Today I had the opportunity to meet and chat with Rob Jacobs, DFL candidate seeking the endorsement to run against Dan Severson in District 14A. We discussed a variety of issues and how he plans to defeat Mr. Severson in a district that hasn't had DFL representation since the 1970's and Al Patton.Mr. Jacobs works at the St. Cloud Prison teaching a trade to inmates. He is President of his AFSCME Local and has lived in the district for some 37 years. His campaign team includes former candidates Barb Beniek and Dennis Molitor. The primary focus of his campaign appears to be helping Minnesota achieve the dominance we once held among the states on a whole host of criteria. The regression we have seen under the Pawlenty Administration has prompted him to run against one of the foot soldiers in that regression.
He is exactly the type of moderate DFL candidate that we need to embrace in order to provide contrast to the Republican brand which demands complete obedience. As the Republican Party seeks to expunge its moderates, so must the Democratic Party embrace moderates in order to build a lasting majority that will return our state to one of common sense leadership. In each topic we discussed, you could immediately sense the cautious moderation between the sometimes extreme factions of Democrats and Republicans.
On taxes, Mr. Jacobs shies from discussing any new taxation preferring to highlight the need to rebalance our taxation away from property taxes which has been smothering communities across Minnesota ever since Tim Pawlenty took office. In amongst that shift are the issues facing rural communities being forced to go to the voters year after year in order to adequately fund the education of their citizenry.
On health care, Jacobs does not leap immediately to single payer health care as many liberal activists have advocated but prefers to look at "what baby steps we can take" to achieving universal coverage. He advocates for something known as the "5% Solution" which is supported by a variety of organizations, including Education Minnesota and the Children's Defense Fund.
Amongst the issues we discussed, Mr. Jacobs expressed serious concern about an organization known as MINNCOR. This organization, which struck a deal with the legislature some 15 years ago, has since that time taken steps that perhaps cost the taxpayers more than they have saved. Things such as inmate laundry sent from St. Cloud to Faribault to the tune of $10,000 per month when St. Cloud has its own laundry facilities. Others including an abrupt move to a new plate production facility in Rush City.
I will be taking a closer look at MINNCOR and I encourage other bloggers to do the same as there appears to be some conflict in a for profit company whose board members also sit at the highest levels of the Department of Corrections.
With the District 14 DFL Convention coming on Saturday, March 29th, I would encourage everyone attending to take a close look at Mr. Jacobs and make him the candidate to defeat Dan Severson come November. If you live outside his district, I would encourage you to help him in his quest to bring the DFL brand back to District 14A whether that consists of leg work or pocket book support, let's get out there and help Mr. Jacobs win.
Thank You for your time, Mr. Jacobs, and let us hope that moderation wins out this time over ideological rigidity.
