Candidate column: Kim Taylor

For 18 years as U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin's senior constituent advocate in his Cedar Rapids office, my focus has been on practical problem-solving for working people and their communities - and that also will be my focus as a Linn County supervisor.

I'm not one to stand on an partisan soap box and give loud speeches. I believe in respecting people of all points of view, bringing folks together to hammer out win-win solutions whenever possible, and working hard behind the scenes to produce results.

That will be my approach as we continue with flood recovery, as we modernize our public infrastructure, and as we work with our business colleagues to expand economic opportunity and create more jobs in both the urban and rural parts of our county.

As supervisor, I will act on my conviction that we have a responsibility to protect and lift up our most vulnerable citizens, including children living in poverty, the fragile elderly, and people with disabilities. Employers should pay living wages, and create work environments where employees are valued. We should look at Linn County as a kind of extended family, where we look out for each other and where no one is left behind.

In my work with Sen. Harkin, my special focus has been on challenges facing veterans, active members of the military, and immigrants. On a day-to-day, hour-to-hour basis, I help constituents in Linn County by cutting through bureaucratic red tape and going to bat for folks who desperately need someone to advocate for them. I love this work, and I'm very good at it. And I am eager to take this same style of public service to a new level as a member of the Board of Supervisors.

As supervisor, I would draw on my extensive knowledge of federal, state and local governments, and I would tap the broad network of contacts and resources I developed over the years. I also would draw on my life experience as a wife of 19 years and a mother of two active children who attend public schools on the west side of Cedar Rapids.

I will be ready to listen to you and serve you from Day One as supervisor. And I will be deeply grateful for your vote on June 3.

For more information about me, please visit my Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/kimtaylor linncounty?ref=hl.

' Kim Taylor is a candidate for Linn County District 1 supervisor in the June 3 Democratic primary election. Comments: kimtaylordistrict1@gmail.com