businesses from starting or thriving in Minnesota. We need to encourage more Trades education in our schools to help young people get a head start in the job market.
Please characterize your perspective on the ideal collaboration between government and the business community when it comes to tackling challenges such as education, housing, workforce development, or other priority areas.
Ideal collaboration would be for business people to be involved in the education process to help high school students get a taste of the business world. I would encourage and expand apprenticeships and internship positions in all types of business and Trades to recruit and train young people. This would help them get a head start in the job market. Working people are more likely to pay taxes and afford housing.
What policies, if any, would you support to help employers address our state’s critical labor shortage?
Reduce tax burden on employers so more money can be allocated to salaries and benefits. Again, I would encourage businesses to hire high school students as interns to get business and work experience which will help with labor shortages. I would propose Tax cuts or breaks to businesses that hire high school students as interns and apprentices.
The Legislature enacted several new workplace mandates in recent years, including Paid Family and Medical Leave, Earned Safe and Sick Time, and Worker Misclassification standards. If elected, how would you evaluate the impact of these policies on the East Metro economy and workforce, and what principles would guide any changes you'd seek to make?
The legislature seems to always put the cart before the horse with mandates. They are rolled out before the cost is accurately counted. We need to have analysis and accountability with the government programs. These programs need to undergo annual, stringent audit processes to ensure tax-payer money is spent correctly, and the program can fund itself.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your district and the state?
The police force needs to be able to enforce the laws already on the books and not be reduced to “hall monitors”. Criminals need to face stiffer penalties and their punishments made public to deter other would-be criminals. Criminals need to do the time and not get released early. Judges need to be held accountable and face consequences for releasing criminals that repeat crimes or do worse crimes.
How would you work to improve transportation options in the district/state, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike?
There needs to be better planning and scheduling of construction projects. There are too many projects started at the same time which is causing great frustration for drivers and transit riders due to multiple major routes being closed or disrupted. There are detours and roadwork on the detours! This is crazy! The delays and inability to plan the amount of time needed to get where one needs to go is causing unbelievable stress for thousands of people each day. How about finishing one project before starting a new one??
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
We need to incentivize builders to build smaller, more affordable homes for first time home buyers. Also smaller, affordable one-level homes for Senior Adults. Builders are only building huge houses in the $ half million price range which also means high maintenance and taxes. We need to cut down on the “corporate” rental homes that are driving the cost to rent homes in the Twin Cities to unaffordable levels as well.
Minnesota's current two-year budget shows a surplus, but state forecasters project a significant structural imbalance beginning in the 2028-2029 biennium. What steps would you take to address this long-term challenge? Please include specific ideas for reducing spending, increasing revenue, or reforming state programs.
Public programs need to be audited and analyzed for fraud and performance. The question needs to be answered: Is this program necessary? Can charitable organizations do a better, less expensive job? We need to get more charitable nonprofit organizations involved in providing resources rather than the government and then reward the non-profits in some way.
Minnesota has faced several high-profile fraud cases involving public programs in recent years. The Legislature recently passed a new Office of the Inspector General on a bipartisan basis. Beyond this new office, what additional steps would you support to strengthen fraud prevention and rebuild public trust in how the state manages taxpayer-funded programs?
Audit, Audit Audit!! Oversight and audit is a must. Follow up on all reports of fraud and listen to the whistleblowers who should then be rewarded not ignored or punished. Legislators need to be held accountable for how tax-payer’s money is handled and spent. Tax-payers feel disrespected and that their money is being mishandled and misappropriated. They are tired of legislators spending hard-earned tax payer dollars like it grows on trees. Taxpayers want to know their money is being wisely spent and what it is spent on.
We need the right people and the right processes in place with audit reports available to the taxpayers. We need to pull the plug on Minnesota being a sanctuary state and put these dollars back into the state budget to benefit real citizens.
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 952-444-0195
Campaign Website: gilmourformnhouse.com
Twitter handle: N/A
Facebook Page: Gilmour for MN House
Candidate Bio
College graduate, Minister, former Business Manager for Business Equipment company and Telecommunications Company, Author, Volunteer.
As Sales Manager, I supervised 15 direct reports and took the branch from a low performing level to one of the company’s top performing branch offices. I currently work part-time for Internation Ministerial Fellowship as the Pastor of Member Care. I feel I am qualified to be a MN State Representative because I know how to work with people, negotiate and find common ground. I add humor to defuse difficult situations to keep discussions moving forward.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
Accountabiity – Fighting fraud in Government; Affordability – Reduce taxes, attract business; Parental Rights – restoring parents’ choice in Health & Education of their children.
How would you characterize the business climate in the East Metro? Please elaborate on your answer.
Minnesota’s business environment is not attractive to new businesses. We need to make it easier to both start and/or expand one’s business. Give Tax incentives and eliminate regulations and mandates that keep businesses from starting or thriving in Minnesota. We need to encourage more Trades education in our schools to help young people get a head start in the job market.
Please characterize your perspective on the ideal collaboration between government and the business community when it comes to tackling challenges such as education, housing, workforce development, or other priority areas.
Ideal collaboration would be for business people to be involved in the education process to help high school students get a taste of the business world. I would encourage and expand apprenticeships and internship positions in all types of business and Trades to recruit and train young people. This would help them get a head start in the job market. Working people are more likely to pay taxes and afford housing.
What policies, if any, would you support to help employers address our state’s critical labor shortage?
Reduce tax burden on employers so more money can be allocated to salaries and benefits. Again, I would encourage businesses to hire high school students as interns to get business and work experience which will help with labor shortages. I would propose Tax cuts or breaks to businesses that hire high school students as interns and apprentices.
The Legislature enacted several new workplace mandates in recent years, including Paid Family and Medical Leave, Earned Safe and Sick Time, and Worker Misclassification standards. If elected, how would you evaluate the impact of these policies on the East Metro economy and workforce, and what principles would guide any changes you'd seek to make?
The legislature seems to always put the cart before the horse with mandates. They are rolled out before the cost is accurately counted. We need to have analysis and accountability with the government programs. These programs need to undergo annual, stringent audit processes to ensure tax-payer money is spent correctly, and the program can fund itself.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your district and the state?
The police force needs to be able to enforce the laws already on the books and not be reduced to “hall monitors”. Criminals need to face stiffer penalties and their punishments made public to deter other would-be criminals. Criminals need to do the time and not get released early. Judges need to be held accountable and face consequences for releasing criminals that repeat crimes or do worse crimes.
How would you work to improve transportation options in the district/state, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike?
There needs to be better planning and scheduling of construction projects. There are too many projects started at the same time which is causing great frustration for drivers and transit riders due to multiple major routes being closed or disrupted. There are detours and roadwork on the detours! This is crazy! The delays and inability to plan the amount of time needed to get where one needs to go is causing unbelievable stress for thousands of people each day. How about finishing one project before starting a new one??
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
We need to incentivize builders to build smaller, more affordable homes for first time home buyers. Also smaller, affordable one-level homes for Senior Adults. Builders are only building huge houses in the $ half million price range which also means high maintenance and taxes. We need to cut down on the “corporate” rental homes that are driving the cost to rent homes in the Twin Cities to unaffordable levels as well.
Minnesota's current two-year budget shows a surplus, but state forecasters project a significant structural imbalance beginning in the 2028-2029 biennium. What steps would you take to address this long-term challenge? Please include specific ideas for reducing spending, increasing revenue, or reforming state programs.
Public programs need to be audited and analyzed for fraud and performance. The question needs to be answered: Is this program necessary? Can charitable organizations do a better, less expensive job? We need to get more charitable nonprofit organizations involved in providing resources rather than the government and then reward the non-profits in some way.
Minnesota has faced several high-profile fraud cases involving public programs in recent years. The Legislature recently passed a new Office of the Inspector General on a bipartisan basis. Beyond this new office, what additional steps would you support to strengthen fraud prevention and rebuild public trust in how the state manages taxpayer-funded programs?
Audit, Audit Audit!! Oversight and audit is a must. Follow up on all reports of fraud and listen to the whistleblowers who should then be rewarded not ignored or punished. Legislators need to be held accountable for how tax-payer’s money is handled and spent. Tax-payers feel disrespected and that their money is being mishandled and misappropriated. They are tired of legislators spending hard-earned tax payer dollars like it grows on trees. Taxpayers want to know their money is being wisely spent and what it is spent on.
We need the right people and the right processes in place with audit reports available to the taxpayers. We need to pull the plug on Minnesota being a sanctuary state and put these dollars back into the state budget to benefit real citizens.