AITKIN — Carrie Ruud of Breezy Point won the Republican endorsement for the Senate District 10 seat Saturday, but not without a few political twists and turns.
Since Ruud was the only announced candidate for the seat, her endorsement had been expected to be handled quickly before delegates moved on to two contested races for House districts 10A and 10B.
That changed when Darrel Palmer, president of the Central Lakes All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) Club, urged Republicans not to endorse Ruud Saturday because of her support of legislation during her one-term stint in the Minnesota Senate. The legislation, he said, restricted motorized vehicle use in the outdoors. Describing himself as a hunter and outdoorsman, the resident of Lake Edward Township in Crow Wing County suggested Republicans continue looking at other options for the Senate endorsement.
Ruud responded by stating that Minnesota has done a great job with the ATV issue and that there were many more miles of trails than there were 10 years ago. She also emphasized the importance of communication in politics and said “hijacking a candidate is not how we communicate.”
Palmer’s motion to have no endorsement made in the Senate race failed on a voice vote. A motion to suspend the rules and allot 10 minutes to discuss the issue also failed. Discussion revolving around Palmer’s concerns delayed the process by more than the 10 minutes he had requested.
Ruud, 60, was endorsed on a voice vote after the rules requiring a paper ballot were suspended.
In comments after her endorsement Ruud said it had been more than six years since she had worked on any legislation regarding ATVs — an issue she described as a tough one. She said she was an author of 2003 legislation that instituted a process for trails to be established, provided support for ATV clubs and authorized the DNR to assess trails.
Palmer, who said he attends the same church as Ruud, said his opposition to endorsing her was not personal. The Region 3 director of the ATV Association of Minnesota, Palmer said Ruud did not spell out her views on the ATV issue in her comments at Saturday’s convention at the Westside Church buildings in Aitkin.
In her acceptance speech, Ruud described herself as pro-life from conception to natural death; co-author of the Personal Protection Act and a strong believer in the Second Amendment; a small business owner; a former Breezy Point mayor and District 4 state senator; and a state Realtor of the Year. She also said she was a church member, a wife, a mom, a grandmother, a great-grandmother and a devoted daughter to her parents who were both 96-year-old World War II veterans.
“I believe I have the experience, work ethic and drive to make Minnesota an even better place to live,” she said.
Holding a copy of Wednesday’s Brainerd Dispatch, she cited the headline “Jobless rates tick up in February” and stated: “This must end.”
The newly drawn District 10, which includes Aitkin County and the majority of Crow Wing County, has much to offer employers, Ruud said, including a well educated work force, medical facilities, educational opportunities, airports, agricultural opportunities, industrial parks and recreational opportunities.
“This is a place to build a future and raise a family,” she said, calling for Minnesota to take the stumbling blocks out of the way of the business community.
She termed Minnesota’s high corporate income tax rate and death tax rate and overall tax burden as unacceptable. Ruud called for the repeal of the statewide business tax.
Ruud was elected to the state Senate in 2002 and served one term.
Eighty-eight delegates — 42 from House District 10A and 46 from House District 10B were seated for the Senate District 10 endorsing convention. The DFL endorsed candidate for Senate District 10 is Taylor Stevenson of Baxter.
MIKE O’ROURKE may be reached at 855-5860 or mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com. He may be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MikeORourkenews.
Comments (10)
Add commentTwo great candidates
They have distinct differences. It is going to be an interesting race.
How can Carrie Ruud compete against
Stevenson when all she has to show for herself is state Senator, mayor, business owner, and Realtor; while Tay has, um, well he's, uh, oh nothing! So much for his "lifes" experience. Good luck Carrie!!
Carrie Ruud
ATV's will also bring money to the area.
If you are making
a criminal accusation, I suggest you prove it now.
rude
at the convention palmer was RUDE! his ATV trail in every ditch and yard is getting old! we pay enough for trails most of us don't use. as for the timeshare thing-prove it or shut up!
Breezy Point
All you have to do is sit at the end of the bar at JJ's and you will hear more than you care to know, from the Breezy Point areas most prominant business people.
Correcting Misinformation
Pelicanfish makes some serious accusations which I feel I must respond to. First of all my husband and I own Lakes & Leisure Realty along with our partner Jim. We have been in business over 25 years. We have no financial investment in Narveson Management. It is true that I have been working on timeshare legislation but it has absolutely nothing to do with owners giving their timeshares back. The Timeshare Associations of which there are 14 in Breezy Point and consist of 12,000 owners came to me because of my real estate and legislative background. With the down turn in the economy, timeshare associations are faced with record numbers of foreclosures on timeshare weeks. The Associations in Breezy Point are unique in that their timeshares are Torrens title instead of abstract, the only ones in Minnesota. Because of this, clearing the titles of foreclosed timeshare weeks can cost upwards of $5,000 and the units on average are worth approx $400.00. The economic viability of the Time Share Associations is critical to the City of Breezy Point. The units are used for conventions, weddings, vacations, reunions etc etc. Hundreds of jobs depend on them. We have been working with a very talented local attorney, the Examiner of Titles and others to come up with a solution. The Minnesota Bar Association Real Property Division was very helpful with the technical aspect. The timeshare owner in the foreclosure process is given every due process of the law. At the end of the foreclosure process instead of the extra Torrens process called a “proceeding subsequent” the Examiner of Titles would be able to examine the foreclosure process and if it was completed to all Minnesota state statues and satisfied the law a new certificate would be allowed to be issued. This would save the Associations apprx $2,000-2,500 per timeshare week and allow the associations to get the week resold and a new owner paying dues so that can become economically healthy again. Currently there are over 100 timeshare weeks at this point of the process. The legislation has had great support and has passed unanimously in the Senate Judiciary and House Civil Law committees, the floor of the Senate and currently is waiting to be heard on the floor of the House which we hope will happen this week. If you would like to look it up it is SF 2184. It is a great piece of legislation to help my City.
My closing thoughts would be that maybe Pelicanfish spend a little less time on a barstool
but how do you profit? or do
but how do you profit? or do you just poke poor people in the eye? you're a republican, thus evil ... c'mon come clean?
Don't expect pelicanfish
to come back with a sensible answer.
Answer the Question
Carrier Ruud, you seam to have a lot of time to answer the comment from Pelican how about answering the question that was asked from Mr. Palmer. What is your stance on motorized recreation? Seams that last time you ran for office you promised to expand motorized recreation but once you made it in you flipped and where very apposed to it.