TIME AND YOUR SERVICE ALL THESE YEARS.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

>> Mary: APPRECIATE T. >> Mary: WELL, THIS WEEK'S FIRST-TERM DFL AWMAKER WAS RAISED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BUT NOW THAT HE'S IN MINNESOTA, HE DOESN'T WANT TO GO BACK.

REPRESENTATIVE, THE QUESTION WE START WITH EVERYONE, WHY DID YOU WANT TO RUN FOR OFFICE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

>> THE SIMPLE ANSWER IS, AND I HOPE IT'S THE ANSWER OF A LOT OF PEOPLE YOU'VE ASKED, IS I WANTED TO MAKE MINNESOTA THE BEST POSSIBLE PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE AND FLOURISH.

>> Mary: ROCHESTER HAS BEEN A VERY POLITICALLY COMPETITIVE AREA.

YOU'VE SENT DEMOCRATS, YOU'VE SENT REPUBLICANS.

HOW IS IT LOOKING RIGHT NOW FOR YOU, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

>> IT'S A REALLY UNIQUE AREA FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT REASONS.

OBVIOUSLY MAYO CLINIC, WORLDWIDE LEADER IN MEDICAL RESEARCH, MEDICAL CARE, BRINGING PEOPLE FROM LITERALLY ALL OVER THE WORLD.

SO POLITICALLY, IN THE STATE, BUT REALLY GLOBALLY, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF VIEWS REPRESENTED, SOME PEOPLE STAY LONG ENOUGH TO EVENTUALLY VOTE.

WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF SUBURBS THE SAME WAY THE TWIN CITIES HAVE SUBURBS.

SO REALLY ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE ARE HERE WITHIN THE ONE BIG MUNICIPALITY.

WE'VE GROWN SO MUCH IN THE LAST 30 YEARS, THERE'S THIS CONSTANT CONVERSATION, OF WHAT WE WANT THE CITY TO BE.

I FIND HAT REALLY EXCITING.

WHAT THAT MEANS IS HAT WE HAVE SOMEONE LIKE ME, WHO I THINK IS ON THE MORE PROGRESSIVE SCALE, LIVING SIDE BY SIDE WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PERHAPS MORE CONSERVATIVE, TRYING TO FIND THAT BALANCE, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE AS A CITY, REALLY, WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO GET TOGETHER, BECAUSE IT'S NOT URBAN, IT'S NOT REDUCER, YOU KNOW, ROCHESTER -- IT'S NOT RURAL, OU KNOW, ROCHESTER LITERALLY HAS FARMERS THAT LIVE WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS.

>> Mary: I HAVE THERE BACK IN THE DAY WHEN DESTINATION MEDICAL CENTER ORIGINALLY WENT THROUGH THE LEGISLATURE.

NOW WE'RE SEEING THEM PUT THEIR MONEY WHERE THEIR MOUTH IS, REALLY, IN THE NEXT PHASE.

YOU WERE THERE ON SITE.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR ROCHESTER AND THE STATE AND THE COUNTRY AND I GUESS THE PLANET WHEN IT COMES TO MORE INVESTMENTS THERE?

>> HUGE, FANTASTIC.

SO, WHAT YOU'RE REFERENCING IS A $35 BILLION REFERENCE FROM MAYO CLINIC TO EXPAND THE MAIN CAMPUS, WHICH THEY ALREADY HAVE HERE, FURTHER OUT AND INVOLVING A LOT OF YOU -- A LOT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY, A LOT OF NEW RESEARCH.

$5 BILLION.

AND THIS LEVEL INTO CASH INFUSION INTO A COMMUNITY IS GOING TO BE CONSTRUCTION WORKER FAMILIES OR ONTRACTOR FAMILIES, PLUMBERS, ELECTRICIANS, WHO MOVE TO ROCHESTER BECAUSE THEY HAVE TWO, THREE, FOUR YEARS OF WORK AND THEN STAY.

MORE STUDENTS ARE GOING TO BE ENROLLED IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WE'RE GOING TO NEED MORE PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE TRANSPORTATION.

IT REALLY HAS RIPPLES OUTSIDE OF JUST, YOU KNOW, MAYO BEING LARGER.

ONE OF THE KIND OF CLICHÉS FROM 9 STATE CHAMBER, THE LEADERS IN GENERAL, SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO RECRUIT MEMBERS HERE AND THEN THEY DON'T WANT TO LEAVE.

DO YOU SEE THAT HAPPENING MORE IN ROCHESTER WITH ALL THE NEW PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE TO COME?

>> TO BE QUITE HONEST, I'M AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.

I DIDN'T GROW UP IN MINNESOTA, I GREW UP IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, A WARM CLIMATE.

I MARRIED A MINNESOTAN.

WHEN WE WERE DECIDING WHERE TO START BUSINESSES, IT MADE SENSE IN MINNESOTA FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT REASONS.

CLOSER TO FAMILY.

A LOT OF THE POLICIES WE REALLY LIKED, SEEMED LIKE A STATE WHERE WE WANTED TO SETTLE.

SO WE HAVE, AND I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE.

>> Mary: FOR ME, WHEN I LOOK INTO YOUR BACKGROUND, IT DOESN'T SCREAM FUTURE POLITICIAN.

I SEE THEOLOGY.

HOW DO WE GO FROM THEOLOGY TO POLITICS?

>> ALL MY TRAINING IS OFFICIALLY IN THEOLOGY IN PRACTICE.

I WAS GOING TO BE A PASTOR.

MY DAD IS ACTUALLY A PASTOR, SO I FOLLOWED IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS, SO TO SPEAK.

IT DOES SOUND LIKE A LEAP WHEN YOU SAY IT, BUT AT THE HEART OF BOTH RELIGION AND POLITICS IS THE IDEA OF PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER TO DO GOOD.

>> Mary: WHAT DID YOU LEARN IN THEOLOGY THAT IS NOW HELPING YOU IN YOUR COMMUNITY AND LAWMAKING?

>> PEOPLE-CENTERED COMMUNICATION, PEOPLE-CENTERED ORGANIZING, BEING DRIVEN BY PEOPLE, RIGHT?

HOW DO YOU TALK O SOMEONE?

HOW DO YOU LISTEN TO SOMEONE?

HOW DO YOU TAKE A PROBLEM SOMEONE'S HAVING AND TRY TO FIND A SOLUTION THAT IS NOT JUST GOOD FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL BUT FOR A LOT F DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

>> Mary: WHAT ABOUT A PIVOT TO PARTISAN POLITICS, BECAUSE, AGAIN, YOUR BACKGROUND DOESN'T SCREAM PARTISAN EITHER, YOUR TRAINING.

>> YEAH.

>> Mary: YOU HAD TO PICK A PARTY, YOU HAVE TO VOTE WITH A PARTY.

TALK TO ME ABOUT THAT.

>> I COME FROM A DIVIDED HOUSEHOLD.

I THINK LIKE MANY MINNESOTANS, MANY PEOPLE IN AMERICA.

MY PARENTS ARE BOTH VERY STAUNCH REPUBLICANS, THAT'S HOW I GREW UP.

WHILE I WAS COMING INTO MY OWN AS A ADULT, I FOUND DISAGREED WITH A LOT OF THOSE POLICIES.

BUT I ALSO THINK THAT PEOPLE WHO I STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH SHOULD STILL PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION.

YES, I AM A PARTISAN, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE A PARTY, THAT DOESN'T MEAN I'M PARTISAN IN THE SENSE WHERE DON'T LISTEN TO THE OTHER SIDE.

>> Mary: WHAT DID YOU GET DONE, WHAT WERE YOU ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE ONE SESSION?

>> FIRSTS THAT COMES TO MIND, UNIVERSAL MEALS, KIDS, WHEREVER THEY GO TO SCHOOL, WHATEVER INCOME THEY'RE AT, WHATEVER THEIR SITUATION, ARE NOW GOING TO BE ABLE TO KNOW THAT THEY HAVE REAKFAST AND LUNCH AFTER SCHOOL.

I THINK IT'S WONDERFUL, REALLY GOING TO BE TRANSFORMATIVE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.

>> Mary: LET ME JUMP IN, OU PERSONALLY, WERE YOU ABLE TO GET AMENDMENTS, BILLS, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE ABLE TO GET DONE TOO?

>> I WAS GOING TO SAY FOR ME PERSONALLY, THE PSYCHEDELIC MEDICINAL TASK FORCE.

THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST BILLS I WROTE ON MY OWN, HAS SUCH WIDE-RANGING APPLICATIONS, ESPECIALLY FOR THINGS LIKE OPIOID ADDICTION.

>> Mary: THAT'S BIG FOR A FRESHMAN.

DID ANYONE TELL YOU THAT?

>> THEY DID TELL ME THAT.

PARTISANSHIP, WE HAD TWO SPONSORS ON THERE, CO-SPONSORS, ONE, REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON, AS FAR AS POSSIBLE FROM ME ON THE IDEALOGICAL SPECTRUM, WE WERE ABLE TO TALK AND AGREE ON THIS POINT.

>> Mary: DID YOU THINK IT WAS GOING TO BE MORE OR LESS PARTISAN THAN IT WAS?

>> YES, IT'S INCREDIBLY PARTLY SAN IN THE SENSE OF HAT'S HOW G?

PARTISAN.

WE HAVE CERTAIN COMMITTEES, MORE VOTES ON THOSE COMMITTEES.

BUT THE OTHER INTERESTING PART, JUST LIKE ANY WORKPLACE, THEY'RE COLLEAGUES OF OURS, WE'RE IN THE SAME COMMITTEES, WE'RE EMAIL EACH OTHER, TEXTING DURING SESSION, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS.

I