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Minnesota House of Representatives

State Representative Pat Garofalo

247 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-1069

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Posted: 2005-10-31 00:00:00
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NEWS COLUMN

Rep. Pat Garofalo’s Capitol Report -- EMBRACING COMMUNICATION

By Pat Garofalo
State Representative, District 36B, Farmington

I admit it. I have been spoiled by technology. It seems so hard to imagine a time when I couldn’t be watching 24-hour cable news channels, supplementing the information with more in-depth coverage from Internet news sites, and subsequently e-mailing my thoughts to friends and constituents. This doesn’t even take into account the personal digital photos and video mail I send and receive simply to stay in touch with those who might be several states, or even oceans, away.

What an amazing time we live in. We have the resources to stay in touch no matter where we are in the world, and the tools to customize the resources to our individual lives. And with the world changing so rapidly and so much information to share and absorb, staying in communication with each other might be more important now than ever, and will most likely bear even more importance in the years to come.

But it’s not simply a desire to know that drives the communication. Rather, in many cases it is a need to know. You need to know how your tax dollars are being spent by those who you have elected in this state to represent you. You need to know what your representative is doing on your behalf, what battles he is fighting, and what issue-of-the-moment is demanding his attention. Of course, there is no 24-hour cable news network dedicated to the Minnesota House of Representatives from which to get your information. Often, you are solely reliant on what is in the newspaper, on local television news, or what you receive in e-mail updates. However, with the technology that is available, there is no excuse why you have to be limited in how you find out how legislation and state government could affect you; there is no reason why the means for you to see it, hear it and understand it can’t be right at your fingertips.

I want to use the technology available to stay in touch with you – the voters and my constituents – to keep you updated on what has happened in your state government and make sure you are in the loop on what will be happening. As the next House session starts in March 2006, I will be using technology to communicate with you in a new way, about the issues and developments that matter most to you.

Keeping communication open with the community will remain a top priority for me in the coming session. I trust you will continue to let me know what issues and concerns you have, and it is my promise that you will have ample opportunity to stay informed about how I am serving you.

Rep. Garofalo’s legislative address is 429 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155. His phone number is 651-296-1069 or toll-free at 888-667-3337. His e-mail address is rep.pat.garofalo@house.mn.

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