Position: District 49A State Representative
Candidates
- Ryan Chase (R)
- Laurie Pryor (D) (incumbent)
JOB POSTING
Eden Prairie is seeking a part-time executive – that is, a state representative – who will represent District 49A residents in the Minnesota House portion of the Legislature for the next two years. His or her higher purpose is the enactment and revision of laws. In practical terms, this means the state representative works on state issues, such as funding the elementary and secondary education system, setting state tax policy, and funding state human service programs.
COMPENSATION
Salaries for Minnesota’s legislators were once set by legislators themselves. But voters amended the state constitution in 2016 and salaries are now prescribed by a Legislative Salary Council. The Council set the salaries of Minnesota senators and representatives at $48,250 per year effective July 1, 2021.
QUALIFICATIONS
Representatives and senators must be qualified voters of the state, be 21 years of age, and must have resided one year in the state. In addition, legislators must have lived the six months immediately preceding the election in the district in which they are elected.
ABOUT THE HIRING PROCESS
All 134 members of the Minnesota House are elected by the voters in their respective districts every two years. District 49A has been redrawn as a result of redistricting that followed the 2020 Census, and it generally comprises south Minnetonka and Eden Prairie north of Highway 5. The last election of all 134 members of the Legislature was in 2020.
Candidate Profiles
These are the candidates running to be the District 49A State Representative. Click the candidate’s name to view each profile. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
Chase has worked for Stratasys in Eden Prairie, Donaldson Company in Bloomington, and Nonin Medical in Plymouth after graduating from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., with an accounting degree. This is his first campaign for elective office.
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Incumbent
Pryor is program director for nonprofits focused on education and health care. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota. She was elected to the Minnesota House to serve District 48A in 2016; she is currently in her third term. She is running for reelection in what is now House District 49A as a result of redistricting.
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EPLN Q&A
Question #1: If you could accomplish just one major thing during your term in office, what would you want that to be?
Click each candidate’s name to see their answer.
The main goal that I will work toward in this position is creating a bipartisan budget that funds initiatives and projects that all Minnesotans will benefit from. The budget must positively impact our economy and slow inflation by reducing frivolous spending, getting people back to work, and growing our local businesses that invest in our community. It should fund organizations and initiatives that provide public safety to push back the crime wave we have seen explode over the past two years. With over $20 billion of the state’s budget going to education, we must put safeguards in place to ensure schools are helping students reach grade-level standards.
Every year we work on passing major initiatives. Supporting education, ensuring affordable healthcare, and preserving our environment for generations to come are a few examples of possible legislation that would improve lives.
However, if there can be only one accomplishment in the next term, I would want it to be passing legislation to help keep our families and communities safe by preventing acts of gun violence. Every community is affected by gun violence. In fact, 58 percent of adults report that either they or someone they care about has experienced gun violence.
We can’t prevent all tragedies, but we can pass measures that have been proven to work. The data shows that having in place common sense measures like criminal background checks and red flag laws save lives. It’s time Minnesota acted.
Question #2: Minnesota has a projected budget surplus of approximately $9.3 billion. Would you favor using any of this surplus, considering the current economic climate? If so, how?
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As Minnesota’s tax system ranks 45th in the U.S., it is easy to conclude that we have simply collected more tax revenue than was needed to support the budget. With rampant inflation due to overspending, we must give a portion of the surplus back, while adjusting tax rates to reduce the state income in the future. However, a much smaller portion should be considered for projects that would increase our quality of living in areas of public safety, environmental conservation, and the state’s infrastructure. These are the areas that have historically enticed people to come to our great state.
I favor a balanced approach for investing the $9.2 billion. First, we should set aside a portion to add to the “rainy day fund” that will be a hedge against possible downturns in the economy. I also support targeted tax cuts for Social Security recipients, families with young children, and property taxes. Finally, I will advocate for increases in spending in areas where Minnesotans continue to have unmet needs.
Every child deserves a world-class K-12 education. That means reducing class sizes and increasing teacher salaries to address the workforce shortage. We need to improve access to mental health and addiction services so treatment is available sooner, stays affordable, and is effective. Our economy depends on working parents, but the current childcare system is broken. Our state will receive a solid return on an increased investment in our youngest Minnesotans. We can and should invest in solutions that improve lives now and into the future.
Question #3: Violent crime increased across the U.S. during COVID-19, even as property crimes and burglaries decreased. What additional resources, if any, should be provided to law enforcement via the state budget?
Click each candidate’s name to see their answer.
Our law enforcement groups, especially locally, have done a great job of protecting and serving our community with respect and honor. At the state level, coordination across jurisdictions for training and targeted task forces to support smaller or less experienced departments has been critical. The state troopers focus much of their time supporting Minneapolis due to its depleted department. The state has led efforts that have been very successful in reducing the drug trade and human trafficking in Minnesota. Beyond funding these efforts, we must support law enforcement by holding judges accountable to their sentencing duties and to keep repeat offenders off the streets.
Though it did not receive final passage, I voted yes to providing additional resources to fight violent crime in the House Public Safety bill and will continue to support this funding.
The bill we passed in the House funded data-driven, targeted grants that would have gone to communities around the state with the highest growth of crime rates. These grants would have funded local initiatives, such as recruiting new officers, assisting victims of violent crimes, and improving the clearance rates of investigations of homicides. The intent was to prevent violence, help victims recover, and bring to justice those who committed the crimes.
Question #4: Considering the new importance of state laws regarding abortion, what changes to Minnesota law regarding abortion and abortion access would you favor, if any?
Click each candidate’s name to see their answer.
I believe the laws that Judge Thomas Gilligan recently struck down were put in place for the benefit of our state. He effectively removed parental rights to support their minor children in one of the most important decisions of their lives. The informed-consent law required doctors to explain the procedure, risks involved, and gave an opportunity to ask questions. This is an attack on patient safety and undermines our entire healthcare system.
We are at a crisis moment for abortion access. Given the Supreme Court decision to overthrow Roe vs. Wade, there is no doubt that we need to protect a person’s right to make their own healthcare decisions, including whether to terminate a pregnancy or secure family planning services. While Minnesota’s Constitution protects access to abortion care, I believe that we must act now to further strengthen the right to access safe, legal abortion in our state.
First, I support legislation to codify the right to abortion and reproductive health care into our state law (PRO Act). I also strongly support the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act, an effort to protect Minnesota’s medical providers and all patients from legal action connected to restrictive abortion laws in other states.
Question #5: Do you favor additional restrictions on the sale of guns in Minnesota, including a red flag law and restricting sales to anyone younger than age 21?
Click each candidate’s name to see their answer.
I do not support expanded restrictions on the sale of guns in Minnesota, specific to red flag laws and those under age 21. We have well-written laws in place that already restrict the possession of firearms, which need to be enforced. I’m open to discussing the goals of red flag laws and restrictions of sales to anyone younger than 21 to better understand how we can protect society, but any additional restrictions put in place must be constitutional and must not be discriminatory.
Our community deserves to be safe in both public and private spaces. Minnesotans have been loud and clear that they want their elected officials to address the epidemic of senseless gun violence.
During the 2020 legislative session, my House DFL colleagues and I passed legislation to expand criminal background checks on all gun sales and establish extreme risk protection orders. The criminal background check proposal would ensure that all firearms transfers and sales are subject to a criminal background check. The extreme risk protection order bill would enable law enforcement or city/county attorneys to petition a court to prohibit people from possessing firearms if they pose a significant danger to themselves or others by having a gun.
Both reforms are supported by law enforcement, healthcare professionals, and the vast majority of the public. I will continue to advocate for these measures.
Question #6: With federal action wilting on climate goals, what additional Minnesota Legislature actions would you support, if any?
Click each candidate’s name to see their answer.
There are two major areas that I believe we must consider if we are to meet the climate goals. First, we must increase our clean-energy sources and ensure we maintain a stable energy grid. Due to the volatile nature of wind and solar, the environmental impacts of hydro, and the carbon impact of gas and coal, we must consider nuclear energy as an option for Minnesota’s future. It has been shown to be safer and more environmentally friendly than most other energy sources. Secondly, switching to electric cars will require a worldwide increase in nickel and cobalt, both of which Minnesota has large reserves of. Current mining activities outside the U.S. for these materials have destroyed ecosystems in multiple countries, which defeats the purpose of trying to save our planet. Expansion of mining in Minnesota and consideration for new nuclear energy sources must be discussed if we hope to reach our climate goals.
As one of the fastest warming states in the country, Minnesota is already experiencing the impacts of climate change. We need to act boldly to prevent irreversible and potentially catastrophic consequences.
As one of the founding members of the Climate Action Caucus, I have been a strong advocate for legislation that will drive innovation and protect those who are most vulnerable to severe weather, health issues, and other impacts of climate change. The federal action to address climate change is a significant start, but it is imperative that we follow up with local initiatives. In the last session, many important climate action provisions were brought forward, but ultimately did not pass. I continue to support these actions:
– Invest in solar and storage programs including solar on public buildings.
– Require the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to analyze cumulative pollution impacts before issuing permits to protect vulnerable communities.
– Make significant investments in transit through the Local Bus and Transit Improvement Act.
– Accelerate the development of “Continuous Living Cover” (CLC) crop enterprises by strategically investing in companies poised for commercial breakthroughs.
This page is part of EPLN’s 2022 Voter Guide. Get info on each of the races by choosing from below.