Alright – so, Rep Angie Craig won Minnesota’s 2nd district including Burnsville and Savage which has high rate of Somali children with autism.
As an autism mom and advocate, I have been trying to reach out to her office without success. Her staff are less welcoming than a golf club in Montgomery Alabama in the 1950s. Her district manager Nick C is as smart as Rose from the Golden Girls. Her Washington DC office’s staff remind me of the show Beverly hillbillies.
I went to see her in a town hall meeting. To my surprise, she was smart, quick on her feet and thoughtful. They say “tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are”. In Rep Craig’s case – it is tell me who your staff are and I will assume you are the same.
In this town hall meeting, we were allowed one comment and one question. I asked her if she could introduce an amendment to amend the discipline portion of IDEIA. She didn’t really have an answer nor said yes. She has a son with autism which may be why I was more understanding in her non-substantive response.
I also told her that she needs to have more diverse folks which she agreed – though not sure if she actually meant it or will do something about it.
In a strange way, she reminded me of Gov Dayton who like her was reasonable but had horrible, elite and useless gatekeepers.
It is important that we hold our elected officials accountable for their policies or lack thereof. She said that 16 bills have been authorized by her and Co-sponsored hundreds. For what it is worth, she did co-sponsor the autism Cares act of 2019 which passed the house, senate and signed by the president a few weeks ago. A side good note is that this bill was co-sponsored by all of Minnesota’s congressional folks including both senators. I think most of them came on board without much difficulty which is an improvement from the last time when we had to fight and beg them. One can say that is autism awareness progress in Minnesota.
I will see if she does better for individuals with autism and delivers. It is unfortunate she has hillbillies as gatekeepers. She could do so much good given that her son has autism. Her office staff do not reflect this district’s constituents. If DFLers are going to ask and beg for minority votes during elections then the least they can do is hire them after they win. Sadly, too often that never happens. Rep Craig has her next town hall meeting on December 7th @ 10am in West St. Paul (217 Moreland Ave West). It is nice that she has these monthly, but unless what people ask become fruitful then it is waste of time and a show-off.
Above words do not reflect any candidate, agency or committee.
Idil – Somali Autism Mom