Hogg brings record of accomplishment, vision

It is an honor to represent the citizens of Cedar Rapids in the Iowa Senate. With your support, we have had many accomplishments. For example:

' We established the preschool program for 4-year-olds and the state's math and science initiative.

' We stopped tuition increases at our universities, expanded job training through our community colleges and established regional training centers with our high schools.

' We expanded renewable energy jobs with targeted tax credits and the Iowa Power Fund.

' We raised the minimum wage in 2007, and have provided targeted assistance for Iowa business expansions that provide high-wage jobs.

' We passed tax cuts for Iowa's seniors, active-duty military personnel and military retirees.

' We passed Iowa's smoke-free law and expanded children's health insurance.

' We created the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan that now provides health insurance for more than 100,000 Iowans.

Perhaps most important, we helped Cedar Rapids and other communities rebuild from the 2008 flood. I remember vividly the flood and the urgent need for government and community assistance to recover and rebuild.

Along with Gov. Chet Culver, we helped homeowners clean out and rebuild (or relocate, if necessary). We helped businesses reopen. We helped city and county governments restore facilities and operations. And we made sure we rebuilt safer, smarter and more sustainable.

It was never as fast as I wanted, but the fact is we recovered and rebuilt with help from the state and federal government. That experience showed me that on some issues, government is a necessary partner, and government can work.

Government is not a debating society. It is about people coming together in a practical manner to try to make our lives better by responding to real problems and recognized threats, and by pursuing a vision for a better future.

Elections are about the future. We need to build on our past successes by expanding educational opportunities, providing affordable college education, raising the minimum wage, pursuing high-wage economic development, promoting public health and safety and providing better home care for seniors and people with disabilities.

If re-elected, I will support these efforts, and also provide leadership for better mental health services, better water management to clean up our water and reduce future floods, a clean energy future to create jobs and protect the environment, and the disaster prevention we so urgently need.

' Rob Hogg is a Democratic candidate for Iowa Senate, District 33. Comments: robhogg@earthlink.net