July 16, 2008 NewsletterIn this issue:Get Involved in the Campaign!Oberstar Invests in Automobile Alternatives, Seeks to Alleviate Rising Cost of Oil Oberstar Visits Iron Range for 4th of July Parades Candidate Spotlight: Meg Bye, MN 04B Get Involved in the CampaignJim will be walking in parades, speaking at rallies, and participating in campaign events across the district over the next four months and beyond. At all these events, we need local community members to help us make the event have the biggest impact possible.If you would like to get involved with our campaign to reelect Jim Oberstar, you can do one or all of the below suggestions: 1. If you live in the Hermantown area, come walk with Jim in the Hermantown Summerfest Parade this Saturday, July 19. We'll have the signs, t-shirts, and stickers - just meet us at the Hermantown High School parking lot at 10:00 a.m. The parade will start at 11:00. Contact Blake Chaffee at (218) 310-4376 with any questions. 2. Go to our website www.oberstar.org and sign up to volunteer by clicking the Volunteer button on the right-hand side. This will keep you in the loop about volunteer opportunities in your area. 3. Check www.oberstar.org/events to see a calendar of some of our upcoming events and put them in your calendar. Oberstar Invests in Automobile Alternatives, Seeks to Alleviate Rising Cost of OilHouse Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar recently pushed two key pieces of legislation aimed at reducing our dependence on foreign oil by investing in our nation's public transportation.Last month, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved Oberstar's bill to invest over $14 billion in Amtrak to increase and expand passenger rail service across America and support the increasing use of public transportation as more and more travelers shy away from driving. The bill, called the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, also includes a grant program to fund high-speed rail initiatives, similar to the proposed Duluth to Minneapolis initiative. Oberstar also penned a bill to keep transit fares low that won broad bipartisan support when it passed the U.S. House late last month. This bill, The Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act, which will provide $1.7 billion in grants to reduce fares on public transit systems, is an important part of Oberstar’s long-term plan to make America less dependent on foreign oil. “If, nationwide, we could shift just 10 percent of the trips we take by car each day to some form of public transportation, we would save the equivalent of all the oil we import from Saudi Arabia in a single year - 550 million barrels a year,” said Oberstar. Oberstar has used his leadership of the Transportation Committee to invest in transportation as a means of reducing our dependence on foreign oil. These bills seek to demonstrate that we don’t need to drill in protected areas or come up with new, exotic technologies to reduce the cost of gas: we just need to support public transportation. Not only will mass-transit passengers benefit from more efficient and cheaper travel, but reducing demand through increased public transportation will help alleviate the cost of gasoline for those who do not live in cities or otherwise don’t have access to mass-transit. Oberstar Visits Iron Range for 4th of July ParadesJim went from parade to parade on the Iron Range over the 3rd and 4th of July again this year to celebrate our nation’s independence. Oberstar walked the Aurora, Gilbert, Eveleth, Nashwauk, Keewatin, and Biwabik parades. “You can’t serve people without listening to them,” Oberstar said. “Parades are an opportunity to talk to people about their issues and get the feedback that is vital to my job in Congress.” The Range parades came a week before Jim was in Two Harbors for their Heritage Days parade. This upcoming weekend, he will be in the Twin Ports for Hermantown’s Summerfest parade.Candidate Spotlight: Meg Bye, MN 04BNext in our series of 8th District DFL candidate profiles is Meg Bye running against Republican Rep. Larry Howes. Candidate: Meg Bye District: 04B, Cities: Walker, Pine River, Pequot Lakes, and surrounding area. --Not sure what district you're in? Just visit the Minnesota District Finder on the State Legislature's official website. Meg Bye is running in 4B to unseat incumbent GOP Rep. Larry Howes, bringing her broad experience and background in public service and education to the heartland of Minnesota. Bye, a former Duluth City Councilor who lives at her family’s 100-year old homestead in Loon Lake Township, vows to bring new priorities to this north-central Minnesota district, including changing the education funding formulas to provide fair and adequate funding and protecting northern Minnesota’s pristine environment. “We need to be thinking about the future, the future of our environment, which is a key asset to our economy, and the future of our workforce, which will require a change in the way we fund education,” Bye said, drawing on her experience as a former high school math teacher. “We cannot compete in a global economy without a well-educated workforce.” In addition to city councilor and high school teacher, Bye served as Duluth’s Human Rights Officer, a position that put her in charge of protecting average citizens’ rights. “I continued what I had been doing all my life - giving everybody a fair shot at the American dream - and what I will continue doing representing our communities in St. Paul.” She has also gained an intimate knowledge of food and agriculture policy as the executive director of a food bank, an issue important to central Minnesota. This experience and knowledge puts Bye in a unique position to provide for her district. “More than each individual experience, all of these previous positions together have given me an understanding of how our government works, how the city, state, and federal governments work together to craft policy. I’ve worked with Congressman Oberstar and numerous other public officials over my career to get things done for the people of Minnesota.” If you would like to contact the campaign use the below address: Meg Bye Volunteer Committee 8081 County Road 78 Lakeshore, MN 56468 email: meg_bye@yahoo.com |
|