Todd Podgorski

Todd Podgorski graduated from Woodbury High School. He earned an associate degree from Inver Hills Community College in 1994 and a bachelor's degree from Winona State University in 1996. His career experience includes working as a law enforcement officer.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Who am I? I'm proud to be a Dad, devoted husband, Peace Officer and locally elected SSP City Council Member that likes doing what I am doing for work and elected office as it allows me to serve others. Even though I like doing what I am doing now I feel called to serve at the State Capitol as I love the state of MN and its residents. Minnesota has given me opportunities that I am grateful for. I want younger generations to have opportunities to live out the American Dream. I'm duel endorsed by the party of Lincoln and the MN Forward Independence Party. I try to look at issues from both a moral and practical perspective. I like data and listening. I believe both our major parties are more interested in their special interests and money than in the interest of working families. We need a number of Constitutional amendments to help us have a healthy democracy. Term limits, age limits-for both judges and elected officials and getting big money out of politics by ending Citizens United are needed amendments. Federally we need a balanced budget amendment as congress cannot control themselves. My wife is an elementary teacher, and our youngest daughter is following in her footsteps beginning her career as an elementary teacher. Our son is a Peace Officer in MN and also serves in the MN National Guard. Our oldest daughter works for a MN agriculture and dairy cooperative. I have a vested interest in improving our state and have a proven track record.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Protecting and serving is not just a motto for me it's a way of life. I will work to protect our tax dollars against the unprecedented amount of fraud, waste and abuse that has occurred over the years here in MN. As a Peace Officer I believe in accountability and the lack of accountability from state leaders regarding the Fraud should concern us all regardless of our politics. Department heads of state agencies and their staff that distributes state grant funds need to be held accountable if they do not follow the proper safeguards and procedures. We should conduct more audits of departments that hand out state grants to ensure they are being used as intented.Single Family Homes help create stable communities and wealth for the homeowners. The State of MN needs to do more to help create opportunities for single family homes to be built that are affordable for working families. This can be done by helping with new zoning laws that create new developments with smaller 40-50 ft wide lots. The state can also help by reducing some regulations and looking at helping with down payment options. I have talked to young voters and they have stated more needs to be done to bring about affordable single-family homes. We can and must do better to give our future generations hope for having the American Dream of home ownership.Public Safety is a basic responsibility of government and one I am passionate about. I've spent my career in public safety, and I know we can make some overdue changes that will benefit MN. To bring more justice to our criminal justice system and our larger communities we also need to improve our education and public health systems at the same time. We need to double the amount of state run in-patient mental health beds for youth and adults. When the state closed state mental health hospitals they did not open up enough of the smaller 16 bed or less community-based options. We need the smaller treatment facilities and we need to expand at AMRTC and St. Peter State Hospital.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As a Peace Officer I am passionate about public safety. Protecting and serving isn't just a motto for me it's been my life's work for over 28 years. I am passionate about public health and believe we are not doing enough about people who need in patient mental health care. I've seen firsthand how too often our jails and prisons are de facto treatment facilities for severe mental health conditions because we do not have secure state-run mental health beds available. I care about our education system not just because my wife and daughter work in education but because education is key to a productive and happy life. I'm passionate about improving our economy so young people can live out the American dream.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Dakota Co. Sheriff Joe Leko, SSP Councilmember Joe Kaliszewski, Former WSP Councilmember Ed Iago, Former Mendota Hts Mayor Neil Garlock, Former SSP School Board members Ryan Duffy, Shelly Forester and Bill Arend, Former Dakota Sheriff Tim Leslie, SSP Mayor Jimmy Francis and the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association. The Party of Lincoln and the MN Forward Independence Party have endorsed my campaign as well. As an endorsed major and third party candidate It seems self -indulgent to list all those elected officials from our respective parties who naturally want us to win in November. I'll say the most important endorsement comes from the voters on election day as we should care more about their wants and concerns.

Podgorski's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

Energy:

Minnesota should lead the nation as a clean energy state. We need to continue to expand ways for our citizens to connect to renewable energy that is affordable. Using renewable energy will in time be good for not only the environment but the consumer as well.

Education:

Teaching academics and responsibility needs to take place in our homes, our schools, and in our communities. As both a moral and economic imperative I support working with our families, schools and communities to close the achievement gap.

I support a yearly increase in our K-12 education funding formula of inflation plus one percent.

I support closing the special education cross subsidy that takes away funds from our mainstream students by increasing the special education formula by inflation plus two percent.

I support extending the tuition freeze at our 4 year U of M and MNSCU schools.

I support lowering the tuition at our 2 year technical and community colleges.

Environment:

Minnesotans love the great outdoors and our many lakes and rivers. We have a responsibility to protect our environment for future generations. I support state funding that will improve our water and air quality. I also believe we need to invest more in clean energy initiatives.

Government Reform:

I support a more inviting political election system that has an open primary that allows our citizens to party split if they so choose. I also support ranked-choice voting. Term limits need discussion as well.

Gerrymandering is unethical and hurts the public trust in government and its leaders. To end gerrymandering I support an independent commission that takes place after the once-a-decade census data is released that then redraws our legislative districts.

Congress needs to send the 50 states a constitutional amendment ending Citizens United where limits on donations that support candidates and parties directly and indirectly can take effect. I will vote to end Citizens United in the MN Senate.

Health Care:

On principle I view health care more as a right than as a product to be purchased. In reality that right comes at a significant cost and for too many of our citizens this cost in both premiums and deductibles is worrisome. We need to continue to work towards making health care more affordable while stressing to hospitals and doctors that the quality of the service they provide is more important than the volume of patients they see. I work a second job at a local hospital and I have seen our health care professionals save lives.

As our citizens become older and want to stay in their homes we need to look for ways to increase access to affordable at-home healthcare.[6]

—Todd Podgorski, [7]