Gubernatorial endorsement

It's convention season in Minnesota, and our BPOU meeting in SD48 is slated to take place this Saturday. As a delegate in said district, I have received phone calls from prominent candidates seeking endorsements.

Last week, Rep. Jim Abeler called me personally to seek my endorsement for his re-election bid in MN House in 48B. As far as I know, Abeler is receiving no serious challenges for the GOP nomination, so there was really no one else for me to consider. Besides, I feel Abeler has been on the right side of the majority of issues important to me.

Then yesterday I got a call from Rhonda Sivarajah, who is the running mate of GOP gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert. Although I didn't talk to her live, Sivarajah wanted to be sure I would be attending my BPOU convention on March 6. She also wanted to know where I stood in my preference for Governor.

In my mind, the GOP has been blessed this campaign season with two solid candidates in Seifert and Rep. Tom Emmer (Delano). If you look at their respective campaign web sites and where they stand on the issues, the differences between the two are infinitesimal. And if Seifert happens to secure the GOP nomination, I will throw my support behind him 100%.

But I endorse Tom Emmer for Governor because he's actually been in the working world within the past decade (he's been a well-respected trial lawyer for more than twenty years). Nothing causes me to roll my eyes more frequently than a career politician who talks about knowing the needs of "working families." And while Seifert is no octogenarian (he'll be 38 next month), he was first elected to the MN House in 1996 when he was only 24 years old. He really hasn't known any other vocation. On the other hand, Emmer appears the type to fulfill his public service by enacting an ambitious agenda and then stepping aside. This is the spirit in which public service was intended. And that is just one of a host of reasons why I am pledging my full support for Emmer.

-------------------------------------------