Friends and neighbors –

My first session as your state senator came to a close at the end of May. In the coming months I’ll recap some of the new laws and changes that took place this session but this week I wanted to talk a little about what I saw and learned.

My first year in the Senate was an incredible experience. I am grateful beyond words that you have placed your trust in me to serve you. Our district is diverse, so you probably would not be surprised by the wide range of viewpoints in emails and phone calls that I receive every day. Many are on the extreme right, many are on the extreme left, many are in the middle. Some of them are odd, some of them are sincere, and some of them are downright mean and nasty. Balancing the wishes and desires of a district with such a variety of perspectives is challenging, but no matter what, I will always strive to serve every single one of you to the best of my ability – whether we agree or not. And I hope you will always continue to offer your sincere criticisms and ideas because that feedback is what allows me to do this job for you.

My biggest disappointment this year was the lack of bipartisanship in so many of the major bills that passed. Minnesota is pretty evenly divided politically. In fact, we were only about 160 votes from having a split government again. Yet, despite the narrowness of our political divide, the Democrat trifecta governed as if Republicans did not exist in Minnesota. My hope is that going forward, the views of almost half the state will be given a little more respect by the Democrat majorities.

The tenor of the committee process was similar. Some committees were run with respect, while others were hyper-partisan with little care or regard for the input of minority members. Unfortunately, the committees I served on were more toward the latter. I made connections on the health and human services committee with people on both sides of the aisle and hope to be able to influence significant change in the realm of healthcare and insurance as we move forward. It will be interesting to continue to grow relationships in such a partisan legislature but I think it can be done. 

There is definitely a camaraderie that exists, even across party lines. The public sees ugly fights on the floor or in committee, but those fights rarely become personal or lead to vendettas. I am told it used to be quite common for senators to engage in a passionate, intense debate on a bill on the floor, then leave the floor and work together on a separate issue. There was less of that this session, but I hope to see more in the years to come because it serves all of our best interests to work together.

I know many people were upset with how this session turned out and I am hopeful that we will see improvement next year. After the trial by fire and the firehose of information, I look forward to being able to use lessons from my first session in the future representation of We the People.

Contact me

Your feedback, ideas, and concerns are what allow me to serve you to the best of my ability. Please share your thoughts with me any time at sen.bill.lieske@senate.mn or 651-296-5019.

I would also love it if you follow my new, official Facebook page here: https://www.fb.com/SenatorLieske.

It is a privilege to serve you!

Bill