The challenger called for less government while the incumbent called for less partisanship.
Republican Chris Kellett of Brainerd and Rep. John Ward, DFL-Baxter, emphasized different points Tuesday as they addressed a crowd of about 20 at the Brainerd Lakes Area League of Women Voters’ candidate forum in the music room at Central Lakes College in Brainerd.
Kellett, a small business owner in her first run for public office, said it was time for the district’s epidemic of high unemployment and foreclosure figures to end.
“This has to stop,” she said.
She called for government to be reduced and regulations to be streamlined and noted her support for gun and property rights.
“I’ll work hard to protect your freedom,” she said.
Ward pointed to extreme partisanship as a problem at the Legislature which eventually led to a government shutdown that hurt people.
“We need people who are willing to compromise,” he said. “We need to come together eventually.”
Addressing a question on encouraging employment, Kellett favored lowering taxes for everyone and cutting the maze of government red tape.
“We need to have good incentives for businesses to grow,” she said.
Ward pointed to his efforts in the past six years to create and retain jobs. He said bonding bills have played a role in establishing the mountain biking trails near Crosby that have helped that community’s economy. He said he authored bills to help small businesses including one that made the late tax penalty for businesses the same as the penalty for private payments.
“Education is critical to job growth as well,” Ward said.
The retired teacher’s plan for Minnesota to move forward would not rely on accounting tricks or borrowing from Minnesota’s students, he said. Instead, he said, it would include the use of revenue, wise cuts, reform and redesign of government and a long-term stable plan with fair and progressive taxes.
Kellett said she’d like to see an independent panel look at where Minnesotans’ money was going. She said Minnesota has more than 52,000 state employees and the system is top heavy with many earning substantial salaries.
Their philosophies on fighting invasive aquatic species differed with Kellett emphasizing education rather than fines. She said she didn’t think people were going out and purposely endangering the lakes.
Ward said he helped pass a bill that increased penalties, noting that 70 percent of state boaters were violating the laws regarding invasive aquatic species. He also said he recently hosted a forum on this topic that brought together DNR and lake association officials.
Ward said he is opposed to the voter ID amendment. Kellett was in favor of it.
“Using the state Constitution to take away rights — that is wrong,” he said. “I can’t go along with it. Voting is a right that needs to be defended in the Constitution not restricted in our Constitution.”
Kellett disagreed stating there was a problem with fraud.
“Nobody will be disenfranchised,” she said if the voter ID amendment is approved. She said seniors will get state IDs and the only people who will not get to vote are those who should not be voting.
Kellett said she’ll vote yes on the marriage amendment while Ward will vote no. The Republican candidate said she was glad the people would get to decide this rather than judges. Ward said although he agrees with the state statute banning gay marriage he believes the amendment is a discriminatory action.
MIKE O’ROURKE, associate editor, may be reached at 855-5860 or mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com. He may be followed at www.twitter.com/MikeORourkenews.
Comments (11)
Add commentKellett , Your Stand on Ballot Amendments will be your undoing !
Besides the fact your running against a guy who in unbeatable.
So Kellet is going to create
So Kellet is going to create jobs by lowering taxes on everyone. OK....how does that work? What is she going to do to make sure that the money that is kept in the pockets of business owners (and individuals who might become business owners) is going to be used to hire someone else for a job? I mean, if the company has 100 widgets in the warehouse already that they can't sell because there is no demand, why are they going to hire someone to make more widgets?
This is trickle down economics and it doesn't work. It hasn't worked yet, and it's not going to work...EVER.
I would like to hear how Kellet's idea of cutting taxes will translate into more jobs. How many dollars of tax cuts will equal 1 job?
She also wants an independent panel to find out where Minnesota's money is going. A good idea, actually. Always good to know where the money is going. But...who is going to pay for it? Can't expect this independent panel to work for free. So she tells you she would like to cut taxes AND she would like to increase expenses. How, exactly, does she plan to make that work? I've been trying it with my checkbook at home for years, and believe me I can't find any way to pay more bills with less money. If she has a solution of how to make that mathematically feasible, I'd love to hear it.
Are the thumbs down because
Are the thumbs down because you can't answer the questions?
thumbs
I just gave a thumbs down because I disagree with you.
My criteria for the thumbs is agree/disagree.
Okey
Perhaps that business will use the money to hire a salesman to sell those 100 widgets or a marketing specialist to generate interest (real or imagined, remember the pet rock?) in those widgets.
Dean, Hmmm.....maybe they
Dean, Hmmm.....maybe they will. I contend that it is more likely that the money retained from the tax cut will just be put in the business owner's pocket and called an increase in profit (or decrease in the cost of doing business). I contend this because that is what has empirically happened (past behavior is a good indicator of future behavior).
Sadie, what exactly did you disagree with? Do you disagree that constituents should ask questions? Do you disagree that candidates should be expected to have a game plan? Or do you think that trickle down economics works?
I have been trying hard to find out what Kellet's game plan is. I want to know WHAT she is planning to do and HOW she is planning to do it. And I want to know WHEN I can expect to see the positive results in my life.
So far, I've gotten nothing. Her entire campaign strategy is to try to make John Ward look bad. As an aside she wants to cut taxes to make jobs appear and she wants to fund programs left and right. I still want to know HOW she's planning to do that.
Seriously, Okey, do you really think rich people run around
...with money overflowing from their pockets? Of course they don't. They invest it, either in other businesses or their own, or they spend it, which also helps our economy. No rich person I've ever known keeps their profits in their pockets, a shoe box, or a mattress. The best way to redistribute their wealth is to sell them something they want.
If a small business wants to
If a small business wants to be successful, they have to
put money into their business. That is what we did in the way of equipment, buildings, employees/benefits, customer service. If you have competition, you have to be one step ahead of that. You increase advertising, better bookkeepimg methods,depending on the business - hire a salesman.
You can't afford not to re-invest in your own business.
Delivery service, increase the area you sell to, that is what I remember from our business right now, but sure there is more.
About John Ward- I don't think Chris can make him look bad as most people think he is great. No need to worry about that.
The business owners that I know in this state do/would put the extra money into the business if for no other reason-competetion.
If that's true, then why,
If that's true, then why, during a period of sustained tax cuts to business owners, corporations, and the wealthy have we had record lay-offs, significant unemployment and an economic recession? Furthermore, the gap between the "rich" and the "poor" has expanded and the middle class has shrunk.
Answer: The monies retained due to tax cuts were not used to employ American people.
That's what's happened in the past and that's a pretty good indicator of how things will work in the future. You know what they say about the definition of insanity, right?
But that's what makes me curious. I hear the same old same old, theory of trickle down economics from Kellett, but it hasn't worked in any form yet. What is her plan to make it different enough to work this time? That's what I want to know.
" The monies retained due to
" The monies retained due to tax cuts were not used to employ American people."
no ... they were used to try and keep the damned doors open.
I don't understand why you think all business owners are evil. profit is not evil, business people are not evil, tax cuts are not evil.
If you want "positive results in my life" make them yourself. It's not my responsibility to make your life positive. If you hinge your happiness on government ... you're f@#ked!