Mar 11 Meet Sanu Patel-Zellinger

Last night, Sanu Patel-Zellinger sat down for an interview with me. For those who don't recognize Sanu's name, she's the GOP endorsed candidate for HD-40B. Sanu's story is an inspiring one. Her task is seemingly daunting, with her opponent being Ann Lenczewski.

I was impressed with Sanu's answers, especially when she spoke about how Minnesota is losing job: "Right now, we are losing some companies to other states. TCF moved out of Minnesota. The other thing is to make it easy for those owners to run their business.

While some regulation is necessary, we need to make sure that the consequence of the regulation does not hamper the growth of business."

As the senior manager of international merchandising at Best Buy, Sanu certainly is aware of Minnesota's business climate. In fact, I'd argue that she has a better understanding of business-related issues than Rep. Lenczewski has. One thing I'm positive of is that she'd hit the ground running if elected.

Sanu's answer to my question on business regulation impressed me, too. Here's her answer:

Regulation must first and foremost pass the 'consequence test' of making sure we will not hurt jobs and growth of business. Good intent is a start, good consequences is a must.

Too often, Democrats pass the 'good intentions' test but fail miserably with the 'good results' test. I wanted to know if there was something that guided Sanu's decisionmaking in this regard. I was impressed with her answer:

All regulations tied to jobs, taxes and education would be my first focus. Also, in general, while we need regulations, we need to make sure they provide the desired consequences and also are constitutional.

The fact that Sanu considers it important that regulations are constitutional is impressive. All too often, Democrats put in place regulations that hamper lower levels of government, often in the form of unfunded mandates. These unfunded mandates often turn mayors into city administrators, automatons rather than decisionmakers.

I want someone who will fight against unfunded mandates and overreaching government. I'm betting that most conservatives and independents do, too.

When I said that "government has a way of overstepping", Sanu replied by saying "As legislators, we are promising to serve the public. So it would be the responsibility of those in office creating and approving laws to make sure they uphold the rights the Constitution provides every American."

I find it impressive that Sanu starts from the perspective that she's a public servant. It's also impressive that, if she was elected, would take seriously her affirmative responsibility to guarantee that the laws that get passed "uphold the rights the Constitution provides every American."

After interviewing her, I strongly recommend that people in HD-40B help elect Sanu Patel-Zellinger. Find out how you can help by visiting Sanu's website and finding out what volunteer opportunities you can help with.

I know from my previous post that Sanu's support is strong. That's what I found most impressive initially. After interviewing her, the most impressive attribute for me is her attitude that she's a public servant first. Visit Sanu's website and find out what you find most impressive about her. You'll be glad you did.

Comments welcome at LFR.