Meet Jeff Johnson
This past week, I interviewed
Jeff Johnson. Jeff is running for the Minnesota Senate District 15 seat, a seat that St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis held until his getting elected mayor this past December. It was immediately apparent that five issues had gotten Jeff's attention.
The first thing that was apparent from the interview was Jeff's passion for reforming the education system from what I view as a teachers' union mindset to a students' needs system. One of the things that Jeff said that startled me was the fact that there are more than 400 teachers & administrators at the U of M getting paid $200,000 or more. That's $80 million in those people's salaries alone. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that that's likely driving tuition costs higher each year.
It's worth noting that Jeff isn't anti-teacher, seeing as how he teaches aviation at SCSU & because he's the "son of a retired special education teacher."
Another issue that Jeff's passionate about is keeping spending under control. Jeff is for zero based budgeting as opposed to baseline budgeting. Zero-based budgeting essentially asks "what are my needs & how much will it cost to cover those needs?" whereas baseline budgeting assumes last year's budget plus inflation plus special needs plus money lobbied for by special interest groups plus...well, you get the picture.
Jeff's a big advocate of keeping taxes & regulations as low as possible because, as a small business owner, he's aware of the damage overtaxation & overregulation has on his business.
Finally, & by no means least, Jeff wants to play a role in making healthcare affordable to his constituents. I suspect that Jeff's wife's being a doctor plays a significant role in Jeff's passion for healthcare reform.
I heartily recommend that you get to know Jeff's vision for Minnesota's future by clicking on this link or by contacting him at his website. You'll be glad you did.
Posted Sunday, June 11, 2006 1:04 AM
May 2006 Posts
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The first thing that was apparent from the interview was Jeff's passion for reforming the education system from what I view as a teachers' union mindset to a students' needs system. One of the things that Jeff said that startled me was the fact that there are more than 400 teachers & administrators at the U of M getting paid $200,000 or more. That's $80 million in those people's salaries alone. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that that's likely driving tuition costs higher each year.
It's worth noting that Jeff isn't anti-teacher, seeing as how he teaches aviation at SCSU & because he's the "son of a retired special education teacher."
Another issue that Jeff's passionate about is keeping spending under control. Jeff is for zero based budgeting as opposed to baseline budgeting. Zero-based budgeting essentially asks "what are my needs & how much will it cost to cover those needs?" whereas baseline budgeting assumes last year's budget plus inflation plus special needs plus money lobbied for by special interest groups plus...well, you get the picture.
Jeff's a big advocate of keeping taxes & regulations as low as possible because, as a small business owner, he's aware of the damage overtaxation & overregulation has on his business.
Finally, & by no means least, Jeff wants to play a role in making healthcare affordable to his constituents. I suspect that Jeff's wife's being a doctor plays a significant role in Jeff's passion for healthcare reform.
I heartily recommend that you get to know Jeff's vision for Minnesota's future by clicking on this link or by contacting him at his website. You'll be glad you did.
Posted Sunday, June 11, 2006 1:04 AM
May 2006 Posts
No comments.
