Where Rick Stands on the Issues
Jobs:
Creating and protecting good paying jobs for the working families of this district is a priority for Rick. By getting people back to work, we can get back on track and grow our economy.
- At a time when 25% of our building trades workers are out of a job, Rick helped pass a bill which created over 20,000 jobs.
- Rick supported the Minnesota business Investment Tax Credit to boost small business growth by giving insurance companies incentives to invest in small businesses.
- Rick has supported funding to local infrastructure projects, bringing development and local jobs to the area.
- Rick worked with private business to bring a power plant to the district. This $500 million investment in our district will bring 500 constructions jobs and will bring permanent competitive jobs as well. This will boost our local economy and bring aid to our local governments.
Education:
Rick is passionate about the wellbeing of the school districts in our area. As a former school board member, he believes we need to have a more equitable school funding system so that our rural school districts can provide quality education to our children. Rick is committed to making sure our children are not being short-changed even at a time when Republicans are putting our children’s futures on the chopping block.
Rick worked with business to bring additional revenue to local school districts so we can save teaching positions in the area and focus on smaller class sizes for our children.
Property taxes
Rick understands the incredible burden families in the district are facing. People’s homes are over taxed and undervalued. This is a result of careless cuts in the state level to constitutionally required government services and infrastructural needs. Rick is a supporter of Local Government Aid so that our local governments don’t have to raise property taxes to get things done.
Rick has also worked to provide property tax relief for people in the district. He authored the law to exempt disabled veterans from property taxes and worked extensively to provide property tax relief for farmers.
Spending
Rick believes in a balanced budget. It is constitutionally required in MN to balance our state budget and Rick fully supports it. Rick has a proven record of being fiscally responsible.
- As county commissioner, he successfully secured funding for 4 libraries while keeping taxes level.
- As State Senator, Rick led the way to move forward without burdening our Minnesota tax payers.
- Rick has even voted to decrease the size of our government and believes we can look at ways to become more efficient and accountable without slashing important programs.
He knows that we can’t solve our projected budget deficit by purely cutting and by purely raising taxes. Rick believes we need to critically look at all of our state departments and cut out wasteful spending, while also looking at fair ways of raising revenue that don’t fall on the back of our working, middle class families.
Rick wants to balance our budget for the long-term. That means cutting where we can and raising enough revenue for vital government services. It would be a mistake to make short term budget fixes which will hurt us in the long run.
Guns:
Rick’s gun safe is full, and he fully supports our 2nd amendment rights.
Olseen announces candidacy for Minnesota Senate
State Sen. Rick Olseen, DFL-Harris, announced his candidacy for the Minnesota Senate in the 2010 election.
Rick was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2006. Previously, he served on the North Branch School Board and Chisago County Board. He works as a truck and trailer repair estimator. He and his wife, Bambi, have been married for 34 years and they have two adult daughters. Rick is an active member of the Northbrook Fellowship Church. He enjoys volunteering as a Let’s Go Fishing guide and his daily walks with his golden retriever, Ace.
“It’s been an honor serving the folks of east central Minnesota and hope I can earn your support again in the next election. Moving forward, I’ll continue to do my best to get things done for our area,” said Olseen. “I’ve worked hard to secure funding for the Highway 95 Bridge, advance industrial parks and economic development opportunities in North Branch, Lindstrom and Chisago City, and protected health care jobs at METO in Cambridge.”
Senate District 17 includes Chisago County, most of Isanti County, and the City of St. Francis in Anoka County.
“Working to get folks back to work will be my highest priority, since our area is experiencing high unemployment and foreclosure rates,” said Olseen. “While we’ve already passed tax credits and financial incentives to help grow our businesses, and made investments that will create thousands of construction jobs, there’s still more to do. If we want to bring economic recovery back to the state, we need to focus on jobs for Minnesota families.”
