Haas 2010

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Bill Haas, with his experienced leadership and knowledge of the issues, has the ability and vision to guide Minnesota through this difficult time.

Bill was Chair of the State Government Finance Committee when he served in the Minnesota House of Representatives during the down turn in 2003 and 2004. Bill also was Vice Chair of Ways & Means for four years in his ten-year tenure in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Following are some of the critical issues Bill feels Minnesota needs to address.

The first issue is our economy. Wages are flat, spending is down, and prices are up. Small businesses form the backbone of our economy, and today they are struggling. Struggling to make payroll, cover expenses, and keep their employees working as their costs are going up. Bill has been a small business owner since 1993. His firm works with small business owners and their employees throughout Minnesota. Last year with businesses facing high fuel costs and increasing expenses, Bill’s fuel costs alone increased $125.00 per week.

Over the past few years, Bill has lobbied for the White Earth Tribal Nation. He has been working on projects that would provide the tools and the resources to create new jobs and a better way of life for many people. One such project Bill worked on last year restored 100 lost jobs within the city of Bemidji. We need to find more opportunities like this to get Minnesotans working again

The second area we need to address is the state budget. As Mayor, Bill guided the City of Champlin through two economic down turns in his eight-year tenure. When he was elected Mayor, he said the city would no longer be a “spend and tax” entity. You don’t handle your household budget that way, why should the State? Last year’s high cost of gas, as well as the increased cost of food and other essentials, put a real stress on the family budget. What was the legislative solution? Raise the gas tax. This year the legislature’s answer was the same to Minnesota’s struggling families and small businesses. Raise all kinds of taxes. Bill believes that elected officials have a fiduciary responsibility to Minnesota’s families to spend the money wisely and yet he has heard legislators say that once the tax money is sent to St. Paul, it’s their money to spend. Bill believes we need to work with the revenues we now have; the challenge is to spend it wisely to meet the needs of Minnesota. Just as a business must continually re-evaluate how it operates to be cost effective, the state must do the same.

The third issue to be addressed is political campaign reform. Candidates say they are for campaign reform, but their actions are louder than their words. Bill has authored bills to reform the campaign process, and it was interesting to watch the opposition line up to oppose his efforts.

Bill will run this campaign as he has always run his campaigns:

    Stick to the issues and avoid the partisanship
    Listen to the ideas and thoughts of the people he will represent
    Layout his plan to guide Minnesota back to the economically sound Minnesota we all expect

You will be able to observe the distinct difference between Bill’s campaign and his opponents’. Then ask yourself who will best serve as your Governor.

Health care reform is the fourth issue and has been an issue for the past 20 years. Legislators say they will cut the cost of health care by 10 to 20% and author bills to do that. At the same time they author bills that increase the cost to businesses that provide medical insurance to their employees. The ironic part of this issue is that the legislature cannot reform and control the spiraling cost of the State run Medical Assistance and General Medical Assistance Care programs. We need to find better solutions for these programs. Health and Human Service inflation is going along at a double digit pace year after year. We need to really examine all the programs and find a solution that will deliver the necessary programs in the most cost-effective way. Bill has authored and successfully passed Health Care Reform legislation.

The fifth area to be looked at is education. Our State needs well-educated workers to develop and produce new and better products. Yet, over 40% of our eleventh graders can’t pass the basic math skills test. This is unacceptable. We need to find smart, cost-effective ways to give our children the tools for the jobs of the future.

This spring during the many recesses of the various conference committees, Bill had an opportunity to read the various plaques of our former governors. Many of them, if not all, faced controversial issues. They brought Minnesotans together to move Minnesota forward. Today we have our own set of issues: the economy, jobs, and state spending. In the same Minnesota tradition of those former Governors, we will work together to resolve the issues that confront us and continue the tradition of making Minnesota a great place to live and raise our families.