Mike Goggin
Age:53
Residence:Red Wing
Political Party:Republican
Education:Bachelor's degree in business administration from Gustavus Adolphus College, electrical engineering degree from University of Colorado, Denver
ADVERTISEMENT
Occupation:Electrical engineer project manager
Political Experience:First time running for office.
Community Involvement:Red Wing Soccer Club, Red Wing Booster Club, Red Wing Amateur Baseball Association and Red Wing Amateur Hockey Association.
Endorsements:Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota Farm Bureau, MN Citizens Concerned for Life and National Federation of Independent Businesses.
Website: gogginforsenate.com
What would be your top three priorities?
1. Take action to develop solutions that will restore Minnesota's devastated health care system that is the result of a poorly designed and implemented MNsure program.
2. Tax relief for middle class families, farmers and small business owners.
ADVERTISEMENT
3. Introduction of legislation to protect our family farms, landowners and all the communities in the path of any proposed rail projects.
What should be done to help end legislative gridlock?
The legislative process in Minnesota is in need of reform and streamlining so that it becomes more productive and orderly. Prioritizing the legislative work needs to become common practice. Implementing a prioritization schema with actual common-sense rankings would be a good practice to implement. This prioritization schema could come out of the Senate's "Purple Caucus," a group that supports bipartisan legislative efforts to reach measured and reasonable solutions that benefit all Minnesotans.
What can state lawmakers do to help keep local property taxes from rising?
I would first start by curbing unfunded state mandates coming out of St. Paul. Next, I would encourage efforts to stop wasteful government spending such as the $90 million Senate Office Building that now costs the state taxpayers about $8 million annually to operate and service the debt. Finally, I would like to see our school funding formula re-evaluated in order to resolve the disparities between Minnesota schools.
Would you support legislation aimed at blocking construction of a high-speed rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities?
I support proposed infrastructure projects that evaluate common-sense standards compared with the needs of our communities and our fiscal responsibilities and legislative realities. Any rail project proposals should recognize that no state tax dollars will be used, eminent domain would be prohibited and a fully vetted and funded decommissioning fund must be established prior to approval.
