Dear readers
In an earlier age,  when people relied on their newspapers more than they do in the Internet era, before the 24-hour news cycle, the endorsement of the local newspaper was an extremely significant step on the way to being elected.
It is still significant in this day, when so many forms of media technologies help educate and bring the public to a
better place of understanding.
In this age where big companies are snatching up the ownership of newspapers, (and even alternative newspapers) their ability to act as a guardian of the underdog and the watchdog of democracy have been influenced and some would argue effectively compromised as they stand up for the financial interests of the corporate establishment.
 
Over the years The Reader has felt that obligation, and each election cycle we assemble a cross-section of our most experienced writers and editorial staff. We meet like most people,  to talk like interested people do, over coffee, over
a meal and a good beer. Not everyone has the same level of interest or knowledge of local politics so there is the
opportunity, just like in your homes and workplaces to learn something new and to rethink predetermined positions.

We encourage everyone to vote their conscience and vote wisely in an election that holds so much at stake for the
future of our country.  The point is: we get to choose. That is the birthright of each American citizen, no matter what our background. We all have the obligation to come together, to join the debate that ends in electing those who will be our voices in our government. What follows are our (hopefully) well reasoned endorsements, and we urge you to consider your choices and vote this election day.

Our panel comprised of the following contributors.
Robert Boone, 17 year publisher and editor of The Reader.
Paul Whyte,  feature writer for the Reader.
John Gilbert, 30 year veteran Star Tribune reporter, a Reader writer and radio talk show host.
Jane Hoffman, a contributing writer for The Reader with a Masters in Political Science
Forrest Johnson, Reader writer and 20 year editor of the Lake County Chronicle in Two Harbors.

Things aren’t getting any easier in America and the State of Minnesota faces a variety of challenges. No one person can solve every issue and making everyone happy is an impossibility in the world we live in today. The Reader sat down and reviewed the candidates participating in this upcoming election which will be held on November 4. We will try to explain what led us to our decision to endorse or not endorse certain candidates.

U.S. Senate
Al Franken

It was anyone’s guess how Al Franken would do in political office. Sure, he knew how to talk the talk with books like, “Why Not Me?” a book humoring the idea of him running for President in 2000. He’s been honing his political wit for years, but being smart doesn’t always get things done. We feel that Franken has also been able to walk the walk during his first term and is even better prepared for a second term.
While Franken does get our endorsement, there was some hesitation due to Franken’s stance on mining. At first, he seemed to be leaning towards being against mining, but then shifted to supporting mining, although not as adamantly as some of his opponents. In debates, Franken has taken heat for not pushing mining and pipelines more.
First, we had to just say no on Independent Tea Party leader, Steve Carlson. We will say that it was not fair for Carlson to be excluded from the Franken/McFadden debate held by the Duluth News Tribune and Chamber of Commerce earlier in October. Carlson did show up to the debate and didn’t make a scene while he was there, but was still put off and rightfully so. The Reader believes that independent candidates who are on the ballot should have a say in debates. The system seems to favor only the two party system, and while we’re not crazy about the Tea Party, a candidate should be able to voice their opinion,and contribute their ideas to the public.  
When it comes to Republican Michael McFadden, he sends up a lot of red flags that he is ultimately concerned about corporate interests. Michele Bachmann giving McFadden the thumbs up doesn’t really help his cause in our book either.  
The final candidate to consider is Heather Johnson, a young mother and writer who is endorsed by the Libertarian Party. If you check out her Facebook campaign site and look at her “personal information” you can see that she states that she is the “mother of two beautiful and intelligent girls,” and that’s actually all it says. You can then look at the profile picture and see her with two lovely girls. While we’re sure she is smart and a great mother with great kids, few a re likely to support her based on that alone.

Attorney General
Andy Dawkins

An Attorney General should be nonpartisan, so it makes sense to disregard the two party system with this endorsement. The Reader felt that many of the the Green Party’s candidates had good ideas, but that Andy Dawkins truly stood out.
Dawkins comes from a Democratic background of 15 years in state legislature. He also is a lawyer with 35 years of experience. Scott Newman-R and Lori Swanson-D are both qualified, but haven’t exactly put in the effort that Dawkins has. Despite this, Dawkins will not be allowed to debate along with them and Independence Party candidate Brandan Borgos on this Saturday’s debate on KSTP-TV down in St. Paul. Even the Republican candidate, Newman, officially recognized Dawkins as being worthy of being part of the debate.
Dawkins has been incredibly proactive in sharing what he will do as Attorney General, even making trips to Duluth to make appearances at environmental forums. While many candidates often come off as a little vague on where they stand, Dawkins spells out his positions right down the line.   
Dawkins puts people over corporations, “It’s about economic justice. It’s a matter of being smart about money. We shouldn’t let Sam Walton and his wife get rich using taxpayer subsidies -- food stamps, and medical assistance -- as a substitute for paying living wages. That’s corporate welfare.”
Dawkins doesn’t trust that corporations like PolyMet or Twin Metals will keep Minnesota’s water clean, and that irresponsible mining is inevitable and the mess will be left for Minnesotans to clean up, “If mining company execs and major stockholders were actually responsible for any and all damage they cause, then maybe I’d believe them when they make all these promises.” He has similar views on the Enbridge Pipeline.
Dawkins believes that laws against cannabis has cost otherwise innocent people too much, “ Government should stay out of our private lives so long as we do no harm to others, and focus its efforts on defending and restoring justice. As your top legal officer, on behalf of all Minnesotans, I will demand that we address the cannabis issue with a real solution, including (a) the repeal of Minnesota’s cannabis prohibition laws so that responsible uses of cannabis by adults are no longer subject to penalty, and (b) subjecting cannabis to regulation of production, sale and use, similar to the way we regulate alcohol and tobacco.”
When The Reader asked him about wolf hunting in Minnesota, he replied, “let the wolves live.”
While new mining and pipeline projects will probably end up in Minnesota, it is important for an Attorney General to scrutinize and regulate each step for the safety of our waters. Dawkins has the drive and experience to make sure Minnesota is a better place for people and not corporations.

Minnesota House District 3B
Mary Murphy

The Reader felt both Wade Fremling and Mary Murphy had good points. Both wished to focus on transportation and improve it. Fremling supports both  mining and the Sandpiper pipeline in Minnesota. Although we recognize that Minnesota does have a need for jobs, we’re uncertain if a few hundred jobs will be worth the possible environmental impacts that could result. If, and most likely when, things go wrong then no one is going to have any jobs except for those on clean up duty.
We feel that Mary Murphy has supported the Minnesota work force in other ways and has created improvements in her last term and deserves to continue on with her work. Mary Murphy wrote us:

I’m running for re-election to the MN House of Representatives to finish what we started and I think that will take at least four more years.  I believe the 2013-14 sessions were the most productive since the Minnesota Miracle of the 1970’s.
When we began in January of 2013, Minnesota faced a $600 million deficit, we owed our schools over $800 million and property taxes were rising.  We set priorities and took the state in a different direction, by investing in hardworking families and middle income Minnesotans.
Legislation was enacted that balanced the budget and created reserves higher than ever.  We paid back the money borrowed from our schools.  The Homestead Tax credit was reinstated and property taxes  were reduced for many families.  Wages increased for nursing home workers and home health care workers.  The economy is changing for the better and new jobs are being created statewide.
I am hearing that Education should continue to be our first priority.  We should continue investing in our students from the very youngest to freezing tuition and supporting the state grant program for college students.  We must seek creative ways to reduce student debt…
The next issue should be the development of a bipartisan, statewide, comprehensive transportation plan that improves our roads, bridges, and public transit.
Thank you for giving me the privilege of representing you.  It is an honor to serve.

Minnesota House District 3A
Eric Johnson

While Eric Johnson seems to be taking a more conservative approach, he is all about the Northland and is an avid fisherman and lover of what this area has to offer. He is driven to help people and make sure this area continues to thrive and grow. We asked him his thoughts about running for this office:

Northern Minnesota is the land where I was born and raised. I have and always will call it home. I decided to run because I love the people, communities, and our way of life here in Northern Minnesota and am tired of seeing our jobs, our populations and the way of life that we all love being eroded by bad policy from St. Paul.
Are you better off than you were two years ago? Are you feeling the recovery? How about those electric bills? How about those grocery bills? Life here in House District 3A isn’t what you are seeing reported on state and national media and there is a reason for that.
I’m Eric Johnson and I am running to be your representative in the Minnesota House. I’m running because our state representative is ignoring our problems. He voted for billions of dollars of new taxes and voted to build sports stadiums, rail lines, bike trails, new college buildings and a very expensive new building for legislators—all in the Twin Cities.
From 2009-2013 our representative voted against the taxpayers on every tax vote. Every time.
I am a Northern Minnesota businessman with deep involvement in a number of civic organizations. I own International Dental Arts and understand the impact of votes taken in St. Paul on this area’s economic vitality. I see a strong need to have less of St. Paul in Northern Minnesota and more Northern Minnesota in St. Paul.
This area is home; it has been very good to me and my family. We need not continue being the bastard child of Twin Cities social, political and economic schemes. We have a quality of life worth fighting for and a rural work ethic that needs to be enabled; not strangled by state regulations. Our logging industry needs to be celebrated; not regulated. Our tourism industry needs to be grown, honed and cloned; not disowned by apathetic legislators.

Minnesota House District 7B
Erik Simonson

Erik Simonson is just badass. He’s a fire fighter, all about infrastructure, he’s cool with police having body cams, he’s on the environmental issues, he’s made surpluses grow and has used them towards education and other things that Minnesotans actually need.

So Simonson seems like he has this position pretty much under control, and we have no problem with endorsing him. We looked into his opponent, Travis Silvers, and this is the only thing we could find about him on his Facebook campaign page. On his page under the “about me” section, it simply states, “I run my own business and I love Jesus.” We guess both of those things are admirable, but why in the world would someone running for office just write one sentence? ONE SENTENCE!!! We’ve had Facebook invites to backyard BBQs with more information than this and we’re talking about PUBLIC OFFICE here! What’s the deal? Is he just running to pad his resume’ so he can say that he once ran for public office and all he did was make a Facebook page with one sentence on it? It gets better: he included his religious views and it just states, “see Bible.” This is the most most ridiculous campaign page we’ve ever seen. Nothing about your background, education, no specific information about how running a business would make him qualified for the job. If the amount of work he put into this page reflects what he’ll do for this office, we’re going to have to pass.

Minnesota House District 6B
Jason Metsa

We’re going to go with DFL candidate and current representative, Jason Metsa, in this race. We haven’t read anything about him screwing up in the newspaper and he seems like a good guy. Upon looking him up on the Minnesota House of Representatives, it says that he’s single. We didn’t really think that official government websites could also be good for letting everyone know you’re single, but it doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Metsa is an alright looking guy, he’s made his way up to this position on his own, he doesn’t need a doting wife or loving kids. Those are just a distraction. His opponent, Matt Matasich, on the other hand, we hope this guy is married. He looks like someone’s creepy uncle. Go ahead, type this is in, http://www.mnhrcc.com/members/matt-matasich-6b. Everything about the guy just spells out creepy uncle. We’re sure he’s a nice Republican guy, but he ain’t got nothing on Metsa. Metsa is hot, single and ready to rock a second term.

Minnesota House District 6A
Carly Melin

This race is between two DFL candidates, John Finken and the incumbent, Carly Melin. Both seem to support mining and generally want the same things overall. Melin has done nothing to indicate she should lose the post.

Secretary of State Race
Steven Simon

Looking at Dan Severson’s life, his impeccable military service and highly driven pursuit towards achievement, few could doubt his ability to serve.  He received 9 military commendations in 22 years of active Navy duty.  He has a degree in Physics and helped develop a patent using light emitting diodes in free space communication.  He has served 8 years in the Minnesota State legislature.  He closed in on Mark Ritchie and lost by 3 percentage points in his last run for Secretary of State.  His major faux paux has been criticizing the legitimacy of Al Franken’s recount and the re-election of Barack Obama.  For that he has been known for foot in mouth disease.  He stated that Al Franken’s 2008 election may have been marred by voter fraud.  It would be a slap in the face to the over 1,300 volunteers who hand counted those election results and didn’t bypass any procedures. Despite his clear competentcies, this suggests he would have a difficult time serving the office in an unbiased fashion.

Steven Simon, the Democratic endorsed candidate, was elected to the Minnesota House in 2004 and is chairman of the House Elections Committee.  He was a chief sponsor of a Minnesota bill which caught the title of a “no excuses” absentee voting system which garnered bi-partisan support.  Simon wants to expand early voting systems that is a popular movement in other states.  Severson likes the idea of express lane voting but would give preference to voters who have state issued IDs.  Those without IDs would have to go through a longer registration process.  Critics who don’t like the separate but equal treatment of those with IDs vs. those without can compare the ideology to why Al Gore lost in 2000.  He only asked for four Florida counties to be recounted and the U.S. Supreme Court said it was unfair under the Equal protection clause. ID requirements have been a hot topic in the 2014 Midterm elections nationwide.   

Another candidate for office is Independent candidate Bob Helland.  He is a former state employee from St. Paul.   Sporting a bow tie and longer hair on his webpage, he tediously compares the efficiency of online voting systems accessing state identity verification. The thrust of his campaign is to counter the purported lack of knowledge Simon has in alternative state voting systems tried elsewhere.  Helland states: “In sum, this type of proposal really shows that Rep. Simon lacks the executive experience to know how to work within the constitutional and statutory capabilities of the role to improve our elections conduct, maintain system integrity and service the other important functions of the Office of Secretary of State, like the business services division. I pledge to restore the full function of the Office of Secretary of State, restore the independent integrity of the position by staying away from political feuds, avoiding using the political “bully pulpit” and focusing on high-performance execution.”   His website is a little dense and we doubt Steven Simon is radically bucking the system by suggesting that Delaware’s low cost voting system might be a good model…  Helland’s IT knowledge does seem more thorough than either of the other candidates.


Minnesota State Supreme
Court Justice Race
Wilhelmina M. Wright,
incumbent

If being elusive were an advantage, John Hancock would be favored to trump Wilhelmina Wright, a Black female Minnesota Supreme Court Justice who has already served 2 years in the State Supreme Court.    Associate Justice Wilhelmina M. Wright has an accomplished legal mind.  She is unlikely to go down to a contender who won’t disclose his financial earnings, has only practiced law intermittently in the state and does not even have a Minnesota residence.  Justice Wilhelmina Wright  is a graduate with honors from Yale University in 1986. She received her juris doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1989.   With those credentials and an appointment by Mark Dayton to the Supreme Court in September, 2012, there is little doubt about her capability to serve.  Jesse Ventura had also appointed Wright to the Minnesota Court of Appeals from 2002 to 2012.  Previously she served as a trial judge on the Ramsey County District Court in Saint Paul. She has served as a member of the Minnesota Judicial Council, the Minnesota Courts Public Trust and Confidence Work Group, and the MSBA Task Force on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct.

John Hancock, Wright’s challenger  and Nebraska resident, does not have a webpage for his Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Campaign. Mr. Hancock graduated from Hamline School of Law in St. Paul and maintained a private practice in bankruptcy, real estate and family law. He only responds by email and he won’t give media interviews. Possibly his training and current position in the Department of Homeland Security has made him  paranoid, but in order to be considered for high office, The Reader believes one must be visible and accountable.  Hancock stated that running for Supreme Court Justice will “make a difference in people’s lives to ensure and to provide justice of the citizens of Minnesota.”  His hopes are high and perspective jaded as he currently lives in Nebraska.


Governor
Mark Dayton

Some might say Mark Dayton is just a politician who was born with a silver spoon, but his actions has defied his privilege. In 2010, Dayton actually fought to increase taxes on the state’s highest earners and clashed with Republicans over it. This resulted in Minnesota Government shutdown, a ridiculous display of politics, but in 2013, Dayton signed a tax bill raising the taxes on upper-income earners.”My feeling is, everybody ought to pay their fair share of taxes. If you make more, you pay more; if you make less, you pay less,” stated Dayton during a March 2013 speech in Duluth.
Dayton has supported gay marriage and many same sex couples can give him a little thanks for taking that stance because gay marriage is now legal in the state.
If you find his main oppenent, Jeff Johnson, and click on his “issues” you’ll find just “MNsure” and “Education.” We aren’t saying that healthcare and education aren’t important, but we feel Johnson could have spent a little more time on filling out this section on his website. He is of course all about attracting business to Minnesota. He was quick to criticize Dayton on delaying on the $2.6 billion Sandpiper oil pipeline expansion claiming it was “the latest slight on Greater Minnesota.” So wait, if a politician isn’t fast enough to hurry pipelines through the area, he’s slighting the area? The setback was due to a study about how the pipeline would affect the area. We strongly question politicians who do not question. If there absolutely must be pipelines and mining, then there absolutely should be studies to make sure they are as safe as possible and pass the most strict of regulations. If you don’t agree with us on that view, go down to the Gulf of Mexico and ask a fisherman.



Minnesota House District 7A
No Endorsement

 Becky Hall, a frequent seeker of office under the Republican and Tea Party banner, and Jennifer Schultz, a political newcomer and UMD professor running on the DFL platform have both run solid campaigns for state representative. Surprisingly, they have been joined by Kris Osbakken running a strong campaign on the Green Party platform. Osbakken has been a regular contributor to The Reader for several years. When she entered the race we suspended accepting her writing contributions, but still feel it is appropriate  recuse ourselves in this race.



County Commissioner
District 1
Frank Jewell

Another hard fought race, this one between incumbent Frank Jewell and challenger Jim Booth. Jewell have been a long term community activist. The Reader has not always believed that Duluth needs to send an endless stream of liberals into government, and as such was wary of supporting Jewell last time around. Jewell, however, has worked hard and really not set a foot wrong during his freshman term; and as such and deserves an opportunity to return to office. We looked upon Jim Booth with some optimism, after all, if the Duluth News Tribune slammed him it must mean he is doing something right…Booth has turned in an impressive campaign and should be encouraged to return to the political arena in the future.