Peggy Flanagan Is Running for the Senate to "Avenge Minnesota"

"“Even if you have an early-learning scholarship and your kid can go to preschool, they still need childcare while their parent is at work, right?” she tells me over dinner at Hai Hai, one of her favorite Southeast Asian restaurants in Northeast Minneapolis. “It was very controversial at the time. Now it's common sense.”"

"“A high-powered lobbyist said to me, 'Well, Peggy, let's be honest. People would rather have an early-learning scholarship than CCAP because CCAP is welfare, and people on welfare feel like losers,'” she recalls. “I didn't know what to do other than say, 'Time out. You know, my mom used the childcare-assistance program. She used it to go back to school and to get a better-paying job. You know what she didn't feel like? A loser. She felt like a good mom.'”"

"“And I stood up and walked out of the room,” Flanagan continues, nearly tearing up at the memory 13 years later. When she returned, the lobbyist apologized. Flanagan told her, “If you want to just focus on early-learning scholarships, it's absolutely your choice. We are clear that making sure that low-income families have access"

In 2013, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan led discussions with partners about funding priorities for early-learning scholarships and the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). The debate centered on whether to fund half-day preschool scholarships or childcare assistance for families using daycare while parents worked. Flanagan argued that preschool access still requires childcare during working hours. A lobbyist suggested families would prefer scholarships over CCAP because CCAP was viewed as welfare and stigmatized. Flanagan countered with her mother’s experience using childcare assistance to return to school and earn a better-paying job without feeling like a loser. She walked out, later received an apology, and emphasized ensuring low-income families had access.

Read at The Nation