Pat Garofalo

Name: Pat Garofalo

Age: 41

Address: Farmington, Minn.

Occupation: Network engineer

Education: Bachelor of Science, Minnesota State University-Mankato

Family: Married, two children

Civic involvement: All Saints Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus, completing fourth term in Minnesota House of Representatives

There has been a lot of discussion recently about the size of government. How do you view the role of state government?

Government should do those things that the private sector cannot/should not do. For too long government has been growing at the expense of the private sector. This needs to stop.

How would you balance the state budget? Would you make cuts, and if so, to what? Would you raise taxes?

I expect that when the updated November budget forecast comes out, we will see an even larger budget surplus than we do right now. Instead of spending that new money, I believe we should use those dollars to pay back the money borrowed from schools.

What, if anything, should the state do to fight invasive species such as Asian carp?

Education of the public, electric barriers, aggressive removal of the carp from waterways. A successful strategy utilizes all these ideas and more.

Does local government aid need to be changed? If so, how?

Minneapolis and St. Paul have some of the largest tax bases in the state, yet rural and greater Minnesota taxpayers are forced to pay LGA to Minneapolis and St Paul. I would reduce LGA to Minneapolis and St. Paul and allocate those funds for direct tax relief and/or increased LGA for rural communities.

What would be your top priority or priorities if elected?

Promoting policies that allow for a growing, dynamic private sector. With the additional jobs created from a growing private sector, it will provide more revenue to pay for the essential government services citizens in our area support.

Tags: election, politics, minnesota, government