After reading the Questionnaire responses check out the video from our Candidate Interview Series!
There are four criteria for endorsement our members will be considering as they decide which are their top three preferred candidates:
- Will this candidate be a bold leader on our vision? Does their life experience illustrate bold leadership on our vision?
- Does this candidate have an effective plan to win that they are executing? Can they win?
- Does this candidate have an understanding of how to govern, and ability to do so? Is this candidate willing to govern with the progressive movement to implement our shared vision?
- Would you be excited about supporting this candidate with your time and money?
TakeAction Minnesota members should keep these criteria in mind while reviewing the questionnaire answers below.
The reNEW Minnesota campaign's questionnaire included 16 questions. Click on a question to see all ten candidate responses. Candidate responses are listed in alphabetical order.
The reNEW Minnesota Campaign Questionnaire:
Category A: We will support a candidate for Governor who will be a bold leader on the reNEW Minnesota vision and has the life experience to illustrate that leadership.
A2) What do you identify with most in our vision? What do you struggle with in our vision?
Category B: We will support a candidate for Governor who can win, has an effective plan to do so, and is executing it.
B1) What is the core message of your campaign (in three sentences or less)?
B2a) How much money have you raised?
B2b) How many different people have contributed money to your campaign?
B2c) How many people have volunteered for your campaign at least once?
B2d) How many different people have hosted events on your behalf?
B2e) In how many of Minnesota’s 87 counties have you participated in an event?
B3) What will you do differently than past unsuccessful campaigns for Governor?
Category C: We will support a candidate for Governor who understands how to govern, has an ability to do so, and a willingness to do so with us to enact our shared vision.
C1) We need a governor who will work with and help build a growing and powerful economic, social, and racial justice movement, including unions and the labor movement, to implement our shared vision – to continue to win real victories for people in Minnesota – what does that mean to you?
C3) Other than “having a seat at the table”, how will you work with us after you are elected?
C4) In what concrete ways have you worked with the progressive movement in the past?
Category D: TakeAction Minnesota members and reNEW Minnesota Campaign participants have been working on various issues. Please respond to questions relating to those issues below.
A1) Please tell a story about a time when you realized “we are all in this together – we are an interconnected and interdependent people”.
Anderson-Kelliher: Legislators from across the state and from both political parties knew that the 2008 legislative session was going to be a tough one. We faced the task of trying to eliminate a $900 million budget deficit for the next budget cycle, and we were reeling from the Interstate 35W bridge collapse. Because of the bridge collapse, there was a lot of hope that we could come together and pass a comprehensive transportation bill that would put our state back on the right track for infrastructure investments.
Unfortunately, Governor Pawlenty backed away from negotiations and told me he would never sign a transportation bill passed by the legislature. I knew then that we needed to build a coalition to override his veto.
I brought together leaders from labor and business, agriculture and environmental groups, and Democrats and Republicans. It was important to me to see people from all backgrounds working together to do the right thing for Minnesota, and I’m proud of the way we worked together to get this important bill done. Not only has this bill put important infrastructure and transportation projects in place, it also has been the largest job creating bill in decades.
Bakk: In the recession of 1981-1982, I was working as a carpenter and ran out of unemployment and couldn’t afford health insurance for my young family. That experience is something that has stayed with me forever and shaped my work as a legislator. As a community we stuck together and made it through that difficult recession. That spirit, that we are a community and what’s best for all of us is what’s best for all of us, has been missing these last eight years in the governor’s office.
Dayton: In November 1969, at the age of 22, I joined over 500,000 Americans in the first massive protest in Washington DC against the Viet Nam War. The experience of standing with such an enormous number of my sisters and brothers, of all races, ages, and backgrounds, standing strong together in solidarity in the face of an armed DC police force, and singing “We Shall Overcome” was indescribable and life-lasting. A few minutes later, DC police, on the orders of the Nixon Administration, attacked us with tear gas and billy clubs. So, I also learned about the importance of standing up against an oppressive government, which earned me the distinction of being the only Minnesota named to Nixon’s infamous “Enemies List.”
Entenza: When my family lost our father to alcoholism and then our home, I realized that nobody can make it in this world alone. I was fortunate that I was born in a community that supported one another and in a state that saw value in making sure every child had an opportunity to succeed. This is the basis for my candidacy. I want a state where everyone is supported and given the same opportunity I was.
Gaertner: Every day at my job as Ramsey County Attorney, I see the cause and effect of what happens when a community doesn't do a good enough job of bringing people together- especially in the area of education. Some of my most important work as County Attorney has been in making sure kids are ready and able to learn. Besides managing child support collection for Ramsey County, I helped create the Truancy Intervention Program—a partnership with St. Paul and suburban school districts that has significantly increased school attendance and graduation rates across the county.As a result, I have witnessed the powerful impact of education on preventing crime and strengthening communities.
Kelley: When I was the Chair of the Senate Education Committee, I had the opportunity to tour Lyndale Elementary. I sat next to a little Somali girl who read me a story that she had written. This little girl wrote a read a story in her non-native language after leaving a war-torn country. I was inspired by her resilience and incredible potential. I was also struck that our schools were succeeding in giving this child a chance at a better life.
This young girl started her life in violence, yet had hope for a better future because they she the opportunity for a new life in Minnesota. We are all in this together – we are an interconnected and interdependent people. That little girl – and everyone in the state of Minnesota – deserves access to quality education. All of us will benefit, too, when that little girl becomes a star scientist and her classmates become the leaders of tomorrow.
Not only are we interconnected and interdependent people, but our opportunity to live a quality life stems from interconnected systems – health and education, transportation and housing. Every Minnesotan deserves the opportunity to have a chance to succeed in our state.
Marty: Last year when some in the legislature were cutting PCA services for people with emotional and behavioral challenges, I heard from a foster mother who described the impact on her children. She told about her seven year old son, who she described as “a bed-wetter, frequent nightmares, violent temper, who was abused in a prior foster and who will abuse younger children.” The mother told me that they do because he has tried to do so repeatedly.
If we cannot afford PCA or other services for such a child, we can be certain that in 20 years from now that young man at age 27 will likely be in prison for the rest of his life at massive expense of the taxpayers and will have destroyed the lives of other children in the process. Will affect other children around and can easily destroy the lives of any others. If we don’t have PCA services to protect him and other children around, we will undoubtedly impact the other. We are all in this together.
Rukavina: Recently, a group of young Latinos came into my office and asked for a moment of my time to talk about the “Dream Act” and to try to get support for it. They talked about their vision to improve their lives and provide higher education opportunities so that everyone can live better lives. This is something that rings very true with me on a daily basis, as Chair of the Higher Ed board but to see their faces and their hopefulness, really made me realize how the things that I have been working so hard towards for 23 years can mean so much to our future generations as well.
Rybak: I learned this lesson very early in life. I come from Czech immigrants who helped build the town of New Prague, where my great grandparents had a general store on the main street of town. It took my family four generations of working together and pooling resources to be able to send my dad to the University of Minnesota so that he could become a pharmacist. But when I was 10 years old, my dad died, and my mom had to run our family drugstore and still care for my brother, my sister and me. The store was in a troubled neighborhood and my mom was held up at gunpoint two nights in a row. But she held on, worked hard and eventually put all three of her kids — and herself — through college. And although she was tough, she succeeded only because of people like Stan and Chuck at the insurance agency next door, the people at the Chef Cafe where we ate dinner every night, and scores of family friends who supported us.
I’ve learned that lesson over and over again as mayor of Minneapolis, but at no time more vividly than on a hot August night over two years ago when the 35W bridge collapsed. When the bridge fell into the river, the people and public servants of Minneapolis and surrounding cities didn’t run for safety: they ran to help, whether they were firefighters, police, emergency responders, the Red Cross, or regular people who just wanted to help. They risked their own lives to pull people out of the water, to get kids off school buses to safety.
In the days and weeks that followed, as my wife Megan and I met the families of the victims and went to the funerals, we saw two things: one, that the people who died came from every part of the metro area, every part of Minnesota and every part of the world. The tragedy wasn’t a Minneapolis tragedy — it was felt by all of us, and we were all part of it. And two, that in their hour of grief, the survivors weren’t alone — because they were from Minnesota.
And just as I saw so vividly at that terrible moment that we were all in it together as Minnesotans, that tragedy also pointed out to us that we must all be in it together as Minnesotans. We must all be in it together to build and maintain the roads and bridges that get us where we need to go. We must all be in it together to educate our children. We must all be in it together to create prosperity that we all can share.
We can’t do those things alone, but we've seen what happens when the leaders of this state don't understand that — or don’t believe in it. We've seen what happens when we are led by people who try to divide us from each other and tell us that we can succeed only as individuals who compete with each other.
This year, we will show them what Minnesotans can do when we come together.
Thissen: When Governor Pawlenty vetoed the General Assistance Medical Care program last year, he crossed a moral line.
In my work since that date to restore the program, I've met with homeless individuals and those suffering from mental illness who will lose access to health care. Those individual stories are reason enough to restore and reform GAMC.
But I also heard from nurses and social workers who explained the more far reaching impact of the decision on individuals: lost housing, crime, more difficulties with chemical dependency. I spoke with hospital administrators deeply concerned that the cut will undermine the ability of hospitals to provide basic health care services, including psychiatric services, that serve not just those on GAMC but every single one of us.
I heard about the job losses that will occur in health care facilities as funding squeezes become more pronounced. I heard from business leaders in downtown Minneapolis who recognize that lack of health care services for those served by GAMC will affect the quality of life, public safety and the economic attractiveness of doing business in Minneapolis.
And, as I joined together last December in front of the Governor's mansion with other citizens to protest the cuts and demand restoration, I saw first hand that the greatest political power arises when we unify around a moral vision of our state as a place that is fair, inclusive and recognizes the common good.
A2) What do you identify with most in our vision? What do you struggle with in our vision?
Anderson-Kelliher: The reNEW vision is a positive path forward. As a mom, I identify most with the idea of leaving the world a better place than how we found it. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t believe that the decisions we make now should improve the lives of generations to come, and while we may disagree on how to get there, I think that belief drives most of us each day.
Bakk: I believe strongly that to improve Minnesota along the lines of what the reNEW campaign advocates, we must work together to address the financial challenges Minnesotans face. When I think of a “fair, equitable, economy that benefits everyone,” I think of a Minnesota with a progressive tax system, where people have good jobs and can support their families and where the state has the revenue to invest in education, health care, infrastructure and the things we all believe are important. I believe my values and record as a legislator are aligned with the reNEW vision. I do believe that as a state we need to take a look at priorities and be prepared to make some very difficult choices.
Dayton: I identify most strongly with your vision of the critical need for bold leadership on behalf of progressive and values. All of my lifelong career in public service, I have done my very best to be that kind of leader on behalf of progressive causes.
As Senator, I voted against George Bush’s Iraq War Resolution, at a time when polls showed 85% of people supported his proposal to start an unnecessary and terribly destructive war. I started a Health Care Help-Line, to help Minnesotans get the health care their doctors prescribed and that the obscenely profiteering health care companies would not pay for. I donated my Senate salary to send buses of senior citizens to Canada to buy lower cost prescription drugs.
As the state’s Economic Development Commissioner, I worked with Representative Karen Clark, to set up an “Economic Conversion” Task Force, bringing military contractors, their labor unions, and progressive activists together to convert their Minnesota plants to peaceful purposes without the loss of jobs. Those are just a few of many examples of principled, progressive causes I have championed throughout my 40 years of public service.
There is nothing in your vision that I struggle to understand or support.
Entenza: The struggle for true equality amongst all persons is a core principle of my life. Growing up in Worthington I saw firsthand how diasporic people integrate into society when many Hmong and Vietnamese came to Minnesota after Vietnam. I recognized early the strength of diversity and this has stayed with me my whole life, and is why I carried legislation to save the Councils of Color from being abolished, stood up to anti-immigration bills, fought to improve anti-discrimination protection, opposed the disenfranchisement of vulnerable groups and worked to expand tax credits for working families.
This record is whey I have the most support of any candidate for governor from communities of color.
Gaertner: State and local governments have been made the scapegoat far too long as the cause of all our problems. I believe this is a result of the “damaging ideology [that] has gained increasing power in Minnesota government.”
Blaming “big government” and keeping “no new tax” pledges by accounting tricks and passing the buck to local governments will be a thing of the past when I am governor.
We need to keep those areas where government creates solutions and look for other areas where it will benefit the citizens the most.
We do deserve better as Minnesotans but also must remember that government is not the solution to every problem.
Kelley: “We want to live in a Minnesota where we make decisions now to improve the lives of our children’s children.” If we embrace the “our” in that statement and not limit it to children in ‘my community’ or children that ‘look like me’, then this statement encompasses the theme of the entire vision.
If we are committed to future generations, we must recognize the worth and dignity of every person. We must embrace a politics of inclusion and justice for all. We must have a fair, equitable economy that benefits all. We must recognize that we are all in this together.
I will not leave our children lakes without walleyes, forests without white pines, schools without teachers, and jobs without living wages. We can and we must unite behind a vision for a better future for all of our kids.
With the vision statement, and all of my work to create a more just, fair state, I struggle with the halting progress and incremental nature of policy making. I look at the great promise of federal health care reform and am disappointed that we will not likely get a public option that we need. These challenging times call for bold solutions, but our political system does not reward bold leadership, it rewards the timid.
Marty: The idea — treating every person with respect and dignity, with no exception — is core to the kind of society we need to be and core to how I’ve always tried to live my life. I grew up watching my parents and other faith leaders fight for justice in the civil rights and anti-poverty movements. I’ve tried to carry on this tradition, advocating for equality and justice for all Minnesotans. We were all created as people of worth, with no exception.
I don't struggle with the content of the vision; I do struggle in living up to it.
Rukavina: As far as the reNEW Minnesota vision, I identify with all of it. I have lived my life believing in economic, social and racial justice and providing equality and opportunities for all, regardless of race, religion or creed. This fact is easily verifiable when checking out my legislative history. I have represented the Take Action vision my entire career.
Rybak: I identify most with the closely related propositions that we are all in this together (see above) and that we must be driven by a politics of inclusion and justice for all. To me, these are the bedrock principles that set the stage for the others. They are also the principles that have guided my work as mayor of Minneapolis for the last eight years. (See my answer to the question below for some examples.)
The part of the vision that I struggle with is how do we make the investments that we need to make now to ensure shared prosperity, inclusion and equal justice for future generations while still meeting the many extremely urgent and pressing needs that we face today? At the same time, I struggle with my own impatience, with the desire to see the vision become reality immediately, when we know in fact that this is work for the long term that requires dedication, determination and patience over the long haul.
Thissen: Each time I review the reNEW Minnesota vision I am energized because it articulates so well why I am in public service and why I am running for governor. More than any specific policy, the key victory to win in this election is to change the philosophy that has governed our state for too long – a philosophy that says we all will be better off if just left on our own.
Instead, we must return to the ideal that has led to Minnesota’s success – to acknowledge that we owe obligations to each other and that we need to take personal responsibility to fulfill those obligations. I also believe the fundamental task of our state over the next decade is to rebuild a prosperous Minnesota. To do that, we need to refocus on the economies of families; not the economies of corporations, we must approach our challenges from a perspective of abundance and inclusion.
Finally, I am firmly committed to governing through mutual accountability – that you hold me accountable as an elected official, but that I hold you accountable for the action and participation needed to advance our shared agenda.
Return to the Questions
A3) What role do you have, as a white person, in creating a Minnesota where we embrace a politics of inclusion and justice for all?
Anderson-Kelliher: In my work as a state representative, and as Speaker of the House, I have a positive history of working with communities of color. I personally have a diverse family. I’m also a woman running for governor, and am reminded daily of both the challenges confronting me and the privileges afforded me.
My professional background is in community organizing and because of that, I understand and place a premium on leadership development. I believe it is important to build partnerships with diverse coalitions and will prioritize empowering communities of color as well as hold public institutions accountable for protecting civil and human rights, access to jobs, transportation equity, and education. I’m proud to have diversity on my campaign staff, and as governor, I’m committed to appointments that reflect the diversity of our great state.
Bakk: The governor sets the tone, from its values and priorities to the make-up of the administration. As governor, my administration will be inclusive and people from different backgrounds and perspectives will be welcomed and valued. Our government should reflect the diversity of the state.
Dayton: I’m not only a white person, I’m a rich white person. As one farmer said to me during my first campaign, “Mark, we’re all born with original sin. You’re just born with more of it than the rest of us!” So I have had to work harder than most white people to understand the additional hardships imposed by racism in our society.
The summer after I graduated from college, as part of my teacher training program, I lived with an African American family on AFDC in a New York City public housing project. I taught in a NYC public school, where almost all the students were children of color. They taught me much more than I taught them. They seared my conscience forever with the terrible injustice that I, through my good fortune, was born with so much; while they, through no fault of their own, were born into abject poverty and vicious racism.
Throughout my public career, I have spoken out and acted strongly against racism and discrimination. When a Somali teenager was beaten by white youths in Rochester several years ago, I immediately contacted the Mayor to offer my financial assistance, which led to the creation of a year-long “Not in Our Town” public education effort against the growing racial intolerance in that increasingly diverse city. When a Somali woman was beaten at the Mall of America by white thugs for wearing her hijab, I went, as a U.S. Senator to meet with her and her family, offer my deepest apologies on behalf of the people of Minnesota, and help provide assistance to her. As Governor, I will continue to go anywhere that racial injustice or intolerance is manifested to make the strongest possible statement: “Not in Our State” and I will champion laws, and the enforcement of laws, to prevent racism in Minnesota.
Entenza: Let me address this question with a few examples:
In the late 80’s and early 90’s I worked with several tribes in Wisconsin to help protect their spear-fishing and hunting rights. Every day we organized our people and made the trip to Balsam Lake and worked to make sure that the treaty rights were upheld. The people we had to contend with were angry white hunters; we were threatened and there were arrests and violence. But we didn’t back down, we fought for the sovereign tribes’ rights and eventually we won.
As a young lawyer working for the Department of Justice I went to Greenwood, Mississippi to hold public meetings about desegregating schools. It may be hard to believe, but in the late 80’s in the Mississippi Delta schools were still segregated. They did this by gerrymandering school districts and putting all the people of color in one district and the whites in another. I went down to help the African-American families get the school situation sorted out. As you might guess that didn’t go over too well with some of the white folks down there, and they tried to run us out of town.
When the Councils of Color were about to be abolished during the Carlson Administration I carried legislation that saved them from extinction. Also as DFL House Leader I brought the first people of color into the leadership.
Gaertner: I have a 16 year career working in the field of justice in one of the most culturally diverse areas in the state. I have worked to gain the trust of various groups with outreach and community events. I have also participated in a number of initiatives to address discrimination in the criminal justice system.
I would relish the opportunity to continue my work as governor in the areas of improving diversity and tolerance.
Kelley: I am a privileged man. By being a white, upper middle class, heterosexual male, I have benefitted from institutional opportunities that are not open to all Minnesotans.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. argued that civil rights for African Americans were important for the success of both blacks and whites. Whites in leadership positions must make that case as well. Our society will be more successful and just because we embrace diverse communities and see the creativity that sparks from different viewpoints working on a common mission. We need children of color to be our next great scientists, engineers, artists and teachers because we will all be better off in a diversely prosperous state.
I see the stark racial segregation of our neighborhoods and the growing racial achievement gap as strong evidence that we must have an honest, straightforward conversation about race in Minnesota. Just because we elected an African-American President does not mean that we have achieved equality in our state or country. We have made progress, but we have a very long journey ahead of us.
I recognize my privilege and am intentional about surrounding myself with individuals who bring a diversity of backgrounds and life experiences. I am also very committed to ensuring everyone in Minnesota has opportunity and working towards the day when we fully embrace a politics of inclusion and justice for all.
Marty: As one who has never been marginalized because of my race or ethnicity, I have an extra obligation to: a) recognize that others are marginalized, b) listen to how it affects those individuals and their communities, and lastly, c) work together to create change in our policies and institutions.
Rukavina: As Chair of the Higher Education & Workforce Committee, I have been a relentless advocate for job opportunities for ALL Minnesotans. A key part of this will be providing training and educational opportunities so that good, livable wage jobs are a reachable goal for all.
Rybak: Minnesota’s rich racial and cultural diversity is not tangential to why I am running for governor, it is central. When I am governor, the kind of old politics that has intentionally sought to divide Minnesotans from one another will come to a crashing halt. There is an old attitude at the Capitol that pits suburbs against the cities and the metro against greater Minnesota, and that scapegoats immigrants, communities of color, Muslims, LGBT people, labor unions, you name it. This has gotten us nowhere and I will end it.
There are far too many economic and social gaps between whites and people of color in Minnesota, and we must ask ourselves with every policy we propose if it serves the goal of eliminating these disparities. My philosophy of government is that where we have areas of disproportionate need, we must invest disproportionate time and resources. For this reason, as mayor of Minneapolis I’ve made a priority of investing in neighborhoods and communities with the greatest need, and many of those have been in communities of color.
As just one example, four years ago, we started NorthForce, directing concentrated resources from the City of Minneapolis and a variety of partners to the Northside and working in partnership with neighborhood residents and leaders. Through concentrating those resources, we have, among many other results:
- begun revitalizing commercial corridors like West Broadway and Lowry Avenues;
- invested significantly in single-family affordable housing and attracted homeowners to areas that have been especially hurt by foreclosure and absentee landlords;
- focused on job-training and job-creation for Northside residents;
- closed down dozens of “convenience” stores that were taking advantage of neighbors;
- created summer jobs and internships for hundreds of Northside youth through the Minneapolis Promise;
- made the neighborhood safer by working in partnership with community to significantly bring down violent and property crime.
While we have seen some very promising results on the Northside, our work is far from done and our focus there continues undiminished. We will not rest until residents of North Minneapolis can expect the same opportunities and outcomes as residents of any other part of Minneapolis.
The Phillips neighborhood is a great example of a community with a large percentage of residents of color that has prospered in recent years because of the partnerships we have built and the disproportionate amount of resources we have invested. As a result of this multi-year work, Phillips has gone from being the neighborhood with the highest rate of violent crime in Minnesota to the one with the highest rate of job creation in Minnesota. We are making sure that the corporations that are investing in the neighborhood are creating concrete opportunities for neighborhood people to get jobs, build wealth and prosper.
While the mayor of Minneapolis has no direct control over the Minneapolis public schools, I have been also deeply involved with parents, students, teachers, administrators and communities in efforts to eliminate the educational achievement gap and create opportunity for our young people, especially from communities of color.
Under my administration and in partnership with the Minneapolis Public Schools, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, the University of Minnesota and scores of private partners, we initiated the Minneapolis Promise, an initiative that says to our young people that if they stay in school and focus on where they want to go, we will get them there. It has three components:
- access to counseling so young people can plan a vision for their future;
- help finding a summer job;
- assistance getting the funds needed to go to college.
A large majority of participants in the Minneapolis Promise are students of color. Since we began the Minneapolis Promise:
- students have made over 140,000 visits to comprehensive college and career centers located in each of the city’s seven public high schools;
- 10,000 students have received meaningful summer employment, most notably through the STEP-UP program that offers not only placement but ongoing, comprehensive job-skills training to economically disadvantaged students;
- more than 1,500 students have benefitted from free college access at U-M and MCTC.
The Minneapolis Promise is helping to drive increasing graduation rates for students of color in Minneapolis Public Schools — and that trend is driving an overall increase in the citywide graduation rate. While we are not yet at parity between white and non-white students in graduations rates — and while we are yet at the goal where 100% of students of all communities not only graduate from high school but are prepared to succeed in the post-secondary education of their choice — we have made progress on closing the achievement gap. Saint Paul has made great progress, too, but we must take the best of both efforts and apply it statewide. The work is urgent and cannot wait any longer.
The road to closing these disparities is long and requires sustained long-term effort. Many of the things we’ve tried in Minneapolis have worked, but some have not, and when they have not, we’ve tried again. We need to extend these efforts to the state and eliminate disparities statewide in other areas, including (but not limited to) rates of home ownership and rates of incarceration.
Thissen: First, consistently challenge myself to open my own eyes about how privilege and power work in our society, to acknowledge the benefits I have received as a result and to speak out against underlying discriminations and inequality. Second, share power with those who have been traditionally excluded, not simply by “bringing people to the table” but by also holding each person accountable for their role in making change happen. Finally, continuing to pursue public policies as an elected official that break down racial and socioeconomic inequities in education, health care, housing, criminal justice, immigration policy, and other areas.
Return to the Questions
B1.) What is the core message of your campaign (in three sentences or less)?
Anderson-Kelliher: I’m running for Governor because I want to leave Minnesota in a better condition for future generations that it is today. I will lead Minnesota on the road to economic recovery with a clear plan of action to create jobs. I believe we need a different type of leadership, one that brings people together to solve problems, and as Speaker, I have a strong record of bringing people from different backgrounds to solve problems, and as Governor I will do the same.
Bakk: There is nothing more important than having a paycheck to take care of a family’s needs. I know that a family’s security depends on this because I ran out of unemployment in the early ‘80s and was unable to afford health insurance for my family. Minnesota cannot move forward until we get the economy performing, get people back to work and raise the revenue this state needs so it can invest in education, health care and infrastructure.
Dayton: My core message is, that by working together, we can and will create “A Better Minnesota.” We’ll do so, by raising taxes on the wealthiest 10% of Minnesotans, who now pay far less than their fair share, and investing that money in better public education and services. We’ll eliminate health insurance company profiteering and make affordable health care available to all Minnesotans.
Entenza: We do better when we focus on making sure everyone has opportunity for success. We need a bold vision for the clean energy economy, better investment in education and health care for all. This is how we can make Minnesota work again.
Gaertner: We need a fresh start in Minnesota government. As someone with non-political executive experience, I can bring the leadership to break the cycle of “politics as usual.”
Kelley: Minnesotans have suffered under short-sighted, political gimmicks for too long. We need an honest governor who will confront the challenges we face and solve them without mortgaging future generations.
Marty: I offer a bold vision for change, tackling our most serious problems at their root causes. We need to look to the future and invest our public dollars in those things which will help the next generation: health care for all, education at all stages of development, and protecting our environment. Lastly, we need to restore faith in government by removing the influence of money in politics.
Rukavina: I come from a “common, blue-collar” background, so I understand how important it is in these tough financial times to be able to connect to and excite your members and other working-class Minnesotans. I am refreshingly honest and I will let everyone know where I stand on the issues and I will keep my word. Because of this, I honestly believe people will get excited and hopeful about the change we can create in Minnesota.
Rybak: I’m running for governor to deliver real results for people. As mayor of Minneapolis, I’ve turned the city around — by creating thousands of jobs, starting the Minneapolis Promise to connect kids to jobs and opportunity, lowering crime, and delivering honest, balanced budgets while making important investments in our future. We can turn our state around too, when we change the same old politics at the Capitol with new ideas and a different set of priorities that put people and shared prosperity first.
Thissen: The main job of the next Governor and all Minnesotans over the next five years is to rebuild Minnesota and its economy and in doing so, we must focus not on corporate bottom lines, but rather on making sure the economies of Minnesota families are strong and sustainable. To accomplish that, we need to move on from being a party of nostalgia and a state that is "playing not to lose," and instead actively embrace the future and start "playing to win." Finally, we will only move forward to positive change if, during the election and in making public policy, we challenge the underlying philosophy that tells us we will be better off if left to make it on our own and offer a real alternative that acknowledges that we are in this together.
Return to the Questions
B2a.) How much money have you raised:
Anderson-Kelliher: In 2009, my campaign raised more than $250,000 in just 4 ½ months. In 2010 we are continuing to run an aggressive fundraising operation.
Bakk: My campaign will have raised over $400,000 by the end of January.
Dayton: I will disclose on February 1st, as required by state law, the amount of money I have raised and my number of contributors. It will show, as my campaign finance reports always have, that I hate asking other people for their money, and that I am unusually fortunate to be spared the need to do so by my own resources.
Entenza: My campaign has raised over $300,000.
Gaertner: $200,000
Kelley: $217,168.00
Marty: We have raised over $150,000, solely from individual donors. My campaign is based firmly on the belief that money – and the influence it buys – has no place in politics. I have made a personal pledge to refuse money from PACs and lobbyists. Policies should be judged on their merit, not the amount of money powerful interests have to spend on it.
Rukavina: I am very proud that, in less than 5 months leading up to December 31st, I raised over $141,000.
Rybak: The Rybak for Governor Campaign Committee was organized on November 5, 2009, and the benchmarks below reflect only the results of that campaign since that date. Prior to that date, I ran a successful campaign for reelection to a third term as mayor in 2009. Rybak for Governor Committee will release fundraising numbers in the coming week. We will make these numbers available to TakeAction and the reNEW Campaign as soon as they are available.
Thissen: Over $400,000
Return to the Questions
B2b.) How many different people have contributed money to your campaign?
Anderson-Kelliher: We have over 1,500 donors.
Bakk: Over 1,000.
Dayton: See response to above.
Entenza: Over 1700 individual contributors have given to my campaign.
Gaertner: 1,000
Kelley: Over 1,100
Marty: Almost 2,100 individual donors have contributed to the campaign.
Rukavina: Most exciting is the fact that I raised this money from over 1200 people, most of who gave under $100. This proves that people are willing to invest in some hope in times like these.
Rybak: Rybak for Governor Committee will release fundraising numbers in the coming week. We will make these numbers available to TakeAction and the reNEW Campaign as soon as they are available.
Thissen: 1,889
Return to the Questions
B2c.) How many people have volunteered for your campaign at least once?
Anderson-Kelliher: We have a statewide volunteer base of over 450 people.
Bakk: Hundreds.
Dayton: Hundreds of people have already volunteered in my campaign and, with my endorsements by AFSCME Council 5, with its 43,000 active members, and the Teamsters Joint Council 32, with their 62,000 active and retired members, thousands more will be volunteering in the months ahead.
Entenza: Over 400
Gaertner: Hard to say… about 150.
Kelley: 105
Marty: We have 869 people signed up to volunteer in every corner of the state.
Rukavina: We have over 140 active volunteers
Rybak: 250
Thissen: Over 80
Return to the Questions
B2d.) How many different people have hosted events on your behalf?
Anderson-Kelliher: More than 175 people have hosted events for our campaign.
Bakk: 50-plus.
Dayton: See B2a.
Entenza: Around 150.
Gaertner: Dozens.
Kelley: 92 (this counts multi-cohost events), we’ve held 33 house parties.
Marty: We have had forty house parties and meet & greets.
Rukavina: No answer.
Rybak: 110.
Thissen: Out best estimate is close to 200.
Return to the Questions
B2e.) In how many of Minnesota’s 87 counties have you participated in an event?
Anderson-Kelliher: I have traveled to 68 counties for events and have plans to hit all 87 in the coming weeks.
Bakk: Almost all of them.
Dayton: I am presently on my “87 Counties in 87 Days” tour, where I will travel to every county in our state, as I have so many times before. I’m quite certain that during my years of public service and statewide campaigns, I have been in Minnesota’s 87 counties more times in total than all the other DFL candidates combined.
Entenza: 80
Gaertner: Our campaign has been to most of them. We really haven’t kept a tally.
Kelley: 79
Marty: We have visited 52 counties and have plans to visit the remainder before the state convention.
Rukavina: So far, I have attended events in 47 counties.
Rybak: Approximately 50 during the course of 2009 and 2010. Please note that some of these events occurred before Mayor Rybak had made a final decision to enter the governor’s race.
Thissen: 83
B3.) What will you do differently than past unsuccessful campaigns for Governor?
Anderson-Kelliher: Because I’ve spent half of my life in Greater Minnesota and half my life in the metro, and because I’m a middle-class mom, I have a unique background that appeals to rural, suburban and urban voters. I have a deep commitment to running a grassroots campaign across the state and want to empower people to be part of that effort.
To win statewide we need a message of unity. We need a candidate who can appeal to Independents and moderate Republicans – and I believe I am that candidate. I have a record of helping legislators get elected across Minnesota’s diverse political landscape, and of getting our message out to Minnesotans.
Bakk: Democrats have lost five gubernatorial elections in a row. DFLers need to really think about why this has happened. For one, Democrats do not know how to talk about the tax issue. I can talk with credibility as chair of the Senate Tax Committee and as somebody who has spent his entire life working with the business community to put people to work. I know businesses need to make money and I can communicate about why we need cut spending, increase taxes and get the economy moving if we are to solve this problem. Also, I am the type of candidate that can connect with people down the “L” of the state, down the 7th CD and across the 1st CD. This is a part of the state where DFLers have performed poorly in gubernatorial races. But mostly, I will win because my focus every day of this campaign has been on jobs. I can talk with credibility about creating jobs and improving the performance of our economy and this is the biggest issue on voters’ minds.
Dayton: I am the only DFL candidate who has ever won a statewide general election in Minnesota, and I have won twice. I have been in seven statewide elections (primary and general), and I have won five of them. All the other DFL candidates combined have been in three statewide elections, and have won only one primary. So, unlike anyone else, I have proven that I know how to withstand the Republican onslaught and win.
I will win, as I have done before, by running a strong, progressive, issues-based campaign. I will have the resources to bring my message to the people of Minnesota; it will be a strong progressive message of creating together “A Better Minnesota” and, with the active involvement throughout our state of progressive activists and political leaders, like reNEW Minnesota, we will win.
Entenza: We will win the governor’s seat back this year by running on a positive message of innovative re-investment in our state and our people. Through education and the new clean energy economy we can once again make Minnesota not just a national leader, but a global standard. Ours is a grass-roots campaign that will harness the power of the people to change our society of scarcity into one of prosperity, and grow the pie big enough so that everyone has a fair share.
Kelley: The costs of employing the same failed strategy in the governor's race are simply too high. Our children are suffering in overcrowded classrooms with outdated materials and falling into the achievement gap. Our most vulnerable residents are being kicked off their health care. Hard-working Minnesotans cannot find the diginity that comes with a good paying job.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Yet that is exactly what th DFL has done the past successive elections. We’ve run the same strategy – turning out core DFLers in the Twin Cities and northern Minnesota and then try to bring in enough rural voters in the “L”, which is the western and southern rural part of Minnesota. It hasn’t worked.
In the past two races, the Independence Party has skimmed just enough votes from the DFL to ensure Republican victory in the Governor’s election. Recent polling by the Pioneer Press (January, 2010) shows any Independence Party candidate for Govenror earning ten percent, a disturbingly high percentage that threatens a DFL victory in the governor’s race.
However, there is a winning model for DFL candidates for Minnesota, as demonstrated by Amy Klobuchar and Barack Obama. It’s to appeal to voters in the entire state, take Republicans on in the suburbs and exurbs where they feel they are strong, and win. In 2006, Klobuchar won 6 of 7 suburban counties and a majority of the exurbs, while Tim Pawlenty won the same areas. For example, in Senate District 42, which comprises Minnetonka and Eden Prairie, there was a 20% drop-off from the DFL U.S. Senate candidate and the DFL candidate for governor. In other words, people in the suburbs are willing to vote for a DFLer, it just has to be the right DFLer.
A 45% strategy is flawed. We need a candidate who can forge a majority coalition of Democrats, progressives, and independents.
In 1992, I won my first seat in the Legislature, taking it back for the DFL from the Republicans. Twenty percent of the voters in my district voted for Ross Perot in that election, and most of them also voted for me. I’ve won votes in tough places for Democrats – like Interlachen Park and Minnetonka – without sacrificing my progressive values. I will use the winning Obama model to take back the governor’s office in 2010.
Losing Ted Kennedy's seat to a Republican is a stark reminder that no seat is "safe" and elections aren't easy. In some ways, we face a harder challenge with nearly a quarter of a century since Democrats have been in the Governor's office. To enact our vision, it is critical we can win and I am the candidate posed to win back the Governor's office for us.
Marty: People are fed up with incremental change. We are losing our base because we have not been brave enough. We will win this race by:
1. Presenting a bold vision for change.
2. Offering a concrete agenda to enact that vision, that includes:
- The Minnesota Health Plan
- LGBT Marriage Equality
- Progressive income tax increases to fund education and human development
- Cleaning up politics and driving out special interest money
3. Organizing around that vision and agenda:
- We will mobilize the progressive base, through a strong field campaign, knocking on doors and talking with individual voters
- We will conduct outreach with those communities that share the values underpinning our vision and that are often overlooked, including faith communities, communities of color, low income communities, and college students
- We will frame our message in the media to focus on Minnesota values of compassion, responsibility, integrity, and fairness that people across the spectrum will identify with
Rukavina: The thing I will do differently than past elections is connect to the people in Minnesota- to your members and the hundreds of thousands of other low-middle income, hard working workers out there, who in the past have voted independent or republican because of specific issues. I will address these issues and ensure they are aware of what is truly in their best interest.
Rybak: In 2010, when people in Minnesota and across the country are furious with incumbents for failing to get things done, I will offer a different kind of experience — as a hands-on executive who has delivered real results for people. This is different from what we usually do as progressives or DFLers. It is true that we have never elected a mayor of Minneapolis to be governor of Minnesota — but then again, we haven’t tried. It’s also true that we have repeatedly tried and failed to elect DFLers whose prior experience was as attorney general or legislator.
One reason that past DFL candidates for governor have lost is because they failed to persuade Minnesota independents — many of them from the suburbs — that they could be trusted to run the government with fiscal discipline. These voters agree with us on many issues, but they don’t trust us with their checkbooks. Instead, I will show them a record of balancing budgets, reforming government, paying down debt, and holding government accountable. No other candidate can offer this record — and it is the kind of record that will matter to voters in 2010, when they will be looking for proof that a candidate can make change.
Another reason that past DFL candidates have lost is because they failed to create a call to action that mobilized progressive voters, especially those from communities of color and other historically disenfranchised communities. They saw their relationship with the progressive community as being about elections, not about governing. We need DFL candidates who understand how to organize, mobilize, and keep organizing. We need candidates that can inspire base voters, make them full partners in a broad coalition, then keep them engaged not only during elections, but also after elections, when the work really starts. We also need candidates that do not buy into the politics that divides urban from suburban and metro from greater Minnesota, and who will instead start reconnecting Minnesotans with each other.
These are the kind of campaigns I have always run. It’s what gets me up in the morning, and what keeps me going all day. It’s how I’ve won against better-known and better -funded candidates. And it’s how we will win together in 2010.
Thissen: Our party has been playing “not to lose” for too long, choosing conventional wisdom, establishment candidates. We need to play to win and make this election about the future. I trust the people of Minnesota to understand and accept the complexity of our problems and respond strongly to smart, practical solutions.
I will run a campaign that trusts their wisdom to make correct, fair and just choices. I will continue to take questions head-on and respect people enough to answer their questions directly and not with a political speech.
Our campaign will be transparent. A perfect illustration are the online web-chats my campaign has produced and opened up broadly to the public. I am committed to bringing more people into the process. I believe in building from the ground up and not just on this campaign. Prior to my run for governor, I spent several years helping local candidates across Minnesota and raised money to build local DFL party units all across the state. We win when local communities are engaged and committed to winning.
Return to the Questions
C1) We need a governor who will work with and help build a growing and powerful economic, social, and racial justice movement, including unions and the labor movement, to implement our shared vision – to continue to win real victories for people in Minnesota – what does that mean to you?
Anderson-Kelliher: Being a community organizer who was trained by Paul Wellstone, I’m completely committed to building a people-powered movement in this race for governor. It’s really important to me that Minnesotans from all over the state, from all different walks of life, and all different backgrounds are involved in my campaign for governor. Throughout this campaign, I’ve said that it’s not just my campaign for governor; it’s our campaign for governor.
Bakk: I take this very seriously. I spent 34 years as a union carpenter and for 20 years negotiated every carpenter contract on the Iron Range. I know what it’s like to work and fight for economic justice and improve the lives of working people. I talk about creating jobs and working to ensure the well-being of Minnesota families, because that is the first step toward building the Minnesota that we all believe is possible.
Dayton: That movement does not “include” the labor movement, as the question states; it begins with the labor movement and with who I call the “real people” on Minnesota, which, frankly, has been, along with overlooking the serious needs of our state’s senior citizens, the missing focuses in reNEW Minnesota’s otherwise laudatory efforts thus far.
This election is about all the people in Minnesota, most of whom don’t have time during their lives’ daily challenges: their work (or looking for work), their families, and their personal responsibilities to go to all the political and activist meetings that many of us do, or caucuses and convention, and, as a result, whose priorities often go unmentioned and unnoticed – to our social and political peril. Because they vote. And because I understand that, I win statewide elections in Minnesota.
I am honored and proud to have the endorsements of two of Minnesota’s largest labor unions: AFSCME Council 5 and the Teamsters Joint Council 32, whose active and retired members total well over 100,000 Minnesotans. They are the L of the DFL Party.
The F stands for farmers, and the basic needs of Minnesota farmers to earn fair profits and survive against the political and economic power of giant agricultural corporations, who profit at their expense, must also be a cornerstone of our successful political strategy and social commitment.
The D stands for Democratic activists and the many, many often unheard and unheeded voices which reNEW Minnesota has done an outstanding job of bringing to the forefront of your forums. Their disenfranchisement from our political process was reversed last year by President Obama and his campaign, as no one since our great U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone has done in Minnesota. It is now essential that their faith in our DFL Party and its elected people’s commitments to them, to improving their lives, and to make those improvements another cornerstone to “A Better Minnesota” be made real and permanent.
Entenza: I have a long history of working with people from various constituencies, and in my experience the key to working in solidarity with one another is focusing on our shared priorities and being free to discuss our differences without taking our eyes off of the prize. Mutual respect for the dignity of all members and open lines of communication are essential to keeping coalitions together.
Gaertner: I plan to reach out to all Minnesotans and give them a chance to vote for someone who has had to find common sense solutions in her career instead of political ones. Minnesotans deserve better than the leadership they have been given and they know it. It will be a lot of hard work but I am ready to take my message to them and show them how hard I will work for Minnesota.
Kelley: Translating our shared vision into real victories is critical. To win, we need to build coalitions with existing movements and engage new people. To make our vision a reality we need one Governor who fully embraces our ideals, as I do, and millions of heroes.
We need to recognize we won’t always agree on the specifics. And in a nutshell, we need to decide when to fight and when to compromise. Throughout my time as a legislator and in private work, I have made those challenging decisions about when it was best to stand up and when the best solution was to reach across the aisle.
As Senate Education Chair, I led the fight to oppose then-Acting Commissioner Cheri Pierson Yecke, a divisive and destructive Pawlenty appointee. Blocking her confirmation wasn’t easy – Pawlenty was popular at the time and only one other Commissioner had ever been disconfirmed in the past. In the end, we built a coalition of teachers, parents, students, and community activists that supported my DFL colleagues in doing the right thing for our kids by blocking Yecke’s confirmation.
At other times, though, it is essential to work together to accomplish goals for all of us. I served on the board of the Sierra Club’s Northstar Chapter. I supported the Chapter’s efforts to organize with the Blue-Green Alliance so that we could stop seeing jobs and the environment in conflict with one another. Our Chapter also worked with environmental justice advocates to understand disparities in environmental challenges that affect communities of color. These collaborative efforts are just an example of the need for and possibilities of a broad movement that shares common values and works together for effective change.
Marty: I have spent my life working, with many of you, for justice, and a strong progressive movement is critical for change. As Governor, I will set an agenda with our shared vision as the vision for Minnesota. But I will need you to further our agenda by organizing across the state, changing hearts and minds, holding legislators accountable to that vision, and continuing to develop the vision for the future.
Rukavina: To me, this is validation that I have been on the right track for the past 23 years at the capitol. Economic, social and racial justice has been at the core of all the work I’ve done and my record reflects that.
Rybak: It isn’t enough to share the vision: you need to be able to prove that you can turn it into reality. On every point of the reNEW Minnesota vision, I have a solid track record of working with the progressive community and getting results that have made people’s lives and our collective future better.
- Recognizing we’re all in this together: I have consistently rejected the politics of division and have stood up for the principle of our interconnectedness. While this has taken many forms, just one example is the Homegrown Minneapolis initiative that my office has championed. Homegrown Minneapolis is designed to improve the sales, distribution and consumption of fresh, locally grown foods in order to positively impact the health, food security, economy and environment not just of Minneapolis but of the surrounding region and rural economy. It is particularly focused on doing so in areas of the city that are underserved by fresh produce — an aspect of the program that First Lady Michelle Obama recently praised. Creating a local, healthy, regular and sustainable food supply will positively impact the entire state’s economy by supporting small farms and local jobs, creating new business opportunities, and encouraging the re-circulation of financial capital within the state. It’s our way of showing that cities and rural areas not only rely on each other but can significantly benefit each other.
- Improving the lives of our children’s children: We have much opportunity to make Minnesota a leader in responding to climate change and building a green economy. I was one of the first signers of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement that committed Minneapolis to following the protocols of the Kyoto accord — at a time when George W. Bush refused to commit America to doing the same. In partnership with Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and the Blue Green Alliance, I have also led on the Mayors’ Initiative on Green Manufacturing, which aims to realign our cities’ economic-development tools to focus on green industries of the future. Mayor Coleman and I are also working together to promote and showcase the Central Corridor light-rail project as a Clean Energy Corridor.
- In addition, in Minneapolis, we have put our money where our mouth is when it comes to public buildings: we have installed a green roof on the Target Center, one of the largest of its kind in the country, and will be installing solar panels on the Minneapolis Convention Center this spring and summer.
- Recognizing everyone’s worth and dignity: Too often in our society, people are told that they don’t matter and are left behind — and too often, those people are youth from economically disadvantaged families or youth of color, who enter the juvenile- or criminal-justice system for lack of other opportunity.The desire to give every young person access to the opportunities they deserve has driven our youth-violence prevention work in Minneapolis. We have had strong success in preventing youth violence because we have recognized that it is not primarily a problem of crime, but is in fact a public-health epidemic that requires the same holistic, multi-faceted response that we bring to addressing other epidemics. Working closely with scores of community partners, our goals are: connecting every youth with a trusted adult; intervening at the first sign that youth are at risk for violence; restoring youth who have gone down the wrong path; and unlearning the culture of violence in our community.
And it has worked: 80% of the young people who are come through our comprehensive Juvenile Service Center instead of going into detention ever come back. In addition, charges filed against juveniles for committing violent crimes have dropped 47% in four years. This is a victory not only for these young people and their futures, but for taxpayers. - Embracing inclusion and justice for all: As I detailed in question A3, I have worked hard to close disparities in jobs, education, opportunity and housing, among other areas.
- Building a fair, equitable economy: For too long, people thought it was just a normal state of affairs that a core city would face greater economic challenges than the suburbs and state that surround it. Well, we just don't buy that in Minneapolis — and we’ve done something about it. We have focused relentlessly on job creation and supporting small business. As a result of our consistent effort, we have reversed the “unemployment gap.” Four years ago, the unemployment rate was one percentage point higher in the city than in the suburbs. Today, most months of the year Minneapolis is one of the only big cities in America that can boast that unemployment in the core city is lower than in the suburbs — or, for that matter, in the rest of the state.The above are all examples of how I have led and gotten results on the components of the reNEW Minnesota vision. I chose to lead on these issues as mayor of Minneapolis before this vision was articulated because to me, it was the right, the smart and the responsible thing to do. I will keep leading on the vision as governor. (See my answer to question C4 for more examples of how I have partnered with the progressive community.)
Thissen: As we rebuild our state and its economy, we must focus on the economies of families instead of measuring the strength of the economy by corporate profits. Adopting policies to make sure work pays, reducing income disparities, ensuring people can afford to see a doctor or nurse when needed and that they have the resources and support to save for a secure retirement — those are essential. But we will not accomplish those goals exclusively within the walls of the Capitol. We need to empower workers, people of color and others whose voices have not been heard in our decision-making. I will support strong labor laws, open government, local decision making (with accountability). I will show up (as I have as a legislator) in communities as a partner.
Return to the Questions
C2.) If you are elected Governor, what forces will impede us in accomplishing our shared vision? What will you do as Governor to overcome them?
Anderson-Kelliher: Our state’s budget must reflect the shared values of creating a better future for generations to come. The next Governor will have to address yet another significant budget crisis that will impact every issue the state faces. Ultimately we will need to prioritize our goals in a way that will solve our budget problems while planning for long-term success.
On the day after November 3rd, our next governor will have only twelve weeks to propose a budget designed to spur economic growth, create jobs, and implement long-term solutions that will secure our future. I am the candidate most ready to quickly put together a budget and see it through the legislature.
Bakk: There will always be “forces” out to protect interests that do not align with this vision of a shared, common good. My approach has always been to develop working relationships with those who will be involved in solving problems. I take this practical approach because I know from my years negotiating contracts that in order to move your interests forward you must make sure that all sides are getting something that they want. As governor I will sit down and listen to everybody, labor and business, Republican and Democrat, if that will move the process forward and move us toward solutions. I will overcome these impeding forces by working and listening to everyone and finding solutions to problems.
Dayton: The powerful special interests of the rich and powerful will do everything possible to defeat our agenda, to divide us, and to turn other Minnesotans against us – with well-financed lies, smears, and distortions. We must also remember that our shared vision must be both strong enough to both act successfully on our agreements, yet also understand that we will not all always agree on every single matter. We cannot “litmus test” our friends and supporters, who might not agree with us on a single issue or concern, out of our expanding movement. We cannot allow ourselves to be defeated by our political enemies from without, and we must not defeat ourselves by political divisions from within.
Entenza: The resistance to progressive ideas will come from a small sector of entrenched special interests and Tea Party Republicans. Overcoming these forces will take a governor who has a large and well organized coalition of progressives who are not afraid to fight for what they believe in. This coalition will need a clear message that cuts through the radio-show static of right-wing talking points and reaches the people of Minnesota. I have a demonstrated record of doing just this when in 2005 I led the House DFLers in saving MinnesotaCare from Tim Pawlenty’s budget hatchet.
Gartner: All our efforts hinge on our ability to restore structural balance to our state budget. As governor, I will not be beholden to lobbyists and special interests that hold hard working Minnesotans hostage by obstructing the budget process and cause cuts in needed programs and a growing tax burden on those who can afford it the least.
Kelley: Fear is a powerful force that can prevent us taking action to better Minnesota. Resistance to change is often fear driven. In order to accomplish our goals, we’re going to need to better communicate that change bring benefits to a wide variety of Minnesotans, not just those who have been oppressed. We’ll have to design policy solutions that benefit a broad range of families including seniors, low-income people, and working families.
Federal health care reform is a great example that fear can prevent us from accomplishing what is best for all of us. Progressive advocates need to do a better job of framing issues in a way that shows that reform benefits all of us and that disarms the fear-mongering and panic that is often generated by those who oppose a new, progressive approach to building our communities.
Marty: Let me use the example of health care. The Minnesota Health Plan (MHP) is a single payer plan that eliminates health insurance, and provides health care for all. Even without the recent Supreme Court ruling, United Health Group would dump millions of dollars into TV ads, mailings, and heavy lobbying. The pressure will be intense, and some legislative supporters will back away.
As Governor, I will go toe to toe with the insurance lobby. I will debate them anytime, anywhere. I will put the MHP on the table, and if the legislature doesn't pass it during the first year of our administration, I will start the second year telling them that we are not going to let more Minnesotans die from a lack of health care, and if they don't pass it, we will come back in special session until they do.
But this requires far more than a Governor's leadership. It will require using every ounce of organizing strength from everyone in the reNEW Minnesota coalition and our allies to organize in every community and keep on every legislator (regardless of party).
Health care is one-sixth of our economy, far bigger than all of state government. Putting it into a rational system is not as simple as passing "another important piece of legislation." This may well become the biggest political and economic reform in Minnesota history, and consequently may become the biggest political fight of our lives.
It will take more than any of us can imagine. But, if we hang together and focus on the vision, addressing the needs of every person, without exception, we will find the strength to meet this challenge.
Rukavina: The budget crisis may be an impediment. I will move our state forward by implementing fair taxes, not regressive taxes. I also think that the people who have misconceptions about different cultures and ethnic groups need to be educated on how these groups are an important part of society and will be critical partners in the future vitality of our great state.
Rybak: There are certainly powerful and entrenched interests in Minnesota that do not want us to succeed and will throw up roadblocks in our way, but we cannot control what they do. What we can and must overcome are two things:
- Widespread cynicism and people’s lack of trust that government can be accountable and can deliver results that actually make their lives better.
- Our own timidity and lack of conviction in our own beliefs.
In Minneapolis, we have focused relentlessly on getting measurable results for people and making government more transparent and accountable. When I first came into office, and on my initiative, we passed a tough new ethics policy in the wake of some serious lapses. We instituted Minneapolis 311, which allows anyone who lives, works or does business with the City to get quick, reliable answers to their concerns without having to navigate bureaucracy on their own. Our “Results Minneapolis” initiative tracks actual, measurable results in all City departments, makes them public and posts them on what is arguably one of the best, most user-friendly city-government websites in the country.
Above all, though, we have focused on using all the tools at our disposal — which includes building partnerships with business, labor and nonprofits — to bring good, family-supporting jobs to Minneapolis and create educational opportunity for kids. And we’ve succeeded.
And through it all, we’ve shown people that we are responsible, transparent stewards of their tax dollars. We’ve looked under every rock for savings and have raised revenue responsibly. As a result, spending at the City of Minneapolis has increased only 1% over the last eight years — compared with a 12% increase at the State of Minnesota over the same period.
Too often, DFLers and progressives are timid about defending and advocating for our views. I am not. When I am governor, you will have someone leading our state who has already gone on right-wing talk radio to promote and defend the values and issues that we care about as progressives. I’ve stood up for Minneapolis when the right wing has attacked us for our City/Immigration separation ordinance. I’ve stood up for Minneapolis when the right wing has attacked us for making it less difficult for ex-offenders to get jobs. As governor, I’ll do the same for Minnesota and for progressive values. I don’t seek out fights but if one comes to me, I don’t dodge it, either — I stand up for what we believe in, and I can be persuasive. You will have in me a governor who has gone to community meetings, taken tough questions, listened carefully — and won people over.
Thissen: A huge obstacle is the philosophy that has governed our state for too long — the idea that everyone is better off if just left to themselves. To move our vision forward, we must articulate a strong counter message about the common good. That is what the election must be about. Another obstacle is apathy and distrust of government. One of my primary goals as the next Governor is to engage people and restore decision making power to local communities as far as possible. I will take on the power of “big” – big corporations, big bureaucracy, big media, big money — that distorts our political discourse. Campaign reform, more transparency in government and a policy focus on family economic security and fairness. As governor, I will hold our shared movement accountable to make sure we make progress and implore you to do the same of me.
Return to the Questions
C3.) Other than “having a seat at the table”, how will you work with us after you are elected?
Anderson-Kelliher: Public policy always looks better when all parties who have a stake in the issue are shaping the outcome to make it the best outcome possible involved are able to be part of the process. I have a record of bringing together diverse groups to get things done, and as governor, I will continue to reach out to those who have a stake in the issues we’re focused on so we can get real results.
In my political appointments, I will make sure that the diversity of Minnesota is reflected from rural, to suburban to urban Minnesota.
Bakk: I want you to tell me how I am doing. I want to know how well my administration is performing and working towards these ideals. I value this organization’s judgment and view you as leaders on progressive issues. Your thoughts and counsel throughout this campaign and throughout a Bakk Administration are welcomed.
Dayton: I AM one of “us”! I respectfully disagree with the assumption implicit in the question that there is some sort of a divide between an elected public official and “us.” I was a progressive political activist long before I became an elected official, and I remain a progressive political activist as a public official.
No Governor can succeed alone. Successful progressive governance requires the active involvement of thousands of progressive political activists, who become the leaders of the many agencies, boards, commissions, and councils, which comprise state government. “My” administration will be “our” administration, and we will transform our state together. Only by working together, can we transform our state.
Entenza: I have a long history of working with people from various groups, TakeAction among them. The next administration will need every progressive group in the state to move our platform forward, and if I am governor I will actively engage TakeAction in organizing for our shared agenda—much like President Obama has engaged Change for America.
Gaertner: When I am governor I will prioritize diversity in hiring practices throughout my administration, and I will continue to work with all groups to engage all Minnesotans on the issues we face—like creating jobs, ensuring quality schools, and making healthcare available to all.
Kelley: I believe “how will you work with us after you are elected?” is the wrong question. I don’t see a distinction between you and us. My administration will be comprised of a diversity of people and ideas, which I am confident will include Take Action members (just as my campaign staff does).
Together, we need to be asking how will we continue to build our movement and engage new people to win? As a Governor, I am committed to listening to, educating, and benefiting from all Minnesotans. I want to be very clear I will not take polls about what is popular in Minnesota and then follow those polls. What I am saying is that we need to develop a narrative, that includes the innovative, creative ideas of Minnesotans, and then use our movement to educate Minnesotans to shift the worldview to enact our vision.
Marty: See previous example. We will work together in designing the agenda, organizing around the agenda, and implementing it.
Rukavina: I will, as Governor, continue to work the same way I did as a Legislator- keeping an open door, keeping an open mind, and keeping the promises I made.
Rybak: Campaigns are not an end in themselves: they are a tool for gaining power to improve people’s lives. Our campaign is the foundation of our governing coalition that will deliver the change we need once we win this election together, because that’s when the hard work really starts.
The way we will win will model the way we will govern, by building a broad coalition from every corner of Minnesota that honors what we have in common and rejects the politics of division and except. TakeAction Minnesota and Minnesota’s thriving progressive community at large will be an integral part not only of our electoral victory, but of our administration of Minnesota.
TakeAction and the progressive community will be represented on my transition team, in my office and in my appointments to leadership positions across state government. There is a depth of talent in the progressive movement that has gone untapped in state government, and as governor I will put it to work.
I will also make a priority of recruiting, hiring, retaining and promoting talented people of color in my administration and in key positions in state government. I am proud of the work we’ve accomplished in diversifying the workforce of the City of Minneapolis in the last eight years, including in the Police Department, which now has more officers of color than ever before. While we have more work to do, we’ve been successful for two reasons: we’ve partnered with communities of color to identify the best talent from those communities, and we’ve held department heads and managers accountable to the goal of diversifying our workforce. I will take the same approach as governor.
It’s important, however, not only to appoint people who are members of various historically underrepresented communities around the state, but to make sure that those people are leaders who are well connected in those communities, have access and trust, and can represent them fairly and sensitively. As governor, I will be particularly keen to appoint and promote emerging leaders from communities of color to key positions in state government.
Thissen: I will articulate a strong and clear vision for our state. But, I intend to run the state of Minnesota in a more transparent manner than previous administrations. I want a Minnesota that is citizen driven. We can take advantage of new technology — as we have during the campaign — to involve citizens directly in policy making. I am moving forward on a social entrepreneurship initiative this session to engage non-profits and citizens in innovating Minnesota’s service delivery. I believe that state government is too proscriptive. As governor, I will change our approach so that the state sets broad objectives and clear accountability measures, but allows local communities to decide how best to meet those outcome goals. That is how we build power, buy-in and trust.
C4.) In what concrete ways have you worked with the progressive movement in the past?
Anderson-Kelliher: As I mentioned before, I was a community organizer trained by Paul Wellstone, and I have canvassed and phoned for neighborhood groups, am a member of and have had legislative meetings with progressive organizations, and have actively worked for progressive candidates from the city council and school board level, to those running statewide.
As a leader I have been able to draw on the research and evidence brought by the progressive movement to shape public policy. Because of my work with groups like the Land Stewardship Project, the Joint Religious Coalition, and others, we have accomplished better legislative and public policy outcomes.
Bakk: In my role as chair of the Senate Tax Committee, I constantly weigh the impact of various tax proposals. There are 10 committees that spend money and only one that raises money. Tax policy can shape behavior, level the playing field and be used for social change perhaps more than policy in any other area. When I work to shape tax policy in the Senate I work with progressives who understand how tax policy can incent business and job growth and be used to improve the quality of life in Minnesota. Some candidates talk about a progressive income tax. I passed a progressive income tax bill in the Senate in 2009.
Dayton: In too many ways to mention. I have supported hundreds of progressive causes, candidates, and organizations. Most of my support has not been about my own advancement; it has been in support of the advancement of progressive causes and other progressive candidates and leaders. From my early involvement in the anti-Viet Nam War movement, to my co-founding of “The Progressive Roundtable” with my friend Brian Coyle, to my co-founding of “The Minnesota Project,” to my involvement in the beginnings of “The Progressive DFL”, to my support for the DFL Feminist Caucus, the first Gay Pride parades (when many other politicians stayed away), to my contributions to many hundreds of progressive candidates for federal, state, and local offices, and my financial support for many hundreds more progressive causes and organizations, I have been involved – and for the rest of my life will continue to be involved – in the progressive movement.
Entenza: I carried legislation to save the Councils of Color from being abolished, stood up to anti-immigration bills, fought to improve anti-discrimination protection, opposed the disenfranchisement of vulnerable groups and worked to expand tax credits for working families. I worked alongside the Children’s Defense Fund to improve the lives our children. I have repeatedly supported raising the minimum wage, increasing worker compensation benefits, and improving unemployment benefits, earning top ratings from the AFL-CIO. During my legislative career, I earned 100 percent ratings from both the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters/Conservation Minnesota. I voted to improve and protect water and air quality standards.
In the House, I worked for health care reform, seeking quality care for all. I voted to keep HMOs in Minnesota non-profit and saved MinnesotaCare in 2005 when Tim Pawlenty wanted to eliminate it. I also sought to maintain state funding for nursing homes. I consistently voted to fund organizations that provide women's health care and family planning services, earning high marks from NARAL ProChoice Minnesota for my work. I also spoke up for the equal rights of all Minnesotans, including speaking out and voting against an amendment banning gay marriage.
I also have the support of many diverse elected officials and leaders in communities of color, including Congressman Keith Ellison, Rep. Bobby Jo Champion, Rep. Cy Thao, Sadiq Abdirahman, former St. Paul Police Chief Bill Finney, Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, Mohamed Jibrell, Batala McFarlane, Dr. Neal Thao, former Rep. Gregory Gray, Ibrahim Abikar, Abdikadir Ahmed and Hashi Shafi.
Gaertner: I have worked with the progressive faith community on issues dealing with domestic violence and other justice initiatives. I was elected a delegate to 2006 state DFL convention by the Veterans Peace caucus.
I can also tell you that I have been a very progressive thinker in the area of legal prosecution (remember the great progressive Governor Floyd Olson was a county prosecutor too). Recently I received a Norm Maleng Minister of Justice Award from the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association. I was only the eighth person to receive this national honor, given periodically to a prosecutor who exemplifies the principle that, "the duty of the prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely to convict."
Kelley: Part of what I value about movement building is that there is room for – and a need for – countless people to contribute in countless ways. Some of the ways I have contributed include:
- Training Leaders. Every one of us has a role in enacting our vision and I bring a strong commitment to building leaders and helping every individual find their role in the movement. This is why I am a board member of Youth in Government and fully embrace their mission to “develop personal growth and encourage life-long, responsible citizenship by providing experiential learning for young people and by providing public forums to recognize the abilities and capabilities of youth.” It is also why I teach classes like “Public Budgeting” and “Science and the State” to provide concrete skills to individuals on how they can improve our public policy.
- Partnering with progressive leaders to get strong legislation enacted. I authored the last significant increase in education funding that was passed by the legislature. I authored and passed a bill to change the name and vision of the State Office of Volunteer Services to include active citizenship.
- Advocating for and engaging in the progressive community. As a board member for a domestic violence shelter for nearly a decade, I advocated for survivors of violence. As a lawyer, I volunteered my services to low-income residents of Hennepin County so they could fully participate in our legal system.
- Making a personal commitment to opportunity for all by serving on the advisory board for Summit Academy, which provides job training for inner city residents drawn primarily from communities of color. As a Legislator, I was the chief author of bills to fund Summit Academy initiatives.
Marty: I have been a part of the progressive movement my entire life, working closely with advocacy groups ranging from Sierra Club to Advocating Change Together, OutFront Minnesota to the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, Planned Parenthood to the Land Stewardship Project.
For 24 years, I have participated in vigils, walked in picket lines, talked with people in shelters, and boldly championed progressive causes in the legislature, designing and authoring groundbreaking legislation, sometimes well before its time, and then working with the progressive activists to build support to make it reality.
I have authored and sponsored legislation the single-payer Minnesota Health Plan, the nuclear moratorium legislation, LGBT Marriage Equality, the Minnesota Clean Cars bill, comprehensive sexuality education and family planning service access, the Mercury products ban, and clean money campaign finance legislation. As governor, I will work with the progressive movement to set the agenda for Minnesota, and move even more of this agenda into law.
Rukavina: My record shows that there is no better example of a Progressive leader at the capitol – I have worked with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union to get better work conditions in our packing houses. I have worked with UniteHere to increase minimum wage and lift up our lowest paid workers in society. I have worked with students to make higher education more affordable and created innovative endowments and provided scholarships to our citizens in need.
Rybak: There are too many to list them all here, but below is a small selection of which I am proud.
- I worked with organized labor to craft a labor-peace policy that is as progressive as any in the country and is stronger than even the Employee Free Choice Act. It provides workers who want to organize a union with more protections from harassment, intimidation or illegal firings. It makes the organizing process faster and guarantees a first contract.
- I stood with Twin Cities janitors and security officers as they voted to strike, and have worked closely with their union to create new unionized jobs and ensure workplace protections.
- I have worked with the African American community and grassroots leaders on Minneapolis’ Northside to: build safe, sustainable single-family housing and restore neighborhoods; train workers and find them good, family-sustaining jobs; create more educational opportunity and meaningful summer employment for kids through the Minneapolis Promise; close down convenience stores that were taking advantage of the community; and bring down juvenile crime by diverting youth into community-based alternatives and getting the most violent offenders off the streets.
- I have stood side-by-side with the Somali community during difficult moments and have been at the table to help build stronger relationships between the community and the City of Minneapolis.
- I have worked with TakeAction Minnesota and their grassroots organizing efforts in the Hmong community to listen to the concerns of the Hmong community in Minneapolis and make city government more responsive to them.
- I have worked closely with the urban Indian community to ensure that there is no separation between our efforts to improve lives in the urban core and the needs that need to be met on reservations.
- I have been consistently visible and accessible to the progressive movement, leaders and activists and have helped to build capacity by encouraging and creating opportunities for emerging leaders and new talent.
Thissen: As a member of the legislature I have worked closely with many progressive organizations and causes. I worked closely with TakeAction Minnesota and other organizations to expand health care for children in this state.
Additionally, I have stood side-by-side with TakeAction Minnesota members, leaders in the homelessness effort and the faith community to reinstate General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC). I have worked with Legal Aid and the Children’s Defense Fund on family security and consumer protection measures. I worked with Project 515 during the 2009 legislative session to pass the one LGBT equality bill signed by the governor. The passage of the “Protecting Ones Home” bill will protect same-sex couples in Minnesota and their families from losing their home following the prolonged illness and death of a partner. I have walked picket lines and worked with labor to resolve disputes with management.
D1)Minnesota faces a $7.5 billion deficit next year. How will you increase revenue to make up that gap? How will you prioritize budget decisions during your first term in office?
Anderson-Kelliher: I will use the principals of fair and progressive taxation as the cornerstone for raising revenue with the understanding that we’re going to have to make budget reductions. We can start with income tax increases for the highest income earners.
Those who say that you can solve a multi-billion dollar budget deficit by cuts alone are sorely mistaken. It’s also not accurate to say that you can solve our budget crisis simply by raising taxes. The truth is that you have to take a balanced approach to protect the services we need, and to prioritize investments in our state’s economy, like Early Childhood Education, K-12 and higher education.
First, we can work with public employees to identify cost-saving measures, and review programs that haven’t shown real results. Second, we need to find more revenue to maintain the services that Minnesotans value and I will work with all of our legislators to find ways to raise revenues that protects low and middle-income taxpayers.
Bakk: Every single day on the campaign trail I tell people from every corner of this state that we cannot raise taxes or cut spending enough to fix this problem. I also tell people that any candidate who promises quick fixes on education or health care or infrastructure without a real plan to grow our economy is being disingenuous. We have a big problem in this state. And it is not the deficit. The deficit is a symptom of the real problem which is an economy that is performing very poorly. To fix the deficit and raise the revenue to address all the issues that are important to Democrats and Minnesotans, we must grow this economy. To grow this economy we have to put people to work so they are contributing income tax revenue to the state instead of taking unemployment from the state. The next governor will raise revenue, the question is how and with what priorities. But improving our economy is essential to Minnesota’s future.
When we are talking about budget priorities, Minnesotans need to be ready to make some very difficult decisions. There may be some services that in the short-term, the state can no longer afford to provide.
Dayton: To be accurate, Minnesota will receive in December 2010, and again in February 2011, an estimate of revenues and expenditures for the two years from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2013, based upon economic assumptions and other forecasts — that is now predicted to be somewhere between $5 billion and $7.5 billion. This is a crucial understanding – that we are talking about enormous numbers that are guesstimates for a period of time 18 months to 42 months from now.
My first priority will be to raise taxes on the wealthiest 10% of Minnesotans, who are not now paying their fair share. If they paid only “a flat tax,” ie. the same percentage of their incomes in state and local taxes as the next 80% of Minnesotans, they would provide $3.8 billion of additional revenue for the current biennium, and over $4 billion in the following biennium. By making Minnesota taxes progressive, as they should be, those revenue increases would go higher.
That will be my first priority and my only priority, until it is accomplished. I will not “balance” a projected future deficit by making further drastic and destructive cuts in aid to our public schools, to local governments, or to health care.
Entenza: To help enhance revenue I support progressive taxation and making sure the wealthiest among us pay their fair share. We cannot keep foisting the tax burden onto regressive fees and property taxes.
I believe we need to prioritize education, not keep shifting obligations onto future legislatures who are under no obligation to authorize them. This amounts to a backdoor budget cut and I am very concerned about what it says about what we believe in as a state. I also believe we need to prioritize health care and core services.
Gaertner: As I’ve said before, everything should be on the table.
First, we absolutely need to restore a more progressive income tax structure to help reduce the size of the deficit, but that alone will not be enough to solve the problem. We must restructure the system and increase taxes on those who make more than $250,000, but that alone will not be enough to resolve the deficit. We need to consider new revenue ideas for an economy that is increasingly service-based, and I will consider taxing non-essential services. I will not shy away from discussing things like a clothing tax—one that is non-regressive and provides appropriate exemptions.
Also subsidies to industries, like ethanol plants, should be reviewed. A Minnesota Legislative Audit showed that ethanol producers made PROFITS of $619 million over 5 years. They were given a state subsidy for $93 million over the same period. Things like that need to stop.
Kelley: The budget is a moral document that allows our state to achieve its goals. For too long, the only principle guiding our budget was a misguided no new tax pledge.
I believe that our tax system needs to be flexible, fair, and stable. In order for it to be fair, we need to raise income taxes on the richest Minnesotans so that they are paying their share. However, increasing taxes on rich Minnesotans is not going to bring in enough revenue to close our budget gap or enact a vision for a better future in Minnesota. We also need to examine instituting a carbon tax that would create a stable source of revenue and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, we must work with all the elements of our health care and public health system to make all of us healthier and reduce costs.
I will prioritize budget needs based on a simple principle. Our budget must ensure a better, smarter, and fairer future for our children and grandchildren. That means we prioritize funding for programs that create jobs so that parents can provide for their children. It means supporting our schools so that we close the achievement gap and reduce class sizes. It means protecting our environment so that we can all prosper now and in the future.
We can balance our budget the right way, not on the backs of our children.
Marty: I will increase revenue by raising income taxes, rolling back the 1999-2000 tax cuts, and adding two additional tiers at the top end. Cuts will be judicious, and will not cut education or any other investments that build a better future. In the short run, to get through the worst of the budget crisis, it is better to shift revenues than make cuts that will cost more in the long run. Stimulating the economy and getting people back to work will be my first priority.
Rukavina: The deficit is a very real thing and I believe that by implementing fair taxes based on income we can work towards getting things re-balanced. I will be a strong advocate for hard working Minnesotans who struggle to make ends meet and are rarely heard at the Capitol and I will prioritize budget decisions accordingly.
Rybak: The State of Minnesota is in financial chaos. Over the last eight years we have lurched from budget crisis to budget crisis and are now facing yet another deficit of over $7 billion. Even worse, the state’s budget problems have been pushed onto homeowners and local school districts as property taxes go through the roof and school districts are expected to “loan” the state money to cover its budget deficit.
Over the last eight years, Governor Pawlenty’s mantra has been “no new taxes.” The facts are that eight years of Pawlenty’s economic policies have hurt Minnesota’s economic rankings by almost every measure. And as any property owner in the state will tell you, there’s no such thing as no new taxes when the state passes on to local government its historic commitment to help pay for education and basic services like police and fire.
Problems that have been allowed to grow for years won’t be solved easily, and they won’t be solved overnight. I will tackle these challenges head on, make tough decisions and work honestly with the people of Minnesota to find solutions. I will develop a long-term plan with clear measures for accountability for results, and honest budgeting with no gimmicks or tricks.
My approach will be to do what we did in Minneapolis when faced with a similar challenge. We made cuts where we could by looking under every rock for money we could save or things we could do without. We made dramatic reforms to how we did our work by finding efficiencies, merging departments and functions and developing new partnerships. We raised revenue as well. And it’s worked: in the last eight years, spending at the City of Minneapolis has increased by 1% after adjusting for inflation — while at the State of Minnesota, it’s increased 12% over the same period. (Governor Pawlenty loves to take shots at Minneapolis, but he should take a lesson from us instead.)
As governor, I will strongly advocate for policies that raise money fairly. This means that people who earn the most — and who currently do not pay their fair share — will pay more. Those who earn over $250,000 should pay at least the same share of taxes as people with middle and lower incomes. But we all know that this step alone won’t solve our multi-billion-dollar budget gap. I’ll support approaches that make our tax system more progressive and I will be very skeptical of approaches that place more of a burden on middle-income families or solutions that rely heavily on “fees,” which can be the hidden, most regressive taxes of all.
Our priorities also need to be clear, and for me they are the priorities that drive opportunity and future prosperity: making Minnesota the brainpower state, the healthiest state, and a job-creation engine.
Thissen: Solving a budget crisis of this size will require additional revenue. Increasing state-level taxes fairly and progressively, in a way that does not unfairly burden working families and ensures that those better off pay their fair share must be at the heart of restructuring our tax system. We must move away from our reliance on local property taxes. Regressive taxes do not stimulate the economy or create jobs. I am committed to making sure we pay down our budget deficit while maintaining high-quality, compassionate public services.
The job of the next governor will be rebuilding Minnesota’s economy. My top priorities will be getting people back to work and making sure people have access to affordable health care. Escalating health care costs are hurting families, businesses and destroying government budgets. I will address the lack of affordability of health care aggressively. The increased economic stability and the costs savings we will see as a result will allow us to invest in priorities: early childhood education, higher education and retraining, and our transportation and broadband communications infrastructure. I believe the investment with the biggest payoff is an investment in stable housing. I will make investing in supportive housing a priority.
Return to the Questions
D2) We believe every child born and every newly arrived resident should benefit equally from our quality of life and have the power to make our state better. ICE-Police Separation Ordinance’s, which have been adopted in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, are important tools to make sure everyone in Minnesota can contact the police in an emergency without fear of deportation. Will you commit to making an ICE-Police (or other law enforcement) Separation Ordinance statewide law? Why or why not?
Anderson-Kelliher: Law enforcement officers are here to protect and serve and I believe no one should live in fear while trying to get the help they need. I believe it is the responsibility of the federal government to focus on immigration matters, and in our state, with limited resources, I would not want to place additional unfunded mandates on our local law enforcement agencies.
Bakk: Yes, I would support such a law. It is not right when people are afraid to contact law enforcement. Everybody should be able to contact the police without fear of deportation. This is in everybody’s best interests – the police must know if there is criminal activity taking place and those in our communities should have the dignity of living openly and having access to basic services.
Dayton: I believe that every resident of Minnesota should be in this country legally, and I believe that is first and foremost a personal responsibility. I also recognize that our immigration laws and procedures have been terrible failures for many years. As Senator, I supported legislative attempts along the lines of the Kennedy-McCain proposals that would have created clear paths to earned citizenship for people presently undocumented.
I believe that the responsibilities for those failures and for correcting them are the federal government’s. Therefore, I would support a statewide ICE-local police separation agreement, except for the commission of serious crimes, such as acts of violence or drug trafficking.
Entenza: Absolutely. I supported them when I was in the House and I will support them as governor. It behooves no one to keep our New Americans in the shadows and afraid of law enforcement.
Gaertner: As a career prosecutor and Ramsey County Attorney, I appreciate the complexity of the jurisdiction and immigration issues involved in these types of cases, as well as the challenge of ensuring fair treatment for undocumented residents during the process. As Ramsey County Attorney, I have worked with the Saint Paul Police Department with the Separation Ordinance and I think it has enhanced public safety. I will take that message statewide. As governor, I will do everything in my power to make sure everyone can feel free to contact law enforcement without fear of deportation.
Kelley: I support separating immigration issues from state and local law enforcement at all levels. I was one of three Senators recognized by ISIAH for opposing putting immigration information on Minnesota driver’s licenses. We should not let state institutions worsen problems of racial or ethnic profiling. We also must make it safe for all crime victims to report crimes to the police or state agencies.
Marty: Yes. We will not use state or local officials as immigration enforcers — there is a clear conflict between the two roles.
This is a critical fairness and public safety matter. When employers violate worker safety or wage and hour laws, undocumented workers are justifiably scared of challenging employers. If we want to be able to address employment or housing abuses, domestic violence or crime, we have to ensure that the victims of those crimes are able to speak up without fear of being arrested themselves.
Rukavina: My voting record backs up my commitment to this issue and that commitment will remain steadfast in the Governor’s office as well.
Rybak: Absolutely. I was elected mayor of Minneapolis right after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the midst of the biggest anti-immigrant frenzy in recent history. From the moment I took office, I had to stand up during the height of the Bush/Pawlenty attacks on immigrants and defend our city’s wise decision to separate basic police and public-safety functions from the functions of immigration enforcement. Minneapolis as a city, and I as its mayor, have been attacked and threatened by right-wingers at the State Capitol and across the country for our City/ICE separation ordinance. But we have stood firm in the face of these attacks because we know we are right. You don’t need to wonder what I’ll do as governor, because I’ve already done it.
Thissen: Yes. Our local police officers must have as their first and top priority the safety of our communities. If local police get into the immigration enforcement business, with the complexity that goes along with it, we undermine that primary mission. Resources are diverted from basic public safety. Trust between police officers and community members, which is critical to effective public safety, is undermined. Specifically, safety may be jeopardized if we discourage people from reporting crimes like domestic violence.
More generally, I view immigrations as two issues. First is the question of who enters our country and under what rules. That is a federal issue, although the governor has an important role in encouraging smart, humane immigration reform. The second issue is the question of how we treat people who currently live in our community. We must treat them fairly, inclusively and compassionately. And we all have an interest in that. Crime and the H1N1 virus do not discriminate based on a person’s immigration status.
Return to the Questions
D3) We reject the ideology that denies the ongoing impacts of racism in our society. For too many years communities of color have seen large disparities in the number of contacts with law enforcement and in treatment by the criminal justice system. Many ex-offenders face institutionalized barriers in their return to full citizenship. As Governor, with thousands of people being released from prison every year, what kind of policies would you propose to help these returning citizens reentry into society?
Anderson-Kelliher: There’s no question that children, spouses and families suffer greatly when someone they love and rely on is incarcerated. Those who are being released from prison need a plan that focuses on job training, basic education, health care, and housing to help them move forward.
We know that diversion programs are an effective tool for reducing recidivism, and that restorative justice is also a meaningful way to engage victims and the community in repairing the harm caused by the crime. These efforts have been known to strengthen communities that have suffered because of crime, and help along the path to healing for victims.
Bakk: I recognize that we have a problem with ex-offenders and the collateral consequences of a criminal record. Many have great difficulty finding employment and housing and these barriers make a difficult transition even more difficult and are factors in recidivism. And this is a problem that affects everybody. If we invest in preventing recidivism, we are investing in making our communities safer and better places. As governor, I will listen to the groups that work on this problem to find ways to ease the transition. From programs that support ex-offenders upon reentry to legislation on expungements and discrimination, there are many ways we can work to fix a problem that affects everybody.
Dayton: I believe that those individuals who have served their sentences for their previous criminal actions, are meeting the term of their paroles, and acting again as law-abiding citizens deserve “second chances,” which include the understanding and support of others, job opportunities with supportive services to obtain them, and freedom from discrimination or harassment. They deserve, and should have, full opportunities to once again become productive and successful members of our society. They and all the rest of us benefit enormously, when they do.
Entenza: For those who have been incarcerated, I believe it is important that policies and an infrastructure be in place to assist with re-entry. It does no one any good to see repeat offenders, and the best way to prevent recidivism is by getting folks to work and involved in their community in a productive manner. This is why I am such an advocate for adult education, as it gives people who might have made missteps along the way a second chance.
I also have a long history of working with chemical dependency and mental health issues, and as governor I will continue to so.
Gaertner: I will work closely with the Department of Public Safety to ensure that the protocols in place are appropriate to protect those who are most at risk of racial profiling. In the event of a bias crime committed against a person because of his or her race or religion, I will see to it that the state investigates and pursues the case to the fullest extent possible.
Drawing upon my 16 years of experience as County Attorney in one of the most diverse counties in the state, I will work closely with local human rights departments, the Attorney General, the Department of Public Safety, and relevant nongovernmental organizations to determine how we may most effectively track civil rights and human rights violations statewide. Any violations will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.
Restoring the public trust in law enforcement can best be done at the local level; it will be a matter of improving communication between local law enforcement agencies and their communities. As governor I will work with a network of local and county government officials across the state to improve overall government efficiencies as well as expand communication between governmental units and with the public, and relationships with local law enforcement will be a key topic in that discussion.
We also need to improve our correctional system to create better outcomes with lower costs. One example of this is implementing reentry programs to help offenders find employment and reunite with family once their sentences are served. Effective reentry programs have been shown to reduce crime as well as costs to taxpayers.
Kelley: The Minnesota Department of Corrections and the Department of Public Safety should work more aggressively with groups like Amicus and Save Our Sons that help offenders re-enter society. Other agencies, including employment and work force agencies must also collaborate with community groups and employers to reduce the collateral effects of incarceration and contact with the justice system.
Marty: This was one of the biggest problems that I saw from my work with the Poverty Commission. We need to change the system to create opportunities for ex-offenders to live successful and dignified lives by:
· ending racially-biased mandatory minimums and racial profiling
· “banning the box” and allowing ex-offenders full access to housing, employment, and education
· funding re-entry jobs and housing programs — ex-offenders need a helping hand, not doors slammed in their faces.
Rukavina: I am committed to cutting down our incarceration numbers and parole numbers and making a difference through rehabilitation. I have worked extensively with organizations such as 180 Degrees and The NetWork to ensure that people are given a second chance in life.
Rybak: We have ready taken action on this front in Minneapolis. First, in the City of Minneapolis we “banned the box” — that is, we eliminated from the City’s job application any requirement that an applicant disclose a criminal record. City representatives have also advocated at the Legislature for the State to adopt the same policy.
In 2008, we worked with Minneapolis City Council Member Elizabeth Glidden on the "Restore Your Voice" campaign to educate ex-offenders who were off-paper that they had the right to vote. The campaign included a City resolution, various communications strategies including posters, advertising on public-access cable TV, elected officials writing about it in their newsletters, and a public press event, among other tools.
The State of Minnesota can take several positive steps forward on this front, and as governor I will advocate for them.
· We can Ban the Box at the State level.
· We can expand job-training resources for those reentering society.
· We can accelerate the process of restoration of civil rights. Right now, it takes too long and requires that the ex-offender navigate too much bureaucracy. It should happen sooner and more automatically than it does now.
I have visited with ex-offenders and have listened to their powerful stories of moving forward from having made mistakes or been in bad relationships, yet still having trouble erasing marks against them that did not reflect who they had come to be and who they aspired to be. It is neither compassionate nor cost-effective to passively allow this state of affairs to continue.
As governor, I will work closely with law enforcement, the courts and citizen advocates to ensure we have a reentry program that begins the moment someone is sentenced. My vision is a prison/probation system that has at its principal mission rehabilitation and reentry rather than merely punishment. We also must build on sensible “ban the box” policies for employment and housing applications. Supporting the mission of mentoring programs like AMICUS is important. Additionally, full reentry does not end with the release from prison. We must commit to restoring civil rights, including voting rights, as soon as possible, so that people become full participants in our society and have a larger stake in its success.
We should also look to alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system, like the restorative justice program I visited in Washington County. And, we must openly confront the racial disparities built into the structure of our justice system – from arrest rates to imbalances in our sentencing guidelines.
Reentry isn’t just about the criminal, however. We also need better support for the families of incarcerated individuals and adopt programs to allow families to remain connected during incarceration.
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D4) We must make decisions now to improve the lives of our children’s children. We look to our governor to serve as a steward of Minnesota's natural resources. Today, however, that legacy is faced with the urgent threat of global warming. We know the state-based solutions that can help us achieve the science-based targets needed to prevent the worst effects of climate change. We also realize that we have an opportunity to build our state's clean, renewable energy economy. However, little has been done to implement these solutions. As Governor, how would you and your administration implement policies to address climate change in Minnesota?
Anderson-Kelliher: Some have referred to the 2007 legislative session as “the Energy Session” because of the groundbreaking Renewable Energy Standard that made Minnesota the leading state in setting aggressive standards for production of clean, alternative and locally produced renewable energy. We also adopted a sweeping energy policy bill that focused on energy efficiency and conservation, community-based energy development, and global warming mitigation. These initiatives set a long-term vision for changing how we produce and distribute energy, and showed our state’s commitment to environmental stewardship.
While I’m proud of the work we’ve done so far, there’s more we can do. Sometimes lost in the discussion on climate change issues are the everyday ways that we can limit greenhouse gas emissions. Communities across the state are having conversations and implementing policies to increase recycling and composting, and in turn, reducing the amount of organic materials in landfills.
New technology in batteries can also be an economic development opportunity for Minnesota in that we can create local options to address potential storage and transmission limitations for base load power. Having a better transit system and helping lead the way in what our state purchases will also help (flex fuel hybrids) we can also have a powerful effect on that.
There are opportunities for the next governor to take a strong leadership role in addressing climate change. As Governor, I will focus on job growth and job creation with a strategic statewide economic development plan that emphasizes our existing leadership in clean technology and expands technologies in the renewable energy sector.
Bakk: Minnesota is blessed to have some of the most beautiful natural preserves in the nation. My wife Laura and I became grandparents for the first time last September. I have spent my entire life living in Northern Minnesota where I’ve enjoyed nothing more than spending time in our lakes and forests. I want my grandson, Benjamin, to enjoy that exact same experience I enjoyed. I am committed to preserving our environment and will work to implement policies to do so.
Dayton: To begin, I propose the immediate creation of an “Energy Savings Fund,” which will invest in the renovation and reinsulation of state government college, and university buildings to reduce their energy consumptions and the retrofitting of their heating and cooling systems to introduce the use of alternative energies. The savings from these initiatives, which can pay for themselves within 5 to 7 years, would be reinvested in our public school and local government buildings. Over the next decade such a program would greatly reduce energy consumption, reducing our “carbon footprint”, saving taxpayers millions of dollars in energy costs, and provide thousands of new jobs for workers in the building trades and for local alternative energy companies. It would establish Minnesota as properly the national leader in alternative energy innovation.
Entenza: My focus on growing the clean energy economy will have the benefit of reducing our carbon footprint and reducing our emissions. This is the centerpiece of my plan for economic growth.
Gaertner: The Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group has shown that protecting our forests will do more to reduce our carbon footprint than any other single measure. If we focus on rehabilitating former forestland and allowing forests to grow older so they sequester more carbon, we can fight global warming while producing better forest products. By improving forests, we improve water quality and wildlife habitat. These kinds of win-win-win opportunities exist throughout our economy.
In the last ten years in Minnesota, jobs in our clean energy economy grew six times faster than the overall job rate. It will be up to our next governor to make sure we continue to develop Minnesota’s green energy economy to the greatest extent possible. When we invest in transit, like the NorthStar Line and the Central Corridor; when we invest in renewable energy, like wind, solar, and biofuels; when we create incentives for energy-efficiency and new technologies and markets in recycling; and when we encourage sustainable farming, we are creating long-term economic growth that is good for people, good for business, and good for the environment.
Kelley: It is terrifying that the leading Republican candidates deny the existence of global warming. We have an obligation to our children to quickly act to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses and combat the effects of climate change.
As Governor, I would:
•Accelerate the development of community based energy projects (both wind and solar) in greater Minnesota and the metro area.
•Invest in the development of next generation biofuels that are made from prairie grasses and trees.
•Maximize the recycling of waste products into fuels, including dimethyl ether from paper plants and algae-produced fuels from sewage waste.
•Create green manufacturing and construction jobs in the wind, solar and energy-efficient building industries.
•Support pioneering research to create plastics and other materials from plants grown in Minnesota.
•Encourage the adoption of smart grid technologies by Minnesota utilities to move renewable energy around the state.
•Ensure that Legacy Fund dollars are spent to protect our natural resources.
•Make Minnesota a leader in conservation using incentives and setting an example by having government buildings and operations be at the forefront of efficiency.
As stated previously, I would also consider using a carbon tax as a way to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Economically successful countries like Denmark and Germany have instituted carbon taxes, which have encouraged conservation, energy efficiency, and a shift to renewable energy. Minnesota can be a leader in renewable energy and conservation technology.
Marty: I’ve authored Clean Car legislation, begin addressing the transportation systems impact on climate change, have supported legislation setting stringent standards for greenhouse gas emissions and have authored laws strengthened energy efficiency in housing and appliances. As governor, I will move Minnesota from dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear power to renewable, Minnesota-based energy sources. To speed up progress on energy efficiency and renewable energy, we need to consider taxes that change behavior, including the Carbon Tax.
Rukavina: I haven’t just talked about a Green Economy and clean energy- I have lived it. I have helped to convert two municipally owned power plants in Virginia and Hibbing to burn waste wood instead of coal. They now use renewable resources instead of fossil fuels to provide electricity to their communities. I have used community based energy laws to help cities like Mountain Iron, which is currently putting up a windmill with ten and a half megawatts of wind power that will be community owned. I will continue to promote renewable energy programs where farmers and communities own the power and power production and do it in an environmentally sound way.
Rybak: I was one of the first mayors in the country to sign the Mayors’ Climate Change Agreement, when some people saw my interest in environmental issues as trivial at best. Today, however, almost everyone (except the Republican candidates for governor) appreciates the reality of climate change and our obligation to do something about it.
The challenge is real and we know what to do. In fact, the Governor’s Climate Change Advisory Group issued recommendations for how Minnesota can achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 15% in 2015, 30% in 2025, and 80% by 2050. Those recommendations sit on a shelf while time wastes.
As governor, I will go to work immediately with the Legislature to begin implementing these recommendations. My emphasis will be on advancing energy efficiency and energy-conservation opportunities. My administration will look for those opportunities that help us grow the clean energy jobs, companies and technologies of the future. Some of this work is basic — retrofitting buildings, encouraging car-pooling and using transit. Some of the steps we need to take are longer term — moving to alternative energy and smart-grid technology. All of these steps are crucial, and if done right will actually fuel Minnesota’s economic growth.
I’ve learned as mayor that we can make progress on these big goals if we just get to work. That’s how we created the green jobs initiative with Saint Paul. It’s how we put the green roof on the Target Center. It’s how we worked with Xcel to transform the Riverside Coal Plant to cleaner natural gas. It’s how we found a way to put the Midwest’s largest solar installation on the Minneapolis Convention Center. We’ve done it in Minneapolis by being creative and determined and we can do it in Minnesota.
Thissen: I am a firm believer that goals are set to be met, not to make headlines. We need to meet the greenhouse gas reduction and renewable energy goals the legislature set not just because we said we would, but because it’s a promise future generations can’t afford to for us to ignore. We need to move forward on a new vision of energy based on smaller, local generation plants fed by local renewable, sustainable sources. And, we must understand this is not a problem for government to solve alone. I will call on every Minnesotan to conserve and make other lifestyle changes that reduce our impact.
Return to the Questions
D5)We will support a candidate for Governor who will advance state policies that build a fair, equitable economy that benefits everyone and that improve the lives of our children’s children. We need a governor who believes in Minnesota family farms and in sustainable rural development – independent family farm livestock operations, local and regional food systems, sustainable and organic agriculture, community-based and community-controlled renewable energy. What will be your priorities along these lines for state policy, funding, and appointments?
Anderson-Kelliher: I grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota, and have a real working knowledge of agriculture and rural economies. I know how important agriculture is to our state’s economic health, from the food we eat, to the renewable energy we generate.
Our state has been a leader in renewable energy growth. As Speaker, I fought very hard to improve Minnesota’s environmental standards by leading the effort to pass nation-leading renewable energy standards.
Agriculture has been a leading contributor to our state’s economy and is continuing to grow. An increasing demand for locally grown and organic food presents new markets for our agricultural communities, and there is a lot of potential in development of value-added agriculture products for energy production. Add food systems
Just one example of the growth opportunities in these markets are developments with hothouse tunnels, where farmers can plant and grow food well beyond the typical growing season in our climate, and continue to provide locally grown food to individuals and to retailers.
As Governor, I will seek out these types of innovations and prioritize strategic investments that help Minnesota’s family farmers expand and improve their operations. I also will look to fill these related appointments with a diverse coalition of people who represent the agriculture, energy and environmental sectors. As with all appointments, I will use guiding principals around selecting those who have the right experience. I think we have to have an Agriculture Commissioner who can work with family farmers as well as large scale agriculture producers.
Bakk: As a senator from the Iron Range, I work closely with groups involved in creating sustainable rural development and have worked extensively to find a model for rural communities to develop sustainably. There are certainly challenges and we will need to be ready to make difficult decisions. The challenge is finding a model that works economically and reaches the goals laid out above. If we can be more efficient in how rural areas provide services and be proactive in developing the renewable energy and other possible revenue sources, we can find the balance where Greater Minnesota will thrive. Creating jobs and improving the economy is the pillar of my campaign and this needs to happen in every part of the state. My priorities as governor will reflect this.
Dayton: I will support myself and appoint a Commissioner of Agriculture who supports the vision the excellent question describes. In my last campaign for Governor in 1998, I chose as my Lieutenant Governor a woman, Julie Jansen, who was the courageous leader of citizens’ oppositions to the terribly destructive – and illegal—corporate animal feedlots and their cesspool sewage lagoons, which the MN Pollution Control Agency – that I call the MN Pollution Cooperation Agency – was ignoring. When the MN Department of Health finally got off its bureaucratic rear end and did its overdue air testing, Julie was proven right and the immoral failures of MPCA to protect the lives and safety of rural families was exposed.
Sustainable, family agriculture requires those kinds of oversights and protections from the appropriate state authorities to encourage their development and protect them from destruction from ruthless, large scale corporate operations, who often feel threatened by their very existence. I will rename the MPCA the “Pollution Reduction Agency, and appoint a Commissioner and Board Members who will help assure that ecologically sound, renewable sustainable agriculture practices are not just encouraged – but required – throughout Minnesota.
Entenza: Clean, renewable energy is at the heart of my platform, and is the way forward for our state. To do this we will need the input of everyone and I believe strongly that every community should be involved in every decision regarding its economic future. Family farms will also play a critical role in the future of rural Minnesota as we create new jobs and revenue. These farms will be essential in supporting sustainable rural development. I have been working on this issue with Latino farmers in Southern MN, and working with them to support sustainable farming. Another thing that I would work for as governor is to see the food services of state colleges and facilities rely on locally produced goods.
Gaertner: A sector of the economy that takes up half of Minnesota’s land and is the state’s 2nd largest employer will of course be a top priority. The independent family farm has been the back bone of Minnesota’s economy and identity for as long as we have been a state. We can do more as a state to promote locally grown products and help them find a market.
Kelley: I have made a personal effort to purchase grass-fed beef and other meats and food grown in Minnesota on sustainable farms. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) in my administration will work with organic and other small-scale farmers to create better markets for their goods. The Minnesota Department of Education should work with the MDA and schools, colleges, and universities to increase purchases from farmers in Minnesota who use sustainable practices.
I will also support and encourage community based energy development as I did in the Legislature.
One of the ways that we will encourage a healthy Minnesota is to improve the quality of food that we eat. With strong leadership, we can support a healthier Minnesota.
Marty: We need sustainable agriculture and fair prices for farmers. I will appoint a Commissioner of Agriculture who understands and promotes environmentally and econonmically sustainable agriculture, someone who understands and respects the work of the Land Stewardship Project and the Minnesota Farmer’s Union.
Rukavina: I have already addressed my plans regarding renewable energy. As it relates to crops, livestock and dairy, I have worked with land stewardship organizations to make sure independent family farms are able to compete with big, corporate farms. Additionally, I have helped to encourage university research that benefits our organic farming industry and adds value through agriculture products.
Rybak: No matter where I go in Minnesota, I talk to people about the importance of building the new food economy to benefit Minnesota farmers and the rural economy. Locally grown, sustainable food is a growing market, and we need to support the Minnesota family farms that are poised to take advantage of this opportunity. It is inconceivable that in an agricultural state like Minnesota, 90% of our produce is grown somewhere else. We can change this and create economic opportunity at the same time. What we need to do is develop partnerships to get local, sustainable food to market.
This isn’t new work for me. As mayor, I created the initiative called Homegrown Minneapolis, which is linking up producers and distributors of fresh, locally-grown produce with markets in Minneapolis and the region — and which was recently recognized by First Lady Michelle Obama as a national leader in the field. As governor, I will continue this work by pursuing five strategies.
First, we need to foster more partnerships between public institutions and Minnesota growers. A great example of this is ensuring that Minneapolis public schools serve healthy school lunches made from Minnesota-grown food.
A second strategy is to support middle-market distribution systems to bring sustainable food to consumers. A great example is Thousand Hills Beef in Cannon Falls, which brings together beef producers’ products and then markets them under one brand. This strategy could have a big impact in the hard-hit dairy industry, where a shocking number of family dairy operations are at risk without new business models.
A third approach is to provide more assistance to small-scale farming operations. It might come in the form of technical assistance for families that want to pass their operation on to the next generation, or business-planning assistance for entrepreneurs who want to start a new farm operation. Another option would be to provide help to small-scale operation who want to stay small, but can’t get the investment capital they need to get to profitable capacity. Operations like Shepherd’s Way Farms in Rice County are a great example of this need. This highly successful operation suffered an arson fire five years ago and lost 500 sheep and their barn. They cannot meet demand for their hand-made artisan cheese and need to grow, but they cannot get the capital to rebuild their barn and their herd.
Fourth, we need a strategy that reconnects the farm economy with main-street Minnesota. Imagine having a grocery store and other retail on Main Street that stocked local food and other products. These retail centers would be enhanced by offering local products. Local residents would be able to buy food that comes from nearby. And local growers would have markets for their products.
These kinds of strategies don’t replace the larger commodity operations that drive the Minnesota agricultural sector. They don’t need to. But our state can support both business models, and we should recognize the value of these small local growers and the retail and wholesale distribution operations they rely on.
As governor, I will appoint people who are ready to put strategies like these into action. To do this, we need to get out of the silo of thinking of this work as only a Department of Agriculture issue. My appointments to Commerce, DEED and other agencies can all support these strategies to revitalize main-street Minnesota and the agricultural economy that they depend on.
Thissen: Farm consolidation and development pressures are squeezing family farms ability to compete for fair prices and we must help our farmers grow their operations and compete in the marketplace. We should make Minnesota Grown the standard for quality across the globe through marketing and research so that our family farmers are competing on quality as well as price. I will enforce Minnesota's corporate farm laws.
We also need to provide resources for today’s farmers to grow and update their operations and allow them to pass their farms on to the next generation. We should explore tax credits and loans for farmers to create value-added, farmer-owned enterprises. We must invest in research and development on new energy and craft laws that will keep the wealth generated by the green energy economy in our local communities. I am proud to be leading the way to make Minnesota a leader in green chemistry to take plants and turn them into useful, non-toxic products.
My friend Ken Meter has established that Minnesota imports billions of dollars in food each year. That is wealth we could generate and keep in Minnesota. I will work to promote a culture – and establish an infrastructure – to allow for more diverse, organic and local agriculture to flourish.
And I will make sure we invest in programs that identify and train the next generation of farmers. Programs like the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings Program are an excellent start and I am sponsoring legislation this year to provide grants to encourage the transfer of land from one generation of farmer to the next.
Farmers have an interest in treating the land and other natural resources with respect. We need to support that work, providing incentives for conservations and tough, but fair, enforcement when pollution laws are violated.
Finally, rising health care costs threaten many farm families. Farmers should not have to choose between expanding their farms and health coverage for their families. My leadership in the State House of Representatives on health care issues demonstrates the role I will take as governor to significantly improve farmers’ ability to protect their families’ health.
Return to the Questions
D6)We recognize that we do not live in isolation: we are an interconnected and interdependent people. We want to live in a Minnesota where we are all in this together. We believe everyone in Minnesota should have quality affordable health care. Would you support an affordable and comprehensive public (non-HMO) health care option available to everyone in Minnesota?
Anderson-Kelliher: Yes, that’s why I support the Minnesota Health Care Plan.
Bakk: Possibly. I am a co-author of the Minnesota Health Plan that creates a single-payer system. I am not necessarily against a public option, but believe the single-payer system would ensure that all Minnesotans are covered.
Dayton: I support a national “Single Payer” health care system, which would eliminate the profiteering of the health insurance industry and the drug companies, which make health care so unaffordable and unavailable for so many millions of people. United Health Group, the country’s largest health insurance company, recently reported quarterly profits of almost $1 billion, a 30% increase from the previous year. By its own account, UHG pays only 82 cents for health care out of every health premium dollar it takes in. That’s immoral, and its documented refusal to pay for the legitimate health care needs of its beneficiaries is evil – and it should be illegal.
In the absence of meaningful health care reform in Washington, I will champion it in Minnesota. I salute Sen. John Marty for his visionary efforts to bring a state “Single Payer” system to Minnesota, and as Governor, I will work with John and others to create a Minnesota Single-Payer Program that will provide affordable health care for every person in our state.
Entenza: Yes. I believe strongly in a public option and have consistently stood up for Minnesota Care and voted to keep HMO’s non-profit.
Gaertner: Yes
Kelley: I believe ensuring all Minnesotans access to health care is a moral issue. As I travel the state and talk to Minnesotans about health care, I am profoundly struck by how “we are all in this together – we are an interconnected and interdependent people.” I meet Minnesotans in all corners of the state who are not getting access to the health care they need and/or are paying increasingly difficult rates for any access. I meet business leaders who are faced with the tough decision of cutting the health care options they offer their employees or cutting positions. I meet health care leaders that are being “punished” for their innovative, cost saving ideas because our current system will not reimburse their work because it is preventive. As Governor, I will work tirelessly to ensure all Minnesotans have access to comprehensive health care and that we have a system that rewards innovation, reduces costs, and improves health.
I am optimistic that Congress and the President will adopt national health care reform that will make major gains in covering all Minnesotans. Minnesota Care could be an effective public option made available to all Minnesotans, depending on the effects of any federal plan.
Marty: We must go further than a public health care "option." Because we are truly in this together, we need a health plan that treats us that way. We need a health care system that works, for everyone. That is why I authored the single-payer Minnesota Health Plan (MHP). The MHP is a single, statewide plan that would cover all Minnesotans for all their medical needs including dental care, prescriptions, optometry, mental health, chemical dependency treatment, medical equipment and supplies like insulin, hospice, home care services, immunizations and preventive care, and nursing home care. Equally important, it would reduce the need for costly medical care through public health, education, prevention and early intervention. Passing the MHP would be a top priority of my administration.
Rukavina: Yes, I support the public option. No one should have to make the choice between a roof over their head or food on their table or health care. And no family should have to go bankrupt in the unfortunate event of an illness in their family. If the federal government is unable to do something about this, the state will have to step up to the plate.
Rybak: Every Minnesotan, and every American, needs to have access to high-quality, affordable health care. We must have universal access to health-care services, and we must ensure that health care is affordable for everyone. This is both a moral and economic imperative. If we don't get control of health-care costs, we will never get control of our future.
In the world's richest country, it is morally wrong for people to suffer with illness and disease because they can't afford health care. And in the world's richest country, it makes no sense to cripple families, business and the public sector with skyrocketing health care costs.
This is our biggest challenge.
We must have national health-care reform. The results of the Massachusetts election may have thrown reform into flux, but our core goals are the same. First, we need universal access to affordable, high-quality care. People need to be able to count on their health care even if they move, change their job or get sick. People with pre-existing conditions must be able to get affordable coverage. Young adults should be able to stay their parents’ insurance plan.
Second, we need to pick up in Minnesota where federal reforms leave off. We can’t wait for the perfect solution: we need progress now toward universal coverage. That’s why I support immediately expanding coverage so that all kids are covered. I have strongly supported the public option in federal health-care reform because I believe that the competition it provides will help force down costs, expand choice and keep insurance companies honest. It would contribute to more efficiency in the system and help reduce the burden on small business. For this reason, if we do not get a public option in federal health-care reform, I am open to the idea of a Minnesota public option.
Thissen: Yes. This is the direction Minnesota should move: away from employer-based health care and with decision making restored to the doctor and patient.
Return to the Questions
D7) We reject the politics of “except” – a politics that says some people are not deserving of full participation in society. Will you support allowing Hmong Veterans, who were allies of America and the CIA in Laos during the Vietnam War, to be buried at Fort Snelling and/or in another Minnesota veterans burial site?
Anderson-Kelliher: Yes. We need to recognize the Hmong Americans and other people of Laos who were allies to the United States in the Vietnam War. Allowing them to be buried at Minnesota's veterans' burial sites would acknowledge and honor their service to our country.
Bakk: Yes.
Dayton: Definitely, YES. They earned that right.
Entenza: Yes
Gaertner: Yes. In the past, the United States has extended cemetery benefits to Filipino soldiers and guerrilla fighters from World War II. Hmong veterans who were U.S. Special Forces and CIA officers during the Vietnam War should get the same consideration
Kelley: When I was in the Legislature, a roadside bomb in Iraq killed one of my constituents, David Day. Due to a loophole in the law, his widow was going to lose out on death benefits because they hadn’t been married for a year. They were just 2 months shy of their first anniversary when David was killed. I fought to change the law so that David’s widow received the benefits and support that she deserved.
I would fight just as hard for the rights of ALL of our veterans, including the Hmong veterans who gave their lives. Honoring veterans means more than simply lauding them for their service, it means keeping the promise of health care, access to higher education, support systems, and proper burial.
Marty: Positively yes.
Rukavina: Absolutely!
Rybak: I am very proud to have earned the endorsement of the DFL Veterans Caucus, and welcome the opportunity to answer this question. Hmong soldiers and officers made significant sacrifices for American soldiers, and we owe them a dept of gratitude. We also owe them compassion and humanity. They fought alongside American soldiers, sacrificing their lives and helping to save thousands of American lives. They lost their homeland and after the war experienced terrible violence. They have asked for very little in return – to receive the services and honors that due to American veterans. This is the least that America can do to honor their sacrifice. A friend of mine who is a Veteran said to me, “I would be honored to be buried with the Hmong veterans and only hope that in the same situation I would have had the courage they did.” That, I think, says it all.
Thissen: Yes.
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