TAG | Rep. Yvonne Selcer

Nov/14

26

Keep It Local This Holiday Weekend

Posted by SD48 DFL Communications Team in News

Dear neighbors,

Many of us will be gathering with friends and family tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It’s a special time, and I hope you will be able to enjoy this day set aside for gratitude with the people close to you.

Many of us have much to be thankful for this year. For my part, I’m thankful for the safety and happiness of my family, I’m thankful we live in such a wonderful community, and, among many other things, I’m thankful for our community members who have again placed in me the trust to represent their priorities for another term in St. Paul. I’m honored to go to work for you and your families.

Lastly, I want to encourage your support for our locally owned small businesses if you make shopping part of your holiday weekend plans. As a member of the House Small Business Caucus, I know small businesses are a crucial part of the engine that makes Minnesota’s economy run. “Small Business Saturday” started in 2010 as a way to promote small, locally owned and operated retailers during the holiday shopping season, and I encourage you to check in with our local merchants on Saturday, November 29^th this year.

I’m pleased to continue my work on the bipartisan House Small Business Caucus, and I continue to welcome your input on new ways we can help locally owned businesses be successful and create more jobs.

I hope you experience the same joy this time of year brings my family, and I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving!

Best,
Yvonne

HD48A · House District 48A · Rep. Selcer · Rep. Yvonne Selcer · Small Business Saturday · Yvonne Selcer

Sep/14

25

Support Rep. Yvonne Selcer

Posted by SD48 DFL Communications Team in Letters to the Editor

As I read the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Sept 19 article on our state’s brightening job picture, with 6,100 new jobs added in August alone, Rep. Yvonne Selcer and her work in this area came to mind. Selcer authored legislation to extend and expand the successful Angel Investment Credit program, and also co-authored legislation to expand the proven program which provides forgivable loans to small businesses; these loans are forgiven when certain job creation criteria are met. Rep. Selcer did not vote for the tax bill which contained the business-to-business taxes, and successfully worked for its repeal in the 2014 legislative session.

I was alarmed at first to read that our labor pool in Minnesota is shrinking, but fortunately it is not because of an increase in the numbers of discouraged workers; those numbers have been falling, according to this Star Tribune article. Rather, as Steve Hine, the state labor market economist, was quoted as saying, “It’s safe to say that this is really a result of demographics” because our aging workforce is retiring.

But even though this article stated that Minnesota’s labor force participation rate is still among the highest in the nation, it is no secret that some businesses are having a hard time filling certain positions, such as skilled manufacturing jobs. In other words, there is more work to be done. Rep. Selcer has spent considerable time touring local businesses to find out how best our public schools and re-training programs can meet the good paying careers that are out there today. We need to re-elect Yvonne so that she can continue these good partnerships to create the conditions that will continue to move MN forward.

Doug Lind
Eden Prairie
Eden Prairie News, September 25, 2014

2014 job growth · 2014 Minnesota economic recovery · Angel investment credit · HD48A · House District 48A · Rep. Selcer · Rep. Yvonne Selcer · Yvonne Selcer

Jul/14

15

Legislative Update from Rep. Selcer

Posted by SD48 DFL Communications Team in Letters to the Editor, News, Our Candidates & Elected Officials

Dear Neighbors,

With summer fully in motion, I wanted to take a moment to update you on some of the encouraging economic news I continue to receive since the legislative session ended in May.

We are blessed to live in a state with such a hardworking and resilient workforce. By investing in world class schools, job training, and a balanced budget that kept our state working, Minnesota’s economy has continued to show positive signs of growth that outpace national indicators at every level.

I’m pleased to report that:

Minnesota has gained nearly 70,000 jobs since I began my term in January of 2013. It’s one of the best job creation rates in the country.
As of May 2014, the Twin Cities metro area has the lowest unemployment rate of any major metro area in the nation (4%). We were #1 out of 42 metro regions with at least one million residents. We haven’t had unemployment numbers that low since 2007.
Minnesota’s economy grew by 4.9% in 2012 and 2013. That is significantly higher than national GDP growth, and ranks 13^th in the country.
Forbes Magazine ranks Minnesota the 8^th best state for business in the country. We received special praise for our business climate and growth prospects. (Wisconsin was 41^st.)
CNBC ranks Minnesota the 6^th best state in the country for business. They noted our business-friendly economy. We outranked every other Midwestern state.
New businesses are drawn to Minnesota. Secretary of State Mark Ritchie reports 15,547 new Minnesota businesses were filed in the second quarter of 2014, bringing the state’s year-to-date filings to 31,502 — an increase over the 31,060 filings during the first half of 2013.
In 2013 we balanced the budget responsibly. The resulting surplus allowed us to continue to strengthen Minnesota’s budget outlook. Minnesota Management and budget recently announced investments that resulted from legislation we passed in 2014:
- $150 million added to the state budget reserve, increasing the state reserve fund to $811 million
- First budget reserve increase in 13 years

I’ve spoke to many of you at community events this summer, and I am encouraged by the hard work you’re doing as we all strive to improve our community and our state. You can feel the positive momentum behind our success, and we need to capitalize on it as together we continue to build out of the recession.

It’s an honor to serve our community, and I’m always interested in your concerns and ideas about how we continue positive economic momentum moving forward. I welcome you to contact me at any time throughout the summer and fall at or 651-296-3964.

Best,

Yvonne Selcer

State Representative