Day on The Hill Thursday, February 15th, 2001

Love can build a bridge Between your heart and mine Love can build a bridge Don’t you think it’s time? Don’t you think it’s time?

There we are, 500 strong, belting out that song at 9:00 o’clock in the morning while Cyril Paul keeps time on his drum. “We” are the participants and organizers of the JRLC Day On The Hill, gathered at the Capitol in St. Paul to learn and talk to our legislators about upcoming legislation dealing with social justice issues. These issues range from health care to affordable housing to family farms, gun safety, children’s care and development, eco-justice and a safety net for welfare recipients whose five years of being on assistance are almost up.

Over coffee and a bagel I talk to Dot Wolking from St. Thomas Becket Catholic parish in Eagan. She tells me that this is probably her 10th year of attending this event. She comes, she says, because she wants to help “change systems,” and this day helps her do just that. She says that legislators really listen to JRLC participants, that they “take us very seriously.” JRLC, translated, is the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, made up of representatives from the Minnesota Catholic Conference, Minnesota Council of Churches, Jewish Community Relations Council and the American Muslim Council-Minnesota Chapter.

Brian Rusche, executive director of JRLC, convenes the meeting and tells us that faith, love, justice, and citizenship are all inseparable. I get the impression that everyone here believes that their faith demands action and they are here today to act on their beliefs.

The keynote speaker is Jan Malcolm, Minnesota’s Commissioner of Health. She tells us that public health isn’t just about disease and its prevention, but includes a whole range of things like housing, race relations, and differing cultures that can all add up to make or break a healthy environment. One example of a social justice issue that needs attention here Jan says is “The shocking disparity in Minnesota between Whites and Blacks in infant mortality.” To our shame this disparity is the largest in the country. She goes on to say that we, as a state, must get serious about prevention and says that the Governor’s budget provides generously for this very thing. She stresses the fact that health disparities are linked with wealth disparities and racism.

After Jan’s talk, we break to choose 2 topics from a list of “issue briefings”. These are sessions where we are given the facts and figures that will back up our pleas to the legislators we’ll be seeing in the afternoon. The first issue I choose is called “Safety Net,” and is presented by Kathy Tomlin, from the Office for Social Justice, Catholic Charities. In 35 minutes she tries to explain to us the complex issues surrounding the 5 year time limit on welfare enacted into law a few years ago, its defects and possible ways of changing them.

She hands us a yellow sheet showing the income level requirements to meet the minimum cost of family support in Minnesota today. It states that a single-parent family with 2 children needs to have a job paying $16.55 in hourly wages. This would give them a gross yearly income of $34,434. I can’t help but wonder how many single-parent mothers make that kind of hourly wage. Kathy tells us that the prevailing thought among many of those who are crafting welfare laws is that “punitive is motivational,” which according to her just isn’t so.

Next I look for Door 4 for information about affordable housing. The presenter is Joy Sorensen Navarre from MICAH (Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing.) Here we learn that 63,800 extremely low-income households (annual income less that $12,000) pay more than half their income for housing. We are told that almost 16,000 people are homeless each day in Minnesota, 50% of which are children and 35% are working adults. Joy tells us that the future health of Minnesota requires attention from every sector on affordable housing and the array of issues that surround it. With these statistics, we all believe her. I became numbed for about 15 minutes driving here this morning before my car warmed up. Now I wonder how anyone could survive without a warm home to go to in this kind of weather. Especially a child, I think, and I shiver at the thought.

Now it’s time to get some nitty gritty tips on how to talk effectively to our legislators, our last and we are told, most important task of the day. For this, we listen to the Reverend Mark Peters, executive director of the Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in Minnesota. Mark begins:

• TALK with the policy maker, don’t grill them.
• Establish RAPPORT FIRST, get their vote second.
• Talk from the heart; personalize the issue as much as possible
• Be prepared to give straightforward answers, but DON’T argue
• Remember to send a thank you note for their time

It’s lunch time now, so we sit down at tables marked with our district numbers. This way we are immediately connected with others who may have some of the same issues as we. We eat quickly, which is a shame because the food was delicious, trying to absorb and share all that we had learned in the morning.

The buses are waiting to take us over to the Capitol - our meetings have taken place in the River Centre, Touchstone Energy Place - so we hurry out, grateful for the ride on this still cold day.

Sen. John Marty(54)

Three others and I find John Marty in his third floor office above the impressive rotunda. We crowd in with others who are talking with him as we come in. They leave soon and it’s our turn to let him know what’s on our minds; in our cases it’s housing, child care and education, and of course how they all fit in, or don’t, with the Governor’s budget. John tells us that last year when the vote came regarding tax returns he was the only senator who voted against it. “That was lonely,” he says. He goes on to say that it’s really hard at times to be the only voice against an issue, a place he often finds himself. For that reason, he was grateful for our visit and the support we offered him in his efforts.

As we leave his office, we are reminded of a story that someone told earlier about last year. Governor Ventura had just issued his first budget and was meeting with a large group of JRLC participants during that year’s Day On The Hill. They had some questions for him to which he answered, “Well, you all want your refunds, don’t you?” To which about 45 voices in unison answered with a loud “NO!” We are told that there was a picture printed in at least one local paper of his startled face after that reply.

Rep. Mary Jo McGuire(54A)

We tour the Capitol building for a time, then look for the tunnel that connects that building with the State Office Building where we find Mary Jo McGuire, our state representative, waiting for our 2:00 o’clock appointment. Not exactly waiting - we can see that she is talking animatedly with some people who soon leave and then she ushers us graciously into her comfortable space. As we tell our stories, she listens as though we were the only ones she has to see all day. We are not rushed, but really listened to, at least that’s how she makes us feel. We talk again about the budget, so she tells us what to do: write to the policy makers. In this case it’s Roger Moe, Steve Sviggum and the Governor himself. She hands us each sheets with their addresses, along with the names and addresses of some key committee chairmen. As we leave she hugs us each one and thanks us for coming.

Jo Youngren and her husband,Dave, have been members at SJA for a little over a year now. However, about 20 years ago Jo was a member and worked with Harvey Egan and Cy Speltz for 4 years. Her first husband, Jack Welch, was buried from there, and later Jo and Dave were married in what is now The Itaska, but at the time was a warehouse with a large gathering of SJA folks attending and Fred & Anna supplying the music - the church in a slightly different setting at the time giving us their blessing. Jo and Dave have been married for 19 years and back in Minnesota for the last 13.

The day is coming to a close as we return to the rotunda. Cyril Paul and his musicians are back and again we sing “Love can build a bridge.” Finally we are blessed by Rabbi Sim Glaser from Temple Israel. He tells us that in early days sacrifice was demonstrated by killing an animal that was valuable to you or by burning your first crops to show in a real way your devotion to a Supreme Being. We no longer show our devotion in that way, Rabbi Glaser says, but assures us that by being there and doing what we’ve done this day we have fulfilled the spirit of sacrifice that really pleases our Maker. We have spoken by our collective presence for justice and God asks for no better than that.

I return home tired, but find myself humming “Love can build a bridge” and mentally writing my letters to the powers that be about how I think the surplus should be spent and what I think about the Governor’s budget.