I'm your current state representative and running for re-election this year. It has been an honor to represent you at the Capitol. It was also an honor to receive the endorsement of the News Tribune this year (Our View/Endorsement: "Re-elect Olson, her relationship-building," Sept. 27).
With the help of many of you, we've been able to do great work. We've brought critical infrastructure investments to Duluth, including support for the Steam Plant, the science building at the University of Minnesota Duluth, the Lake Superior Zoo, Glensheen, and more. We've secured funding for affordable housing and regional mental health crisis centers so people can find the health and stability they need. We've stood up to big pharmaceutical companies and pushed them to be part of the solution, rather than the problem, to the opioid crisis in our state.
I'm proud of the work we've done. But there's still much more work to do.
I am running for re-election in House District 7B because I want to find big solutions to some of our state's biggest challenges. In particular, much of my work at the Capitol has been focused on solving the care crisis in our state. As someone who faces the challenges of providing care for a young daughter and an aging parent, I want to build a "caring economy," an economy that provides true support for families, real choices for seniors, and dignified work for paid caregivers.
We need options for affordable and accessible child care in our state. We need to pass legislation to provide paid family leave and paid sick days so people can take care of themselves and their loved ones and not be afraid of losing their jobs. We must make sure that seniors have choices about where they live, that caregivers are getting support, and that aging family members are safe and well cared for by staff who earn good wages.
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As a member of the House Aging and Long-Term Care Committee, I will continue to work hard to stop elder abuse, to increase access to affordable housing for seniors, and to ensure seniors can age with dignity, whether in their homes or in other places of their choosing.
We are in this together. To solve our greatest challenges, we will need to come together in new ways. We can come together when we focus on the needs we all share. This means providing affordable health care coverage, investing in our earliest learners' education, and making Minnesota's public colleges and universities more affordable so more students have access to these schools and young people don't graduate drowning in debt.
I love Duluth, and I love serving the people of District 7B. I don't do this work alone. I work to bring people together, to find solutions with other people, to listen, and to learn. We will be most successful when we all can bring our voices and ideas for Minnesota to the table.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to me. Together we are better.
Rep. Liz Olson of Duluth is the DFL representative of District 7B in the Minnesota House. She wrote this at the invitation of the News Tribune Opinion page. Her campaign website is lizforduluth.com. Election Day is Nov. 6.
