Minnesota and North Dakota Voter's Guide

Forum Communications Co., in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and of North Dakota, is providing this voter guide to help keep you informed ahead of the 2024 election.

  • Learn where candidates running for office in your community stand on the issues.
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Voter Guide

Minnesota State House District 56A

House - State Representatives serve in the Minnesota House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the state legislature. They write and vote on legislation to create, repeal, or change state laws affecting many issues, like health care, the environment, and the economy. They also vote on state taxes and state spending.

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  • Candidate picture

    Robert Bierman
    (DFL)

  • Candidate picture

    A.J. Prospect
    (Rep)

Biographical Information

If elected, what will your top three priorities be and why? (750 characters)

What will you do to support a vibrant economy across Minnesota and to address inflation? (500 characters)

What legislation, if any, would you support to address racial or ethnic disparities in Minnesota? (500 characters)

Do you support the adoption of a ballot issue to add the Equal Rights Amendment into the Minnesota State Constitution why or why not? (500 characters)

What legislation, if any, would you support to protect clean air and water in Minnesota? (500 characters)

What legislation, if any, would you support to meet the need for safe communities? (500 characters)

What changes to legislation would you support to reduce the influence of big money in elections? (500 characters)

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Healthcare reforms, especially Hospital stabilization, mental health and addiction treatment are priorities. Due to drastic federal cuts by Republicans to Medicaid in HR1 we will need to address the growing impacts on our hospitals from this federal law. The theft of dollars from public programs needs to be at the forefront of our work. Continuing to address the fraud by private contractors within our public programs and focus on prevention. Minnesota can set the standard for Medicaid delivery and we should do so. Defending our democratic system of government. The last few years have shown that our democracy is not infallible. Our system of government is ours to lose. We can better ensure the safety of our elections and our people.
Education has been a key to making Minnesota a top choice for business and helps create a diverse economy. Investing in workforce education, for all ages, will pay dividends for the Minnesota economy. To address inflation at the state level we need to focus on key issues to put money back in people’s pockets. Lowering out-of-pocket healthcare expenses including premiums, credits for childcare, targeted property tax relief, extending the cut for license tab registration are priorities.
The North Star Promise is a good example of expanding equitable access to education in Minnesota. Students improve test scores and succeed in school when they have teachers and mentors that look like them. We need to continue to recruit and support culturally diverse teachers. The same is true in healthcare. Patients do better when caregivers have a cultural connection. Disparities across healthcare, housing, workforce and education are real and a targeted approach is needed to address them.
I support the adoption of the ERA into the MN State Constitution because it will ensure that current anti-discrimination policies will not be easily rolled back by future legislatures. Policies protecting all residents will be better maintained if we enshrine the ERA into the Constitution. Rights in healthcare such as bodily autonomy, gender wage gap issues, disability rights and LGBTQ protections will be more secure.
The Ground Water Protection Act passed 40 years ago. Taxpayers have spent hundreds of millions to address water quality over generations. Problems regarding agricultural nitrate run-off have not been solved. PFAS has closed wells in communities. It is time for serious action beyond studies and voluntary measures. We know where the problems are. I support enforcement. I also support bonding for new water treatment techniques in my community to mitigate PFAS that can be replicated as needed.
I have sponsored legislation to establish an Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the Minnesota Dept of Health. This would bring a public health lens, data driven approach to reducing gun violence in our communities. This is the same kind of approach that’s helped us make real progress on other public health challenges. This work builds on the gun safety laws we have already passed, and it doesn’t get in the way of hunting, sport shooting, or the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
Citizens United is one of the means in which our elections and politics have been flooded with money. Every year the money increases, and often the general public has no idea who is behind these messages nor how much has been spent. We need a transparent system and to remove the sources of corporate funding at the state level that are presently deployed covertly. Modernizing a public financing system, requiring full disclosure of size and source, and investment in enforcement are all needed.
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Powered by League of Women Voters Education Fund

The League of Women Voters of Minnesota and North Dakota crafted the questions sent to the candidates in the Spring of 2024. They reached out to candidates based on contact information in their public candidate filings. Candidates with email addresses were invited and reminded with emails. Candidates with only mailing addresses were sent a letter. Candidates with phone numbers received a phone call as well.

Candidate responses are published as they responded and have not been edited, except when responses were longer than the given character limit. In those cases, the responses are truncated.

VOTE411 is brought to you by the League of Women Voters Education Fund and League of Women Voters of Minnesota Education Fund. The League of Women Voters does not support or oppose any political party or candidate for office.