Housley: tough when needed, ready to work together

Work hard, play fair and do the right thing.
Those are the tenets that Karin Housley’s father drilled into her during her childhood, and she still lives by them today.
Housley, so far the lone Republican running for former U.S. Sen. Al Franken’s seat, spoke briefly to Glencoe-area residents at a meeting of the Greater Minnesota Republican Women Tuesday night, Feb. 13.
Housely said her mother also had her own values to instill into her daughter. Her mother was the daughter of a Lutheran minister, and told Housely, “make sure God is always first in your life.”
Although she espouses the values of the Republican party, Housley said she is willing to work on both sides of the aisle.
“I’m willing to put party politics aside to get things done,” said Housley.
Housley’s mother had Alzheimer’s, and Housely cited her work in reform of care for the elderly as one of the ways she worked in a bipartisan effort to get things done.
Because of the issues her mother and other seniors face, Housley pushed to form a committee on aging and long-term care in the Minnesota Senate.
“I could see that I could do some really, really good work in this area,” said Housley.
For more about Housley's visit, see the Feb. 21 print edition of The Chronicle.