Community Leader Endorsed for Senate Seat

Chanhassen, MN, June 19, 2006: Community leader Laura Helmer is the DFL-endorsed candidate for Minnesota Senate District 34.

“I am committed to issues that affect all Minnesotans, not the issues that divide us,” Helmer says.

A Chanhassen resident for 11 years (along with husband Bruce and children Ali and Greg), Helmer has served the community and worked alongside community members in a variety of ways:

·         As Vice President of Finance and later, as President, Helmer added her expertise to the Friends of the Chanhassen Library throughout the new library’s construction and beyond.

·         Helmer founded and chairs Parents in Partnership, a parent involvement group at her children’s school, St. John’s in Excelsior.

·         Helmer was active politically at the local level and held key roles on state-level campaigns in the 2002 and 2004 elections.

·         Helmer has served as a Girl Scout Leader for her daughter’s Girl Scout troop for the past six years.

·         She organized POWER,a group of women motivated to become politically and socially vocal and active in her community.

Helmer’s community service illustrates her ability to unite people for a common cause. “Extreme politics and political gamesmanship have taken the place of honest, open government and responsible leadership,” she says. “I will be a leader who listens. I will be responsive to citizens and I will be their voice in the Minnesota Senate.”

Helmer pledges to work effectively with all legislators, no matter their political party affiliation, to find solutions to the issues that matter most in citizens’ daily lives:

·         An education system that provides opportunities for all our children to succeed;

·         Basic health care coverage for every Minnesotan;

·         Safe, modern, statewide transportation systems; and

·         Aggressive, renewable energy standards that both decrease our dependence on foreign oil and are environmentally responsible.

“I am looking forward to representing my friends and neighbors in the Minnesota Senate as a moderate voice and leader, addressing the issues that truly matter to them: healthcare, education, transportation and a clean, safe environment,” Helmer adds.

Helmer’s candidacy is endorsed by:

·         Minnesota DFL

·         Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus

·         Minnesota Women’s Campaign Fund

·         Minnesota AFL-CIO

·         Minnesota Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

For more information, visit www.laurahelmer.org or e-mail Laura Helmer directly at laura@LauraHelmer.org

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