“Living within our means” may have been a slogan you heard from Rich Murray on the campaign trail last year. Since taking office in St. Paul, however, his actions haven’t matched his words.

For example, last week Rep. Murray voted yes on a bill in the State Government Committee that cuts wages and jobs for public employees by 15 percent and would eliminate over 6,000 jobs in the public and private sector. The bill would save little or nothing in the budget but would have the effect of eliminating public health nurses, State Patrol officers and other public service employees that we all count on.

To show that elected officials are not above the painful cuts proposed for the public, I offered an amendment to the bill that would cut legislators pay by 15 percent. After all, if the Legislature is going to cut wages and jobs for our constituents, then we should make some sacrifices of our own. Rep. Murray voted no on the amendment.

Apparently Rep. Murray is OK with eliminating jobs and cutting wages for thousands of Minnesotans, but his own pocketbook is off limits. I encourage you to contact Rep. Murray and encourage him to stop playing “do as I say, not as I do” politics.

Ryan Winkler

state representative

District 44B

Golden Valley