About Peter Fischer

Note: This site is now out-of-date.  Please visit Peter Fischer's new campaign website at:

http://www.fischerforrep.com


RESPECT • COMMUNITY • OPPORTUNITY

"Treating everyone with respect, building community though advocacy and lasting partnerships, creating opportunities for hard-working Minnesotans."


PERSONAL BACKGROUND

I was raised in Maplewood and have a deep commitment to the area.I have been married for 22 years to my wife Kristi, who works for the University of Minnesota.I have three children, and all have attended local public schools. Emily is a senior here at North High and belongs to UFCW Local 1189 at Cub Foods. Hannah is a freshman at The School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, South Dakota. Peter is a junior at Hamline University.


POLITICAL EXPERIENCE

I served five years on the Maplewood Human Relations Commission, serving 3 years as chair. I also served eighteen years on the Maplewood Parks Commission, ten years as the chair. During this time on the Parks Comission the focus of my energy was devoted to expanding the park system, restoring our Open Spaces, and redeveloping tired, run-down parks. My work earned me a Public Service Award for outstanding service in the promotion of parks and trails, from the Friends of the Parks and Trails of St. Paul and Ramsey County.

I've volunteered as chair of Senate District 55 DFL for the last two years, and have been involved in the party since 1978. I've attended almost every precinct caucus and Senate District Convention since 1976. I first started working the DFL donut booth in 1978, and the past few years I have worked multiple shifts. And I've worked on campaigns since 1976, chairing or coordinating campaigns for Betty McCollum, Chuck Wiger, and many local city races almost every year since 1996.


PROFESSIONAL CAREER

The last 5 years I have been the Director of Finance and Operations for a homeless youth shelter in North Minneapolis, where I helped restore financial accuracy and stability.

The first 30 years of my professional career I worked in private club management.


GOALS

My first goal is to treat everyone with respect. Too often our friends -- teachers, public servants, the poor or disenfranchised, and unionized employees -- are demonized and portrayed as a drain on society. This needs to end in order for us to be able to work together to solve the problems facing us today. We need to build respectful relationships with one another to address our difficult problems with common sense solutions.

My second goal is Education. The first priority that must be addressed is the 2.4 billion dollars that have been borrowed from our schools. Higher education is also very important, with Century College in our district. Currently there are many jobs that are not filled because there are not enough people with the skills needed. It is important that we support affordable education, to fill these jobs before companies move out of state in search of more-skilled labor.

My third goal is protecting the Environment. I am concerned by current legislature that wants to eliminate our renewable energy standards. I would work hard to protect those standards. There has been a proposal to let corporations write their own permits that have to be approved by the State. It's the equivalent of having the fox in charge of the hen house. For example, sulfide mining is a possibility in northern Minnesota, but it would create sulfuric acid as a hazardous by-product. One small sulfide mining disaster and we would lose many more small business and tourism jobs in our small towns. In order for sulfide mining to proceed we must make sure that there are adequate safeguards to protect the environment and local economies.