Nine candidates up for state house and representative seats during the Nov. 7 general election answered questions on agricultural issues Oct. 9. The forum, broadcast live on KFIL Radio and held in Preston, was sponsored by the Southeastern Minnesota Ag Alliance.
Those present were District 30 state senate candidate Scott Wright-R; District 31 state senate candidates Brenda Johnson-R, Kevin Kelleher-I and Sharon Erickson Ropes-DFL; District 30B house candidates Bill Kuisle-R and Andy Welti-DFL; District 31A house candidate Lewie Reiman-R; and District 31B house candidates Greg Davids-R and Ken Tschumper-DFL.
This article will highlight the races affecting Fillmore and Houston counties, which include challenger Ken Tschumper against incumbent representative Greg Davids, and a three-way race for the seat state Senator Bob Kierlin is vacating with candidates Brenda Johnson, Sharon Erickson Ropes and Kevin Kelleher.
Dave Kjome moderated the forum. Questions came from Jeff Eickhoff of Wykoff, a member of the Fillmore County Farm Bureau; Bill Rowekamp of Lewiston, of the Minnesota Milk Producers; and Kent Dornink of Preston, of the Fillmore County Pork Producers.
Senate race
Opponents for Senate District 31 said they bring a lot of experience to voters. All three are familiar faces at various government and public functions. DFL candidate Sharon Erickson Ropes said she's a registered nurse who wants to offer affordable healthcare, especially to farmers. She also is a Navy officer.
Kevin Kelleher, independent candidate, said he lives on a 214-acre farm, then he laughed and said it overlooked "Looney Valley." A Vietnam combat veteran, Kelleher has served on the Houston County Board of Commissioners for 16 years and has served in many state and national roles, including the National Association of Counties and serving as president of the Minnesota Association of Counties. He said he sees agriculture headed in two directions, large and small, and hopes to serve both.
Republican Brenda Johnson has been on the Chatfield City Council for more than eight years, serving as vice mayor for three years. She teaches economics and business. She's been on a number of statewide boards. She said she's been working with a group of eight area counties and has a grassroots, non-partisan support group. Johnson said she's looking for fair funding to cities and rural.
Representative race
Ken Tschumper, DFL, said he's a small dairy farmer on a farm his family has operated since 1867. He's owned the dairy farm for 30 years. He's a graduate of Winona State University. He said he's been active on a state ag committee. He spoke of taking on the high cost of healthcare and having the state become a leader in education.
Republican Greg Davids said he's running for his ninth term. He has chaired committees involving agriculture and rural development, as well as serving as speaker pro tem in the house. He noted he grew up on a farm in Sumner Township of Fillmore County, which today his family owns.
Debt service levies
The first question came from Eickhoff, asking about changing how farmland is viewed and taxed for debt service levies. For a school operating referendum just the house, garage and one acre are considered, while a building referendum is based on the whole farm acreage.
Tschumper said he sent a piece out to the Kingsland and Chosen Valley school districts on this very topic and he supports changing the laws. He is, however, concerned over shifting costs onto the property tax levies.
Davids said he supports the levy override. He supported a bill introduced by Randy Demmer that called for taxing a building referendum based on the home, barn, garage and one acre and 20 percent of the value. He noted farms used to be 80 acres and now are much bigger. But he is also concerned about shifting the tax burden to town and commercial entities.
Ropes said she's very protective of property taxes. She believes in taxing operating and building referendums on the same basis. She also liked an idea offered by former governor Jesse Ventura.
Kelleher noted that pretty much everyone was agreeing on how they felt it should be taxed. He noted the rural districts get the "short end of the stick," with $4,000 less per student from the state than in Minneapolis.
Johnson hoped to see it changed to reflect current conditions. She wants to see property tax relief and had an idea to put on a cap of $600,000 to $900,000. "I promote regionalism," she stated.
Healthcare costs
Rowekamp asked about skyrocketing healthcare costs, which cause a strain on small, rural businesses.
Ropes said healthcare and insurance concerns "are exactly why I'm running." She would like to see the concept of larger and larger insurance pools, which spread the risk.
Kelleher called the current system inefficient, especially with drug companies advertising to the general public and "making obscene profits." He noted they give money to politicians and that's one reason he's an independent candidate. He suggested coming up with a public/private partnership.
Johnson said farmers and small businesses need to be able to buy as a group. She didn't think one system or one payer would work and stated she has 17 (systems) she thinks Minnesota could use and then six more ways to reduce healthcare.
Davids talked about the use of tax credits. He noted there's a problem of affordability. He supports business and teacher pooling, saying that would really help a small school like Lanesboro, where one large claim can create problems.
Tschumper said he disagreed with Johnson and liked the single payer plan. He said then Minnesota could join states like Massachusetts, which offers that program. He noted that Minnesota has six HMOs - "six groups." He urged single payer universal health care as the solution to problems.
Transportation needs
Dornink asked about rural transportation needs and infrastructure, which has not kept up with the modernization of farming.
Discussion quickly turned to the MVST question that will be on the ballot. Its wording will say, "Do you approve amending the state constitution to allow no more than 60 percent of MVST revenue to go to roads and bridges and no less than 40 percent to transit?"
Kelleher said he takes issue with the question since it's a constitutional amendment. He noted it also will leave a $300 million "hole" in the general fund. He said he believes LGA (local government aid) would then be put on the chopping block. He supports MVST, as well as a gas tax increase and bonding for needs like those townships have.
Johnson noted that tax revenues are growing at a double-digit rate. She said she's not crazy about MVST. She'd like to see a motor vehicle sales tax brought in over a period of several years.
Ropes said transportation is a top concern, with a chronic failure to fund causing metro transit problems and the loss of lives on southeastern Minnesota roads. She would not vote for the MVST constitutional amendment.
Davids also would vote "no" regarding MVST, concerned all that money could go to metro transit needs. He also noted the $300 million hole it will leave in the general fund. He felt better about the 2006 bonding bill, which he felt left townships happier regarding transportation needs.
Tschumper said he would vote against MVST. He said he's against dedicating funds to anyone and also doesn't like its role in placing transit versus road needs. He supports up to a 10 percent gas increase.
Environmental review
Rowekamp asked about the role of environmental review when farmers are looking at zoning and permitting processes on their farms. "Many farmers don't want to go through the process," he stated.
Kelleher said "quality science and research" are needed on environmental risks. A person can go through the permitting process, be far into it and then find out the plan is not felt to be environmentally sound, a situation he did not like to see happen. "We need to change the mindset," he stated, noting the country needs farms both as food and energy producers. He cited a methane digester as an example of new technology. He suggested getting a clear vision of what's involved.
Johson said she didn't want to see Minnesota dairy farmers put at a disadvantage to other states and suggested providing resources, assistance and training, then identifying suitable acres for facilities, as well as developing safeguards. "It's a balance," she stated, while noting the karst terrain presents special concerns and needs special care.
Ropes stated that agriculture generates 70 percent of Minnesota's economics. She noted she probably had the least ag experience of any candidate at the forum, but also said she had a lot of experience bringing people together. "You need clarity in the process. Be fair, predictable and clear," she stated.
Davids noted again his ag committee background on the state level. He suggested adding value to livestock products. He said he supports the bi-partisan Feedlot Task Force. He wants to see townships be able to use state resources, but keep local control of their decisions.
Tschumper said he was a "real dairy farmer." He had worked on a Rudy Perpich dairy task force. He said he disagreed with Davids' "post mortem." He said he felt control was stripped in 2005. He said he feels Houston County does a good job with zoning. He also noted the pressure put on the Reiland dairy farm, which forced it out of Fillmore County.
Initiative and referendum
Dornink asked if the candidates supported offering the ability to have an initiative and referendum in Minnesota.
Davids first reponded to Tschumper about the last question, saying he did not strip local control, that it was "nonsense." He said he'd be against initiative and referendum, which could be "devastating" and give control to fringe groups and the split in the metro.
Tschumper said he also is opposed to initiative and referendum. He said it takes strong political parties and races to help frame issues.
Johnson said it sounds awfully good, but she's wary. "We are outnumbered here in rural Minnesota." She said it's hard enough at the Capitol as it is now, noting a few people can put together a glitzy campaign.
Ropes also is against the iniative and referendum. "We have a representative democracy. You hold us accountable." She spoke of having an exchange student from Switzerland, which has a direct democracy and noted the United States is too big a nation to do it.
Kelleher said he's "absolutely opposed." He noted people can be led by their peers to act on their behalf. He said if there had been initiative and referendum Alaska - "Seward's Folly" - would never have been purchased. He could see hunters and trappers be taken to task first by initiative and referendum, and agriculture second.
Ethanol subsidies
Eickhoff asked about uses for excess funds going to help ethanol plants.
Davids said he would like to keep funds going to the Department of Agriculture as the plants go offline. He noted his opponent had said there should be cuts in payments to ethanol. He said he had sponsored bills such as the one in 2005 which saw Minnesota as the first state in the nation to go to E20 gas. He noted that new ethanol plants don't get payments, just the first ones going online when the technology and ideas were new.
Tschumper said, "Continue the ethanol subsidy? What are we going to do with the money?" He said that investors in the Preston ethanol plant at 12,500 a share received $37,500 in 2005. He stated there was no need for "welfare queens" of this type. He called it an "unbelievable amount of money" and felt that $15 to $20 million would be well spent on rural schools.
Johnson supported keeping the funds going to ag, including alternate fuels and dairy tax credit. "Keep it in the ag economy," she stated.
Ropes said she's a fan of "energy independence." Noting there is much potential, she suggested rolling the funds into new technologies.
Kelleher responded to Tschumper, saying the early investors in ethanol took quite a chance and the government partnered with them. "We need to encouarge them to make investments. Pulling the rug out from under them is ridiculous."
Niche markets
Rowekamp asked about the role and support of niche markets, such as organic agriculture.
While this article does not focus on his district, Lewie Reiman led off saying if he knew more about organic farming, maybe he would be making more money. He felt it was a fad that had to do with "love, peace and flower children from the '60s," which had some audience members laughing, while others were bothered by the comment.
Johnson encouraged the crowd in good-natured laughter. She noted she'd spent a year on the Minnesota Dairy Initiative team helping the Kappers' family of Chatfield in setting up a business to bottle their own herd's milk and sell it. "They needed help in marketing and asked me to join the team. I feel the concept can make the niche market go," she stated.
Ropes said she agreed that "niche markets… and organic are here to stay."
Kelleher said he disagreed with Reiman, noting niche markets give a viable alternative to smaller farmers. Again, he stated he sees agriculture moving in two directions, smaller and larger. "The middle size is leaving," he said, "We should invest in both sides."
Davids also said he did not agree with Reiman. He pointed out ag boards he serves on and noted looking at other uses for farm products, such as lotion from soybeans and many other things. He believes in the work of the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI).
Tschumper said he felt a couple issues were paramount. Many started in the '80s. He said marketing "is the most important" factor. He noted more revenue is needed for the effort, but was not sure how to fund it at this point.
Non-point source pollution
Dornink asked about non-point source pollution, where agriculture is often cited as a contributor.
Davids said that ag is often blamed when not at fault. He noted farmers are "great stewards of the land." He also pointed out passage of the Clean Water Legacy act as a good step.
Tschumper noted the CWL is only one-quarter funded, at only $20 million. "I call for MPCA (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) changes," he stated, noting it's been a bad situation under Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He recalled the "tire burner" in Preston. He asked that decisions be based on "good science."
Johnson also cited the CWL. She wanted to make sure there is science behind any investigation, rather than finger pointing. She asked to find the sources, make sure of the reasons and fees, and make them help pay and move on.
Ropes said she thinks of pollution in terms of health and economy and asked for "good science" to prove challenges. She said if the polluter would be found, that entity should be held accountable. Mercury in the water and childhood asthma are two of her concerns.
Kelleher also asked to go with "quality science… bringing all to the table and hammering out a solution." He noted that farmers can't afford to be inefficient. He also noted the Center for Rural Policy and Development, a resource group he's put together.
Summary
In summarizing their positions in two minutes, Tschumper led off and again noted his family farm. He said his two big issues are healthcare and education. He noted that in addition to himself, the forum included two Democrats and six Republicans. "I thought we had eight liberals," he stated, noting everyone is "for" something, but did not know where the funding would come from. He said he does not like the shifting of funding to property taxes. He believes in local control of feedlots. He's opposed to the ethanol subsidy now that it's booming, saying it should have a commodity council and a check-off program.
Davids noted one issue was not discussed, dairy investment tax credit. He said it passed through committees, but the Senate did not pass it. Next year he said he hoped to change it to a "livestock" investment tax credit. He also said more commitment is needed to ethanol. "If they're making money, God bless them," said Davids.
Johnson said she's been on a number of state boards and committees and that her background is in a non-partisan grassroots group. She noted that Kierlin and Davids also are in it. She said she knows how to work regionally and is not a single issue candidate.
Ropes noted she's a registered nurse from Winona and the first generation off the farm."The ag I know is in my heart," she stated. She cited touring the Pro-Corn ethanol plant and visiting farms with her father. She called farming a "huge economic factor" and offered great respect. Ropes said she'd work to get people around the table to work for solutions on ag issues. She also noted she is the state president of the largest children's advocacy group in the state.
Kelleher pointed out there are over 45,000 registered voters in his district and that only 300 came to the county conventions. "That's the reason I run. Are there 25 or less people here? People are disenfranchised with the system. It's scary," he said. He stated there needs to be trust (in a candidate). The independent Kelleher said the politicians and parties have a stranglehold on political parties. He noted nine special sessions in the past 12 legislative years. The 2004/2005 bonding bill was $15 million more because there was no agreement. He also stated he was sorry that Farm Bureau did not allow him to interview for its possible endorsement. "I have a real resume," he stated.
