Posted: 7/27/04
Candidates in 31B house race answer questions at forum
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Greg Davids and Peggy Hanson mixed humor with serious answers in a candidatesí forum for the Minnesota House District 31B race on July 21. About 80 people attended the event at the Four Seasons Community Center in Caledonia. The Houston County Township Officers Association sponsored the two-hour-long meeting during its quarterly meeting.
Hanson said her main focus would be access to affordable health care. ěPeople bring that up all the time,î she said, adding that she had walked 118 miles in her campaign so far.
ěI walked 119 miles,î Davids said when it was his next turn to speak. There was a lot of good-natured bantering between the them, although they were critical of each other at several points.
Davids said that K-12 education equity between rural and metro Minnesota was one of his top priorities, along with adequate funding of nursing homes, and adequate local government aid.
Heartland questions
Township association board members Wayne Feldmeier, Dick Markos, Andre Moen, and Teresa Walter took turns reading questions that audience members had written on cards.
The Heartland Tire Burning plant in Preston brought the most questions. People wanted to know the candidatesí stands on doing an Environmental Impact Statement for the plant, and whether they thought it should qualify for the JOBZ program.
Davids, responding first, said that his father-in-law, Robert Maust, is the person proposing to build the plant.
Davids said it is too late to do an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the plant, but that he signed a bill for doing an EIS for any future projects like it.
As for JOBZ, which offers tax abatements for up to 12 years in exchange for job creation, Davids said people should use the ěbut forî test, which asks the question, ěBut for the JOBZ program, would there be development there?î He said taxes were not there for the Heartland plant in the first place.
Davids said he has no position on Heartland, and has recused himself from votes on it, even though quite a few people have asked him to support it.
Davids said he supported the ethanol plant that was built in Preston. ěDonít you think if Iíd been behind the Heartland Tire Burning Plant it would be built by now?î he asked.
Hanson said she asked the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to do an EIS on Heartland in October of 2002. She said the MPCA is going to issue a revised setting of fact soon, which will be followed by more public comment.
Regarding JOBZ and the ěbut forî test, Hanson said Maust is on record in 2001 as stating that he wasnít seeking tax subsidies, so that raises questions of whether Heartland would have proceeded without tax increment financing.
The plant will create 23 jobs at $10.37 per hour, with no requirements for benefits, Hanson said.
She also challenged Davidsí statement that he did not have an opinion on Heartland. He helped get the bill for it introduced, she said, and voted for it in the omnibus tax bill in 2001.
Gay marriage
Davids said that he did not support gay marriage. He voted for a bill that would have put the question of having a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages on the November ballot. (The vote was defeated in a senate committee this year.)
Hanson said she did not support amending the constitution for this. The state has a statute stating that marriage is between a man and a woman. Judges interpret the constitution, she said, adding, ěThe sky is not falling in Minnesota.î
The constitution vs. the 10 Commandments
The last question of the night asked which should come first, the 10 commandments or the constitution.
Davids gave a simple answer: the 10 commandments.
Hanson said that the constitution protects the 10 commandments, so people can have both. ěThe constitution protects your right to worship or not worship as you see fit,î she said. Her response drew the only applause of the night.
General comments
Hanson listed three principals in her opening comments: strong local government;, stable state-local fiscal relationship, and people working together in collaboration.
Davids said in his opening comments that his Christian faith, and his family are big parts of his life. He said he believes in the mission in Iraq, and that freedom has a price. He stressed the importance of agriculture several times, and said farm commodities should be processed in the area.
Davids said several times during the event that his seniority was important in helping the district. He has served in the house for 14 years. Urban lawmakers outweigh rural ones 68-32 percent, Davids said, and if seniority is lost, rural Minnesota will have a much tougher row to hoe.
Hanson acknowledged that seniority is important, but that she knows her way around the legislature. Political clout is gained by empowering people, she said. She talked about her experience as a staff member of the League of Minnesota Cities and the Association of Minnesota Counties.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com