Karla Rose Hanson

I am running for re-election to the ND House because there is more work to do to build an economy that works for everyone. Since I was first elected in 2016, I have advocated for policies that improve the quality of life in our state – such as affordable health care, investments in education and research, paid family leave, criminal justice reform, and more. We need to continue to make progress in these areas. We’re also seeing new challenges -- like a shortage of quality childcare and extreme culture war proposals – that make attracting a workforce to our state even harder.

My experiences related to communication and collaboration help me be a more effective legislator. I’m a strong believer in listening to neighbors and keeping them updated, which is why my seatmates and I hold monthly public forums and send weekly email updates during the fast-moving legislative session. Additionally, lawmakers must be collaborators. I’ve built strong relationships with lawmakers from across North Dakota with a wide range of views. We find common ground to craft solutions to the state’s problems.

After knocking thousands of doors in north Fargo and downtown, the top issues I hear about are education, childcare and reproductive freedom. Regarding education, North Dakotans want the state to use its healthy reserves to address K-12 teacher retention challenges and to ensure strong programs and affordable tuition at our higher ed institutions. The childcare crisis is urgent for families who need to work and businesses that need workers, so I hope my colleagues can agree on solutions for this part of our economy’s infrastructure. Finally, North Dakotans do not want the government interfering in deeply personal decisions about their healthcare.

My priorities reflect my neighbors’ priorities: 1. Ensure a high-quality public education from preK to K-12 to higher education; we should strengthen state funding to help with teacher retention, student well-being, and higher ed research opportunities. 2. Address the childcare crisis so families have shorter waiting lists for quality care and more affordable options. 3. Stand up for reproductive freedom and stand against additional extreme proposals that threaten access to contraception and IVF.

We must have a multi-pronged approach to adequately address our workforce challenges. I support the current workforce initiatives related to education, training, and apprenticeships, and I’m excited by the private-public partnerships that are emerging to connect workers to businesses and fuel our economic growth. The legislature must fully invest in childcare infrastructure so that we remove that as a barrier for young families. The legislature could also create a state-facilitated, employee/employer-funded paid family leave program that enables businesses to retain talented employees when they need to care for themselves or a loved one.

In addition to traditional economic development tools, the legislature can foster stronger economic growth by removing the reasons why families might pass on choosing FMWF as their home. We can remove barriers that families may face in relocating here by investing in more affordable housing and quality, affordable childcare – since there is a shortage of both in this region. And finally, the legislature should avoid advancing extreme proposals related to culture wars, which send the message that not everyone is welcome in North Dakota.