A few days ago I posted the St. Cloud Times Editorial Board interviews for House District 15A & 15B candidates with some commentary on those particular races and a prediction about who will be given the endorsement. The St. Cloud Times also did interviews for its endorsements in the House District 14A and 14B races.In House District 14A you have incumbent Dan Severson (R) going up against Rob Jacobs (DFL). This is a race that is absolutely winnable for Jacobs given his more conservative stances on social issues and the manner in which he has been running his campaign. When you couple that with the problems Severson has with blatant racism, spelling, imposing government even on "traditional" marriage, and perhaps being only the body put forward to fill the seat you have a candidate ripe for defeat.
In House District 14B you have incumbent Larry Hosch (DFL) going up against Jim Stauber (R). I haven't written anything about this race or even much about either of these candidates. However, I have met Larry on several occasions and I can attest to his absolute commitment to getting things done for his constituents and for Minnesota. One interesting thing to watch during these interviews is the number of times (especially during the YES/NO questions) Jim Stauber looks to Dan Severson in order to find out which answer is authorized.
I have cut the full interview into the subsequent questions. However, you will have to forgive the same introduction being added to each question so as to give proper source attribution. Also, it should be noted that the above maps come from Politics in Minnesota.
I have cut the full interview into the subsequent questions. However, you will have to forgive the same introduction being added to each question so as to give proper source attribution. Also, it should be noted that the above maps come from Politics in Minnesota.
Candidate Introductions:
Question #1: What are your specific plans for education funding?
Question #2: What specifically (taxes? formula? bill? idea?) are you going to do to fix education funding?
Question #3: What are your specific solutions and what approaches would you support or oppose with regards to the budget deficit?
Question #4: Identify the two areas that you would look to for cuts.
Question #5: What is your position regarding the election and appointment of Minnesota judges?
Editorial Note: This seems like a very random question that will have little bearing on the decision most people will have in voting for an individual.
Question #6: What is your solution to overcoming the partisan divide?
This portion is a series of YES/NO questions:
Closing Statements:
My predictions, for what they are worth: In 14A, Rob Jacobs (DFL) and in 14B, Larry Hosch get the endorsement from the St. Cloud Times. Who do you think will be endorsed and why? Who deserves endorsement and why? Who deserves to be elected and why?
