Position: District 49B State Representative
Candidates
- Thomas Knecht (R)
- Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (D) (incumbent)
JOB POSTING
Eden Prairie is seeking a part-time executive – that is, a state representative – who will represent District 49B 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 has 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 from 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 49B has been redrawn as a result of redistricting that followed the 2020 Census, and it generally is Eden Prairie south 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 49B State Representative. Click the candidate’s name to view each profile. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
Knecht works as an attorney specializing in small business and real-estate litigation. He received a law degree from Cornell Law School, a master’s in economic history from the London School of Economics, and bachelor of arts in political science and economics from the University of Connecticut. This is his first campaign for elective office.
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Incumbent
Kotyza-Witthuhn’s professional background is in operations and management in education, nonprofits, and the IT industry. She studied entrepreneurship and Spanish at the University of St. Thomas and, as an Eden Prairie resident, has served in parent-teacher organizations and as a school volunteer. She is married with four children. She is serving her second term in the Minnesota House and is vice chair of the House Commerce Committee and sits on the Early Childhood Finance and Policy Committee, the Behavioral Health Committee, and the Workforce and Business Development Committee.
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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.
Reduce the partisan divide. Like most Americans, I am exhausted by the partisanship and polarization plaguing political discourse. Too many politicians are focused on winning the daily news cycle rather than working for long-term and pragmatic solutions to help voters. That needs to change.
We can’t let the loudest and most extreme views, on either side of the aisle, silence the reasonable middle. We need, and deserve, elected officials who are willing to buck party leadership and do what is best for voters rather than promoting a personal or partisan agenda.
I will work to reduce the partisan divide, foster collaboration over conflict, increase thoughtful deliberation, and focus on the issues and work that will improve the lives of Eden Prairie residents.
Study after study tells us the best return on investment, hands down, is funding for early care and learning.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, our childcare system was broken. The pandemic exacerbated challenges for providers and parents in need of childcare. Until a child turns 5 and is eligible for kindergarten, per-pupil investment at the state or federal level is marginal, at best. It would be a game-changer for our littlest learners and their families if the Legislature were to implement an income-adjusted childcare subsidy program, based on living wages for caregivers, so independent, private childcare providers, center and school-based educators are paid fairly for the critical work they do in helping raise the children of Minnesota.
Ideally this would include some form of compensation for parents who choose to stay home with their children, in the absence of a statewide paid family leave program. When parents know their children are safe and happy, they feel better about returning to the workplace.
Early care and learning investments are pro-family and pro-business.
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?
Click each candidate’s name to see their answer.
In the face of a record state budget surplus and the highest inflation rate in over 40 years, I will advocate for common sense tax reform to reduce the tax burden and leave more money in the pockets of Minnesotans, particularly for retirees and working families, while ensuring the necessary resources for government services and fully funding the rainy day fund.
Minnesota is only one of 13 states to tax Social Security benefits. We can provide much-needed relief to Minnesota seniors living on a fixed income by cutting the Social Security tax.
We should also provide tax relief for hardworking families and residents. Whether it’s gas prices, groceries, childcare costs, or taxes, hardworking Minnesotans are getting pinched far, far too often by rising living costs. We can reduce the pain of rising costs by reducing Minnesota’s individual tax burden in a fiscally prudent way.
In a time of plenty, we must make smart investments in the future of our state, while ensuring we are able to manage a potential recession down the road. Minnesotans know that our state budget is a moral document that reflects our values. The Legislature and Gov. Walz reached a bipartisan budget framework to cut taxes, invest in our people, and add to our reserves. The pandemic didn’t impact everyone the same way — corporate profits are soaring while household costs are rising. I’m focused on reducing expenses like childcare, housing, and healthcare so it’s easier for folks to cover essentials like gas and groceries.
I am working to put money back in the hands of Minnesotans by supporting the largest tax cut in Minnesota history and the largest property tax cut in 20 years, making sure folks get the care they need by capping co-pays on prescription drugs and lowering health insurance premiums, and investing in our students from cradle through college with my Great Start Childcare Tax Credit, fully-funding our public schools and expanding access to higher education. We must also invest in climate-resilient infrastructure for a cleaner and greener future, and continue to support and fund our public safety system.
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.
After experiencing the alarming rise of crime in Minneapolis and its spread to the suburbs, I am running to develop strong policies that provide police and peace officers the resources they need, ensure the mental health and wellness of law-enforcement professionals, and push back against harmful narratives that villainize the police and embolden criminals.
Together, we will support the police, strengthen community relationships, enact any needed reforms, and ensure public safety. That includes providing additional resources for police recruitment and retention, and increasing resources for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Though there is new data to suggest we’ve reached a plateau in rising crime, we must act urgently to reverse this alarming and unacceptable trend. Making prudent financial investments to fully fund good law-enforcement practices and other first-responder resources to improve our public safety response and advancing common sense policies to hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct and rebuild/strengthen community trust in law enforcement are not mutually exclusive. We must do both.
This year, I introduced a $1.7 million bipartisan proposal for the Automobile Theft Prevention program and the creation of an equipment library to help combat auto theft while reimbursing local departments for investigating these thefts. I co-authored the Hometown Heroes Assistance Act, the most comprehensive aid program for firefighters in the nation, providing them with emotional trauma resources, additional critical illness insurance options, and ongoing health/wellness training.
Working closely with the EPPD, I commend them for recent achievements in mental health support, community engagement, and catalytic converter recovery. Building neighborhood relationships develops and strengthens trust between residents and law enforcement. We should use data-driven approaches to target funding where it’s needed most, support partnerships in community crime prevention, and bolster innovation to keep our community safe.
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.
We must provide better support for women, children, and families at every stage of life to make Minnesota the best place in the country to raise a family. I will work ensure access and availability of contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
If there are any proposed changes to Minnesota law, I will seek to achieve bipartisan consensus on abortion policy that reflects the position of most Minnesotans: keep abortion safe, legal, and rare; limit procedures when a fetus is viable outside the womb.
Nonetheless, it is unlikely we will see changes to Minnesota law on abortion given the 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court ruling in Doe v. Gomez that held there was a right to abortion access protected by the Minnesota constitution.
Despite widespread support for abortion access across the nation, the extreme right-wing Supreme Court rolled back 50 years of bodily autonomy and reproductive healthcare rights. Minnesota now is an island in the Midwest and our local providers are already seeing an influx of patients from out of state.
Simply put, politicians do not belong in the doctor’s office or operating room. These decisions are some of the most personal and challenging a woman can make, and women deserve the freedom to make the best decision for them with their doctor. We must ensure that reproductive rights are protected at the state level.
Democrats hold a small majority in the Minnesota House, but we do not have a pro-choice majority. It’s essential to elect and reelect pro-choice representatives in order to protect and expand abortion access.
I am a co-author of the PRO Act, which would codify the right to make personal decisions about reproductive healthcare including abortion, contraception, and pregnancy. Anything short of full-fledged support of abortion access in Minnesota is unacceptable. Make no mistake: abortion is on the ballot this year.
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.
We must reduce violent crime and gun violence in Minnesota and America. This can only be done by taking a comprehensive “all-the-above” strategy to combat gun violence: enforce current laws prohibiting gun violence, prosecute and sentence violent offenders, and examine existing and potential regulations on gun sales.
More than that, we must examine and address the societal and cultural issues that are leading individuals, particularly young men who are predominantly responsible for gun violence and school shootings, to pick up a gun and cause harm in our communities.
I first ran for office as a Mom Demanding Action — and my husband and I are safe and responsible gun owners. Minnesotans know with rights come responsibilities and when it comes to gun violence prevention, with deference to our Second Amendment rights, all options should be on the table for consideration by community members, law enforcement, and the Legislature.
I’ve co-authored and voted in support of criminal background checks and a red flag law, which were both passed by House Democrats in 2019 and weren’t even considered by Senate Republicans. This session, I worked to introduce a safe storage law, which would require that guns be stored and locked separately from ammunition when not in use. Our foster care system already requires safe storage and this is yet another way we can keep all Minnesota children safe when in daily proximity to guns.
The blatant disregard for the safety of our children and educators in schools, our neighbors in places of worship, and our friends and family as they enjoy shopping or a movie is disgraceful.
We must add “policy and action” to “thoughts and prayers” and I won’t stop until we see it.
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.
I will support action to conserve open spaces, protect forests, maximize biodiversity, and ensure clean waterways. We should also incentivize research, development, and investment in next-generation technology that will increase efficiency, reduce emissions, and lower energy costs. Finally, I will promote investment in and use of clean manufacturing systems and low-emissions construction material.
Minnesota is one of the fastest warming states in the country and we’re already seeing the impacts of climate change. On 8/16, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), easily the most consequential climate legislation in U.S. history. This package will allow Minnesotans statewide to save money on their energy bills. The IRA is a game-changer. Minnesotans should remember that every single Republican in Congress voted against these climate provisions. The vast majority of Republicans in the Minnesota House won’t even acknowledge that climate change is a man-made problem.
We can’t turn back the clock on climate change without taking urgent action, now. In order to access millions of federal funds in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Minnesota must make matching investments in energy-related grant opportunities. I support the Solar Awards Program through Xcel Energy, solar on schools and public buildings, and improvements to our solar garden regulations. I support investment in electric vehicles, including school buses, which the Eden Prairie Schools are already exploring.
Minnesotans take pride in the natural beauty of our state and want to ensure that our air is safe to breathe and our water is clean to drink for generations to come.
This page is part of EPLN’s 2022 Voter Guide. Get info on each of the races by choosing from below.