Minnesota State Representative Paul Thissen, a Democrat who chairs the House and Human Services Committee, filed papers yesterday to run for Governor of Minnesota in 2010. What’s particularly intriguing about Thissen is his interest in the age wave (check out his web site here) and innovation and his desire to help shape new solutions.The newsletter Politics in Minnesota recently interviewed Thissen as part of a larger story on aging services public policy (The newsletter gave a shout out to Changing Aging, which was nice).Following is an excerpt from the interview:

… There’s also positive energy on Age Wave policy in the Minnesota Legislature. We asked Rep. Thissen if he has any specific legislative goals related to this issue.His enthusiastic answers indicated the importance in which care for the aging is placed in this influential committee. Despite the materializing crisis, Thissen is markedly optimistic about the projects lined up. ‘It’s really a exciting time,’ he said. In the upcoming session, he expects to be ‘fighting the budget,’ but was confident that important measures could still be passed.Thissen characterized the long-term care debate in Minnesota currently as a partisan issue, often boiling down to yea-or-nay nursing home funding votes. What he wants to see is the transfer of the issue to a more holistic, long-term issue of health and society. First, saving for retirement is a huge issue; Thissen would like to see a 529-style tax-advantaged retirement savings plan in Minnesota, as has been established in Nebraska. (He and Rep. Laura Brod, a Republican, wrote a bi-partisan op-ed on this very subject recently in the MInneapolis Star Tribune.) Encouraging Minnesotans to set aside funds for disabilities and health care is understood to be a major goal.Other goals in the Legislature include continuing the legacy of the Community Consortium Bill, to extend the flexibility of local communities in allocating and distributing health care money. Thissen sees individual freedom with care dollars as an important component of allowing Minnesota seniors to age with dignity and independence.Thissen thinks that the economic realities of the Age Wave can be the catalyst for change, politically. But he stressed that it’s critical to change public perception, to encourage everybody to see themselves and their parents or grandparents in such a way as to personalize the issue. He mentioned the idea of convening a summit, with citizen dialogue and bipartisan legislative support, to address issues in aging. When Minnesotans have an investment in seeing themselves and their loved ones cared for, Thissen said, ‘that’s how we start to make change.’ …