Candidate's View: Vote for extensive experience, fresh perspective, new voice

I consider my decision to run for office an extension of my commitment to public service. I served for over 20 years on active- and reserve-duty assignments as an intelligence officer in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. I retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2010 here in Duluth. I know how to navigate systems and bureaucracies and how to set policy. I am proud to have honorably served our nation.
Since returning to Duluth, I’ve had the pleasure of working at the Fond du Lac Center for American Indian Resources clinic and am currently employed as a guardian ad litem for the state of Minnesota.I have experienced first-hand the effects of legislative and policy decisions in both my areas of work.While the Affordable Care Act expanded insurance coverage, it has proven prohibitively costly and unsustainable, a situation that could have been averted had a more thoughtful discourse been allowed to occur that included divergent voices.As a guardian ad litem, I have observed many families struggle with the bureaucratic complexities of the child-protection system. Minnesota has the highest out-of-home placement rates for our Native American children in the nation. We need to diligently address this disparity.Minnesota also can do better for our veterans, seniors and business owners while improving the education of our children. We need to eliminate taxes on our veterans’ retirement pay and seniors’ Social Security. We need to ease our individual and business tax burdens.When I learned that only 50 percent of Minnesota American Indians graduate high school here - we are second-worst in the nation - I was alarmed. Equally troubling was the lack of action to address the issue. We can expand parental choice, cap our classroom sizes and implement educational best practices. Changes are needed. And we need to take bold action.Having grown up in Carlton, I consider this area my home. My mother, raised on the Red Lake reservation, taught my six siblings and me about compassion for others. My father, a Scandinavian Lutheran, instilled in us a strong work ethic; and both exemplified an unconditional love for this country.Among my priorities is the improvement of the environment in the state Capitol. We live in a democracy, but the fundamental tenets of this democracy are under attack, with political and social discourse increasingly disruptive. Such intolerance, including restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly, are a serious threat to what heretofore has been the most resilient constitutional republic in history. I have a long record of working cordially and professionally with people of various political perspectives.I have my bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities and my master of jurisprudence degree from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.I bring a fresh perspective and a new voice, backed with extensive experience. And I am able to generate 21st-century solutions. I am a capable, knowledgeable and inclusive leader.I humbly ask for your vote. Donna Bergstrom is the Republican candidate to represent Duluth’s District 7 in the Minnesota Senate. She wrote this at the request of the News Tribune Opinion page. About this raceThe race is to replace state Sen. Roger Reinert after Reinert decided not to seek re-election this fall in Minnesota Senate District 7. The district covers much of Duluth. Hear from the candidatesRepublican Donna Bergstrom and DFLer Erik Simonson faced off one-on-one in a News Tribune-sponsored candidate forum Sept. 27. It’s posted for viewing, on-demand, here.Deadline for lettersWeigh in on this race and others this fall by writing a letter to the editor. Letters endorsing or critical of specific candidates are limited to 200 words. Submissions can be directed to letters@duluthnews.com. The deadline for elections-related letters is Nov. 1. Remember to voteElection Day is Nov. 8.I consider my decision to run for office an extension of my commitment to public service. I served for over 20 years on active- and reserve-duty assignments as an intelligence officer in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. I retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2010 here in Duluth. I know how to navigate systems and bureaucracies and how to set policy. I am proud to have honorably served our nation.
Since returning to Duluth, I’ve had the pleasure of working at the Fond du Lac Center for American Indian Resources clinic and am currently employed as a guardian ad litem for the state of Minnesota.I have experienced first-hand the effects of legislative and policy decisions in both my areas of work.While the Affordable Care Act expanded insurance coverage, it has proven prohibitively costly and unsustainable, a situation that could have been averted had a more thoughtful discourse been allowed to occur that included divergent voices.As a guardian ad litem, I have observed many families struggle with the bureaucratic complexities of the child-protection system. Minnesota has the highest out-of-home placement rates for our Native American children in the nation. We need to diligently address this disparity.Minnesota also can do better for our veterans, seniors and business owners while improving the education of our children. We need to eliminate taxes on our veterans’ retirement pay and seniors’ Social Security. We need to ease our individual and business tax burdens.When I learned that only 50 percent of Minnesota American Indians graduate high school here - we are second-worst in the nation - I was alarmed. Equally troubling was the lack of action to address the issue. We can expand parental choice, cap our classroom sizes and implement educational best practices. Changes are needed. And we need to take bold action.Having grown up in Carlton, I consider this area my home. My mother, raised on the Red Lake reservation, taught my six siblings and me about compassion for others. My father, a Scandinavian Lutheran, instilled in us a strong work ethic; and both exemplified an unconditional love for this country.Among my priorities is the improvement of the environment in the state Capitol. We live in a democracy, but the fundamental tenets of this democracy are under attack, with political and social discourse increasingly disruptive. Such intolerance, including restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly, are a serious threat to what heretofore has been the most resilient constitutional republic in history. I have a long record of working cordially and professionally with people of various political perspectives.I have my bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities and my master of jurisprudence degree from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.I bring a fresh perspective and a new voice, backed with extensive experience. And I am able to generate 21st-century solutions. I am a capable, knowledgeable and inclusive leader.I humbly ask for your vote.Donna Bergstrom is the Republican candidate to represent Duluth’s District 7 in the Minnesota Senate. She wrote this at the request of the News Tribune Opinion page.About this raceThe race is to replace state Sen. Roger Reinert after Reinert decided not to seek re-election this fall in Minnesota Senate District 7. The district covers much of Duluth.Hear from the candidatesRepublican Donna Bergstrom and DFLer Erik Simonson faced off one-on-one in a News Tribune-sponsored candidate forum Sept. 27. It’s posted for viewing, on-demand, here.Deadline for lettersWeigh in on this race and others this fall by writing a letter to the editor. Letters endorsing or critical of specific candidates are limited to 200 words. Submissions can be directed to letters@duluthnews.com. The deadline for elections-related letters is Nov. 1.Remember to voteElection Day is Nov. 8.