To the editor:< Once again, Rep. Paulsen has put party politics and special interest groups ahead of the voters. It happened with recent tax reform, where the Ways & Means committee Erik serves on crafted legislation that reduced our state income tax/property tax deduction to $10,000 per year and largely eliminated many of us from sharing in any of the highly touted tax cuts. More importantly, those tax cuts were little more than a thinly veiled effort to buy our votes, and will add $1.5 trillion to the nation’s deficit. It happened when Erik ignored the overwhelming majority of voters in our district who favor meaningful gun control in favor of garnering an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association. I think it’s safe to assume that rating includes generous financial support from the NRA as well. Now it’s happened again, where thanks to federal legislation, over 300,000 senior citizens in Minnesota will lose their existing Medicare health plan supplement at the end of the year. For 2019, our choices include (1) paying an additional $1,000 per year to retain coverage that is comparable to our current plan, or (2) joining a program where coverage is diluted with costly co-pays, and our choice of doctors/providers is limited. In either case, seniors’ health insurance is taking a big step backwards. Some readers may suspect that my criticism is partisan. Fact is, I worked for Rep. Paulsen’s political campaign years ago helping with street signs and literature. I’ve also served as a delegate at the Minnesota Republican convention. But the bottom line is our political system is broken, and we’re badly in need of newly elected officials. Rep. Paulsen has demonstrated his constituents are no longer his priority. He’s had ample opportunity to serve – now it’s time for a change. Roddy Geckler, Edina Edina Sun-Current, October 18, 2018