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More 7B Minnesota Legislative Forums to Come!Answering the Question: Who Will Follow Jaros?
Back in 1972, Mike Jaros cut up pieces of plywood and painted “Jaros” in big red letters on them. Before the signs had a chance to dry, the first-time candidate for the Minnesota Legislature began putting up his homemade campaign signs in yards around Duluth. The red letters ran, and today Jaros speculates with a chuckle that he won that election in part because his signs got a lot of attention—they were simply the homeliest yard signs anyone had ever seen.
Now, 36 years later, Mike Jaros is the third most senior member of the Minnesota House, and, with his impending retirement, replacing him will be a big challenge for the voters. With only three months to prepare for the September 9 Primary, seven candidates have stepped into the race, for this seat that covers central and western Duluth and Park Point. That’s a lot of speedy sifting of political views for the voters in Legislative District 7B to take on, and it’s for that reason Progressive Action hosted a candidate forum Wednesday evening, August 13.
True, for many it’s not easy to focus on politics when the summer sun is shining and there are fish to be caught. But as we’ve seen in a number of state House and Senate races in our area, who we vote for today can determine who represents us at the state capitol for many years to come.
The forum took place in the City Council Chambers and was the first opportunity in this brief election to see all of these candidates side-by-side. And although 90 minutes was a short period of time to get the full flavor of all of the candidates, Progressive Action worked hard to put together questions that would truly reveal the candidates’ positions, on a variety of issues. Candidates did not receive the questions in advance, so it was an opportunity to hear their answers fresh. And attendees were given the opportunity to submit their own written questions.
Five DFL candidates are in the running for this seat in the Minnesota Legislature. Just keeping all the names straight can be a challenge, let alone their views on what to cut to balance the state budget or how to shore up our state’s ailing infrastructure. They are Brandon Clokey, Roger Reinert, John Derbis, Marsh Stenersen, and Daniel Maryland. The race includes Republican candidate Allan Kehr as well, plus Independence candidate Jay Cole. As the names will clue you, there are no women in the race, in this city that in particular of late has suffered a scarcity of female political contenders. That’s something we in Progressive Action are working to change.
In Representative Mike Jaros’s 32 years in office (he had a 4-year hiatus in 1980 to go to Washington D.C. for Foreign Service training), he’s served under six governors and helped oversee the “Minnesota Miracle,” the legislation that overhauled the funding of local government around Minnesota and the state’s funding of school districts. He was there as Duluth transformed over the years into a major tourism area and for the securing of millions in state funds for projects like the DECC renovation and UMD expansion. He is perhaps best known, however, for his support for programs for the poor and disadvantaged. As an immigrant from Bosnia in his youth, Jaros, now 64, says he’s been there and knows what it is to be poor. When Jaros leaves his Legislative seat, he will leave behind the unique life history that formed his political beliefs and lead him to vote as he did in those 32 years in office.
Whether Jaros’s successor at the state capitol will follow Jaros’s political lead or head down an entirely different path depends in part on who we as voters pick to take on the job. We’ve seen the candidates’ billboards, campaign literature, and websites. But in this forum, we voters had the first chance to hear from the candidates’ own mouths what it is they believe in and what they hope to accomplish. It was a chance to see whether those beliefs square with our own and whose name we want to put the check mark next to on the Primary ballot in September.
Barb Olsen was co-moderator of the forum, along with Steering Committee member Patrick Boyle. Former Steering Committee member Charles Gessert acted as Producer. Barb is the President of Progressive Action, a grassroots political organization formed after the death of Paul Wellstone to carry on his progressive goals in such areas as affordable housing, living-wage jobs, and encouraging residents to be active in politics. For more information, see www.prog-action.org
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