Candidates for Governor they all got together last night at the State Office Building at the state capitol to discuss the issues and take questions from citizens around the state and they here on mid-day to give you a better idea of who's running for governor and what they stand for. We're going to rebroadcast that debate in its entirety. Welcome to our Minnesota Public Radio listening audience to debate cheer on the gubernatorial election. I'm Lori Sturdevant of the Star Tribune, and I'll be moderating tonight's debate. It's the citizens for my project of several Minnesota journalism organizations tonight involved are the Star Tribune ktca Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota journalism Center inside news KMOJ radio Rochester, post-bulletin and Mankato Free Press. This is the reason for his dedicated to bringing the thinking of average citizens to bear on the campaign for governor, and to make their voices part of the political discussion for this year. We have with us tonight all six of the candidates for the dfl nomination for governor, + Jesse Ventura the candidate of the Reform Party. We are sorry that Republican candidate Norm Coleman declined our invitation. We have panels of citizens assemble tonight in four locations around the state. We have a group at Lucile's Kitchen restaurant in North Minneapolis a group in Duluth at the University of Minnesota Duluth campus in Rochester and here at the State Office Building. And Saint Paul will hear from her citizens in a few moments. But first we'd like to have call on the candidates for the reef opening statements the candidates of June numbers from a hat or a box or something earlier this evening to determine the order of their presentations and lucky number one was state. Senator, Doug Johnson of tower Doug welcome and please introduce yourself to the to the citizens tonight. Thank you for the invitation to speak to the citizens panel in the citizens of Minnesota. I'm Doug Johnson. I was an educator for over 30 years. I've been in public service for over 30 years. In fact was elected mayor of my little town of cook when I was 22 years old. I defeated the medical doctor who delivered me is a baby and I always figured he wished he had a chance for a second. I slap Minnesota is a good State and I think it needs some new refreshing leadership my budget decision that will come first in my Administration will Income tax cut a permanent income tax. And then I will move on to the other priorities of Education a crime control. I have some particular concerns that a crime is not being addressed properly that issue and transportation and the other issue is important to Minnesota. I'm a mainstream Democrat. I probably couldn't be endorsed by either political party because I'm too mainstream and I think I bring a common person Common Sense message to the people of Minnesota former state Senator Ted Mondale and thank you for participating in allowing us to participate in this event and debate this evening minnesotans deserve to know what the candidates for Governor plan to do and how they plan to pay for their plans and I responded to this by writing a book that details first a permanent tax cut that will put almost a billion. Dollars into the hands of minnesotans over the next four years II to control government spending with a with a cut and invest strategy to pay for new Investments to strengthen families and communities new priorities like more accessible early childhood education a laptop computer for every 9th grader. I also have any chance for every Minnesota high school student to earn a full scholarship to college by graduating with a B average and I also have a plan to meet Minnesota's greatest unmet Healthcare need by planning for the prescription drug cost paying for the prescription drug cost of over a hundred thousand of Minnesota senior citizens. The issue in this campaign is not the government needs more money. It's how can government do a better job with the money that it has. Okay number 3 tonight is Mark Dayton former state auditor welcome. I'm running for governor because I believe in government as Abraham Lincoln said of the People by the people and for the people in the problem we have is government today is it's not for the people it's not for the Neighbors of these giant feedlots who are ruining their lives with noxious gases Northern neighbors of coke Refinery who are suffering the assaults that have been on checked. It's not for the patience of the large hmos these corporations that are more concerned with their corporate expansion than providing people to health care that they pay for and governments early not on the side of the 400,000 minnesotans are uninsured. I want to put the government back on the side of the people and put government to work better for the needs of our citizens that are public schools K through 12 colleges universities that are job training Healthcare criminal justice and crime prevention Transportation, highways and mass transit. I want better. permit for the state thank you. Next is a former mayor of Jesse Ventura Ventura and I am the Reform Party candidate for governor, and I'm born and raised in South Minneapolis. I'm a native Minnesotan upon graduating from Roosevelt High School. I served six years in the United States Navy on discharge from the Navy went to college at North Hennepin college for one year. And then I said on about a professional wrestling career which is the stigma that I have a hard time shaking during the selection. They love to call me the former pro wrestler and yet not the former mayor and but later on in my career, I did run for mayor of Brooklyn Park and I was opposed both by Democrats and Republicans at that time that cosine and called me the most dangerous man in the city and all I did was pay taxes and send my kids to public school that always amazed me of why I was so dangerous, but I found out why I'm so dangerous because I'm not part of the status quo. I am not a professional politician per say I have been a mayor. And I find a just remarkable sitting up here today listening to Democrats talking about cutting taxes because it's an election year I would imagine when they just got through with the four billion dollar Surplus that they didn't manage to give back enough. So it amazes me during an election year how Democrats want to now cut our taxes and I thank everyone for allowing me to come here today and myself along with my lieutenant governor made shank is my candidate for lieutenant governor guy and now it's just the other day who is a 36-year teacher who is Ben it in at the ground level teaching the children. She knows what it takes and she will handle my education policies. Thank you. Thank you and chance to discuss issues with the people here in St. Paul and throughout the state earlier for reasons why I'm running for governor. It's Katie and Beth and Matthew Freeman and for all the children in Minnesota. I want them to go to the best schools. I want them to breathe clean air. I want them to drink clean water and I want them to be a part of society that safe that turns its back on hatred and celebrates the diversity of our people. Key to our children and their future is a quality education and we have a good education system. We simply must make it better. That's why I called last December for all-day kindergarten for every child whose parents wanted. I called for reducing class size starting with k through 3 to no more than 20 students. And when I'm Governor, I look forward to going to classrooms to seeing no more than 20 kids in at least one teacher. I want for every high school graduate the Minnesota high school who's admitted to a post high school program free tuition for the vocational program at Community Technical College and State University University of Minnesota, because the challenging jobs of the future require more education. That's a Sound Investment in our children. And that's a Sound Investment Iraq State and that's what I'll do. Thank you next Attorney General Hubert Humphrey. Thank you very much Lori, and I want to thank the members of the citizens form for their input. I've been very impressed with the work that's been done and with Sponsors of this effort I want to be your Governor because I want Minnesota to be the best place on Earth in which to live. It's a pretty darn good place right now. We need to build upon that record so that we can see the success of the future for the generations of the future. I think the way we start about doing that is to make sure that our public education system is the best in the world and that means starting literally from the time that a child is born early childhood education learning based childcare making certain that we have smaller class sizes and the opportunity for any student wants to go on to college to have 2 years of college paid for if they cannot afford it themselves so that we have a Workforce that is ready to go to work not only for themselves, but for all of us, I want to see us have Healthcare System that is Affordable and accessible to all I believe that we can have targeted tax cuts for Working Families to help them balance their budgets as a try. Make sure that their families are moving ahead and I want to see that we have a less violent a safer place in which our children can grow up in our families can live in both internal and external. I believe my record shows that those promises that are made can be capped and fulfilled. I know that we take it on the tough task in the past and we've won for the people of Minnesota. Thank you for your help. Thank you. And now one more John Murray State senator from Roseville used to be here. I have appreciated the work your panels have done. I met with the panel last year and one of the issues and I've read a lot not say all of what you put out this year and it struck me that many of the ideas you put out particularly on issue that crime prevention instead of waiting till afterwards. There's a striking resemblance to a lot of the issue papers. I put out over the years a lot of similarity between some of the agenda. I've worked on at the Capitol. And yet I've heard many times many people on the panels. Why can't government take this common sense of gender? This people's agenda after the hockey deal went through this year people said didn't they hear us clear enough went we strong enough on this. Let me tell you why that happened. It's because at the Capitol in politics money and Powerful lobbies talk and they talk very clearly, but every issue prescription drug issues Health Care issues environmental issues Stadium issues. And if we want to change things we've got to keep getting at it. We got to take out the money that is driving our political agenda the capital of its driving who wins elections because November 3rd is supposed to be election. Not an auction that we have to change. Okay. Thank you. Now it's time to get our citizens into the ACT questions that were developed by citizen forums five of them that would help so far this year each on a separate issue issues that were identified by the Minnesota poll as important to minnesotans this year. The questions are in the hands of these citizens will be representing their groups there for him cuz they come to the microphone to a trip. Is that those questions tonight? We want to mix things up to keep our discussion Lively. So we're going to ask only two or three candidates to answer each question. Who's up to the plate? Each time was determined in a drawing or there's Dad was number that you do will affect what questions you answer and I will be announcing who will answer each of the questions before that goes. Do you have to listen especially carefully can know to do that would like to ask for one minute replies, please now, if you. The question the first time we might was going to stand by to ask a follow-up arasco repeat the question again, but one that replies are what we're looking for tonight. Okay with all that Preamble. Let's get underway. Our first question will come from Lucille's Kitchen in North Minneapolis L, McFarland and booties who are moderators there. Do you have a question for us? Yes, my name is Doris. Wait here at Lucile's Kitchen in my question is what is your philosophy? And what are your plans to make the real history of all oppressed people and important part of the education of all the students of the state and what charge will you give your Commissioner of Education to implement this I already made a mistake. I already feel to say which candidates would be listening and that you answered that question. So I apologize and I'll do better for this question was for Mark Dayton for skip Humphrey and Productions. So let's take it in that order marketing first. We need to. Put more dollars into public education and we need to start with every child coming into kindergarten. I'd like to see it preschool and make sure that before they leave for first grade. They know how to read English speak English do basic math is they've acquired the basic skills necessary to take the next step forward. We got to take our schools out of doing all the ancillary things that they're doing and say that our school's responsibility to educate each child that he or she can be a successful productive citizen. That means we're going to focus our schools on the basics. We're not going to try to do a lot of other things and is Goo means we need a consistent education framework. We needed a consistent approach of teaching these Basics killed in Minneapolis after the kids go for two more than one school during the course of the year. We got to have a consistent educational plan and program if they're going to get a consistent education and then we need to Recognize the parents that churches that other social institutions have their roles to play if these children are going to have a chance to succeed. With regard to education. We absolutely have to start the day that child is born. We know now funded abundantly clear that those first three years of life and the relationship of parents and that child is very very important if we're going to succeed at making sure that every student is ready to go to work. We've got to start at those early stages and that's why I firmly believe we have to support the idea of learning face. Childcare. We need to make sure that there is all day kindergarten we have to certainly make certain that we have smaller class sizes. So that teachers can teach rather than just supervise and students have a better opportunity to learn but we also need to take a look at the other book end of Education, which is to make sure that young people who want to go on to college have that full opportunity and I believe that we can well afford to make certain that every student that wants to go on to two years more of schooling After High School if they can't afford it we can provide for that Finance. Support all of that works back to the basic idea of making certain that we have well skilled individuals ready to go to work and the move into the workforce which will support the community which will support the diversity and which will bring about the kind of better life that I think every one of us want to have thank you, Lori, of course the big thing that changed in the 30 years during when I was an educator is that families aren't as strong anymore and that certainly I don't know how we get there, but it's certainly a major consideration. I know when I was high school counselor in northern Minnesota public health nurse, and I used to jump in the car and when the students were truant we've gone visit that the child and talk to the parent or parents and and try to motivate and get parents involved in their children's education were it may be a guardian or a friend of the family. How Democrats more and more money I don't believe is the single answer. I think that we have to look at the way we're spending the resource is now I'm concerned that public education. Although Minnesota is one of the best states we have to as public educator supporters of public education look in the mirror and say now what can we change? How can we do it different and better and I don't have all the answers all I think of all the candidates my 30 years of educational experience brings a lot to the table. Thank you Doug. The next question is from Duluth. And this is a question to be posed to Ted Mondale to Mike Freeman and to John Marty. So in Duluth, are you ready with a question Jim Newman? Thanks Lori. We are ready with a question for the candidates. Good evening. I'm Parts Anderson from Grand Rapids. My question deals with the profiles of learning. I'm asking do you support the profiles of learning and if so, why and if not, what do you propose to replace the profiles of learning to in it to ensure high-quality or high standards for Education Ted Bundy. I'll go first or something that a school should adopt if the school wants it. I think the problem we're having in public education today is is it the bureaucrats in St. Paul now think that they know better than our schools in our parents are principles how to teach your kids. I want to flip the relationship around and create higher standards and we have today cuz I think the standards we have today or too low and then go back out to the school district and say what do you need to be successful in the future and then hold the school to those standards for there's got to be a change in the relationship has got to be accountability, but they're also has to be resources as well along with And so that's the way I look at and if the school thinks the profiles of learning is what they need and I need dollars to implement it then I think we ought to give them that we in our public education system. I think we do that through Statewide testing and I think we want to make sure that we want a high school diploma to have real meaning. Concept a profile in learning makes a lot of sense. The problem is it's just overwhelmed with with rules regulations and paperwork. That's not how teachers teach and that's not how students learn and so I think we need to go back. We need to have active actual teachers more involved in the in the creation of profiles and learning and we need to make sure that we are not wasting valuable tax dollars on paperwork and bureaucracy. I do believe after all the work that's been put into him on balance. They can have a very positive effect. But I have very great concern both about how it was adopted and how it was pushed with an attempt. We had great trouble trying to postpone it for a year. If you listen to what the teachers are saying, they're saying very clearly we think there's a lot of promise there. We have some concern but give us some time give us the resources to study about how this is going to fit in. So when we look at education reforms whether it's this one or other one, let's reform the way we do it instead of saying weed in st. Paul. Bierocracy is going to force this on your school, but see how we can work with the teachers with the parents with the school administrators to help them improve. What do you need in order to help do a better job? How can you share ideas that you work fine work with vest with other teachers the state should enable instead of mandate just to mix things up tonight. Some of these questions are going to be answered by two of you and some by three of you. This next question is a toucan it'll be answered by Jesse Ventura and by John Mike and it's from Rochester, Minnesota sessions of a Temps. taxpayers money a lot of money on sports facilities for private businesses These were both clearly opposed by the General Public. Become governor and come up against a similar situation by the public. What is the proper position that should be? Jesse Ventura first, well, first of all, let me say I come from the world of professional athletic. So I'm very familiar with it. My position is this I do not support building stadiums for professional sports. I think professional Athletics is a private Enterprise business. They can certainly support themselves. I do support professional sports in the state of Minnesota, but I feel there are other ways to build stadiums that have not been explored yet other than using public tax dollars to do it. So I would totally opposed it if it came to my desk as Governor, I would veto it and I would be towed without any problem last year and I think it's very important. I've been clear from the start. No taxpayer money into this private subsidies public subsidies for private business including Sports is not appropriate. Let the fans determine whether they supported what the team's fix their own economy and it's not just a matter of saying no when vetoing it. Yes. I would be dope Public Funding for these stadiums if it came to my desk, but we didn't get that far we could do we could have prevented this whole fight the divisive fight over the twins. We could have stopped this big subsidy for Saint Paul hockey if we would simply go and approach the team owners in the week, since you guys take responsibility for your own problem fix your own problem instead of expecting the taxpayers who can't even afford to go to these hockey games at $40 a piece to Fork over the money we can get the teams here. We can keep the teams here with private funding we can do it by fixing the League's economy and pressuring them to do it. Just keep the taxpayers out of it and you won't have to suffer through a veto you'll get the legislature can work with the business Community to do it privately. Hi, my name is Peter Walsh from Saint Paul. I'm going to ask my question on taxes tonight because of the sports question was just asked. Broken Field running a call and I guess we know children are the future so they need to be protected and taken care of programs like Head Start need more funding. How can we more fairly distribute taxes? So that those without a voice like children get programs that help them as opposed to money just going to groups that are the most vocal. What's up with Mike Freeman this time? Well, I think we need to make sure that our state tax expenditures and where we spend our state tax dollars benefit. The people's General. Generally, that's why I support public education and we need to put more resources in public education. We need to hold people accountable, but we can simply need more class time. And I think what we need to do in Minnesota is to prioritize our spending for me. It's education investment in roads and bridges investment to build Minnesota long-term future. I oppose public financing Sports Stadium. I oppose spending hundreds of millions of dollars to move a private company for one side of the Mississippi River to the other and I think what we need to do is understand what is most important to the largest number of Minnesota public education Public Safety and infrastructure, and that's why I think we ought to spend our valuable tax resources. I think once again we have to make certain that the revenues to come to the state of Minnesota are used for the priorities that the people establish and I think those priorities have been made very clear to candidates. They are education. They are making sure that we have a good public health system that it is Affordable accessible to all it is for targeted tax cuts to Working Families so that they could actually have their children in daycare and could also afford and help to have their young people go on to college. Those are very very important matters and it certainly ought to be used to make certain that we have safe and good places in which to live the lowest priority. No priority is this use of tax dollars for lining the pockets of wealthy sports club Owners. I think that just is wrong and I think Norm Coleman is wrong about it. I think the governor was wrong about it and I think we had a huge debate over it that wasted a lot of the legislators time when Could have been working on some of these more difficult task. Those are the priorities that certainly the Humphrey Mo Administration would be looking at are the are the first priorities of public education and right at that early stage in life. Thank you. And Jesse, first of all, I'd like to say I thought the stadium was answered the question before I didn't realize the stadium was part of that question. I supported Head Start as mayor Brooklyn Park and I think it's a very important program that you know that ensures that children that are are in a bad financial situation get food get a meal and can go to school and learn and I will tell you quite honestly education was my weakest Point as mayor I knew about taxes as mayor I knew about crime but as Mary you don't work directly with education. So I went out and found a lieutenant governor May shonk 36 years as an educator in the Saint Paul school district and let me tell you this in the people of Minnesota. I have all He spoken out and said that will be Mays priority that will be Mays job and I want a person who doesn't know politics. I want a person that's lived it in the trenches that was out there teaching our kids and understands the situation and may shank is just that person and his lieutenant governor. I don't want an arm piece. I will delegate Authority. I think that's what governor is all about mechant will handle education. Thank you. You're listening to the Minnesota citizens for I'm going to trial primary debate on the news and information station for Minnesota Public Radio. We're ready to move back to the fields in North Minneapolis for a question that will be directed to John Marti & Ted Mondale. My name is Willie Daniels and I'm at Lucile's kitchen prop winner of the 1998 wing ding award because I want you to really answer this previous question that came out of here was not was not answer satisfactorily pleased to me are you willing to develop a policies and allocate resources working specifically for African Americans to develop economic basis educational resources and early intervention for juveniles before criminal activities occur. What resources will be allocated for re-entry into the community for those who go through the criminal justice system. Did you understand the question? John Murray and Ted Mondale. Do you understand the question? I think you need me to get in 1 minute to three or four part. I'm going to focus particular on the crime part cuz I think I heard that most of your question with that. Yes, we have to look at crime not just as how we're going to lock people up forever because frankly 97% of our inmates are going to be re-entered into the community and we have to do some things to make sure we don't let them out of prison and then just dump them on the street where they're going to reoffend we have to do the same thing after prison is we should have done before the crime was committed that is interview help address the needs of a person you talk to any kindergarten or first-grade teacher in the state and they can point out two or three of their students who aren't going to make it. I told that story to a teacher a group of teachers want one of them said, yes, I had one of those kids and I told people this individual needed intervention that kid later on was accused 15 years later first-degree murder, we can intervene and it is the number of I've been mentioned here already the early intervention Early Childhood family education the Head Start types of programs. It's going to be intervening with troubled kids helping address mental health and chemical dependency problem is critical and they're not cheap. It's not cheap to address those issues. But if we don't address it, we pay the cost of Prisons California major study every dollar spent in chemical dependency treatment save taxpayers $7 and reduce crime and health care costs. We can save money by doing the right thing. And in crime, the best thing we can do is recognize an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure before the crime occurs after they're out of prison the same thing. Yes, I in my cutting invest strategy and in my book, I've laid out of 55 million dollar a year new initiatives in dealing with the issues of crime and violence and they they start with the with the idea and the recognition that our current policies have failed and we have a tremendous lack of leadership in the area of deal. What violence and crime my policies are the are the following first as we need to adopt a coordinator prosta dealing with crime and violence. We need to have a a cheap person who oversees all 24 different state program dealing with crime and violence second. We need to determine what's working and what isn't investing what's working and stop investing and what's not. We need to focus crime prevention Zone Youth and what directly to your question we wait till people go way down through the system. We need to invest early on and whether we know the kids are going to be in trouble and we need to get to them early on and work with them early on that will cost money. We need new technologies to help the police and and the criminal justice system. Do a better job of solving crimes. We need to put career criminals in jail and gang members in jail. We need a Kris the accountability of the parole system and probation system and we need to get hand guns out of the hands of kids and Felons. Tracy and I do live in Duluth and I'm concerned much lie about our seasonal property taxes. They have come to become so completely out of hand that do many people have got to abandon their live streams because of it and I'd like to know what's going to happen there. You know, I'm the only candidate from rural Minnesota all the other candidates in the race Democratic Republican and and reform can crawl into the tree in their backyard and see the IDS Tower. I'm the only one that is from the real part of the state than seasonal recreational Property Owners is as well as other property owners. I think the solution would be and I wish the other candidates with join me with this. I know we most Support having the state assume a greater share the cost of K through 12 education, but I want to put a pretty rigid cap on market value increases. I think that would help a cabin owners and also many homeowners where the values are rising because of unusual increases in in valuations and most I'm not the fault of the property owner. That's what I would do is the major thing. Thank you and I believe what we need to do is to lower property taxes for everybody in Minnesota homeowners renters businesses by taking the funding for our K-12 education off of the property tax and putting it on two more Progressive state taxes, that would lower property taxes Minnesota by an average of over 40% which is the percentage of property taxes that go to the school district's the system now is it's unfair We did a study when I was state auditor people of different incomes of people inside of the same incomes pay different amounts of property taxes around the state people with same valued homes pay different property taxes. It depends on who your legislator is who you happen to know how well-organized you are at the Capitol we can clean a lot of that out of the way if we reduce the fiscal burden on the property tax and stop driving people out of their vacation homes senior citizens out of the homes, they lived in all their lives and and and also put on a public education funding. I am far more Equitable basis Statewide next question from Rochester. This is going to be for candidates John Marty Jesse Ventura and Mark Dayton. Christina have you a question in Rochester. We do have a question Lori. Hello, my name is Bob monoka. I'm from Rochester and I'm going to revisit the sports and Public Funding question. Would the state be willing to turn? Stadium project over to the Department of trade and economic development to logically and that's the key word logically decide whether this is an economically sound proposal. Would you support turning over the authority to make economic decisions on Sports funding to a more efficient and less politically driven agency in the legislature? What's that was my fitness time? I think that's an excellent approach in concept and exactly what I develop. When was Commissioner of Economic Development back in the 70s and the 80s you need to bring any economic development project was looking for a public support. You need to have a balance sheet. What are the costs to the public of the project? And what are the games in terms of increased revenues increased employment income taxes then paid in the like I would a 10-day Department back then was able to provide those kinds of analyses which structure the kind of proposal we made her major economic development in such as the Saturn project which was criticized back then for offering thirty years of taxes and if it would have provided 5,000 direct manufacturing jobs in the state and would have paid for itself ten times over during the course of the project. So that's exactly the kind of evaluation that needs to be paid Isis. I don't believe that there's any Possibility that a sports stadium is going to meet that test. I agree with you. It should be done objectively by people who are not in the political process, but the bottom line is going to be that these games don't even begin to touch the amount of public subsidies that these teams and franchises are looking for subsidies. And I think it's appropriate once we determine what kind of subsidy we want to do that. We have Economic Development professionals try and do the best deal but I have a real objection to the whole concept of the taxpayers picking economic winners and losers picking out which businesses are going to succeed picking out which sports teams are going to get subsidies. That's not the role of government in a week. I just stopped that and recognizes very costly because it's very much driven by campaign contributions by who's got the power in the clouds. You look at the hockey deal which kid goes through seven of the nine register record owners of the Minnesota Wild gave generous campaign contributions to the mayor of the governor Watson both the political parties. You look at who's giving money from the other teams. They give a lot of money and how do they get the subsidy? They make a big contribution. They get a large multi million-dollar taxpayers subsidy. Is there a connection I think you ask the voters and that's why we ought to stay out of these subsidies. Don't push it off to a department and say, oh they'll make the decision. I think we should have let the Public's representative speak in the public should speak to the representative. It worked last year in the Twins stadium. Just shoot the public spoke out. They spoke out clearly and it stopped it only happened in St. Paul when it got tied in with a big package Mega package of billion dollar Bond and build lots of other bells and whistles in pork barrel to go along with it. Then it passed Jesse Ventura nice concept, but I do not like the idea much is it today? We sit with a metropolitan Council the taxes people without representation. You can't elect them at Council yet. They're levying taxes upon us here in the seven County. Where are you? I do not like any idea at all that takes public money and puts it into the hands of people who are not accountable to the voters. If it's public money, it has to go to legislators who are accountable to voters so that if voters are unhappy with the spending of that money, they then have the opportunity to vote that person out of office when you send it up over to other agencies sure, that's fine for recommendation, but it's still ultimately must come back to the legislators who are elected so that they can be accountable to the voters St. Paul. It's going to be for candidates Hubert Humphrey. Johnson and John Marty. My name is Gary sugar. And from South Minneapolis was a lower percentage of personal income being required to run the government. What tax do you see is the first to be reduced. We've heard all the rhetoric. Where are you going to cut taxes first and foremost. I think we need to continue the effort that the legislature spin on with regard to reducing property taxes. I think that has the greatest effect of assistance and help to Working Families. I think we also ought to be looking at the kind of tax cuts and changes in the tax laws that will allow young people who are having children to have those children be in quality Day Care Facilities. I think we ought to be looking in that regard and I think we also ought to be looking at the other kind of tax cuts for working families that will help families move along all the way to the other end of the education is spectrum and that is to help individuals young people move on into college. Those are my first priority. I do believe that there are resources in the budget that will allow us to look at the potential for income tax reduction as well as perhaps look at even sales tax reduction, but we ought to set our priorities first and they ought to be centered upon working families and their needs and I think helping continue to reduce that property tax. I could be very very helpful. And by the way supporting a higher level of public education support from the state of Minnesota also compliment that because it takes the burden off of the local property tax, which otherwise has to be raised by your local school district to me. That's where we move and help young people get the kind of tools and training and families move ahead so that they can be ready to do the jobs and work that is necessary. Johnson knows this issue. Well, number one Minnesota. If you look at all the different types of General taxes the area that we are at least Genitive with the rest of the nation is in the individual income tax. We're like fifth in the country. So when I'm the governor, I'm going to propose a permanent. Cut in the individual income tax and it will be a very fair tax cut that will help all minnesotans who pay the income tax the weather working or senior citizens that that pay taxes. I don't disagree with with skip that we also have to have the state continue with its recent pattern. Hope you're having more takeover of the cost of K through 12 education eye Minnesota slip very badly in that area in the early 90s and we were able to on a bipartisan basis. I'll get that up to 68% paid by the state general fund reading local property-tax and I'm very interested in and targeting money to further lower the key through 12 levies, which helps all types of property business homeowners renters cabin owners and all the various types. It's a fair way to go. In response to Gary's question about which taxes would you like to see cut most I think the most regressive taxes the ones that are at least based on ability to pay are the ones we should work most aggressive. We are property taxes are clearly that there are seniors who are taxed out of their homes because of high property taxes. Let's do that attorney general in several others have pointed out one of the most important ways to do that is for the state to take over more of the funding of K-12 education to take it off of the property tax relief, but as we talked about this and let's recognize that modest income people people of modest incomes pay a higher percentage of their income than the people the wealthiest people in our state what's have a fair system in the income taxes, the one progressive tax. We have taxes based on Billy to pay and the other thing we cannot forget is when we do this, let's not look at election-year. What's this is and everybody said I'm going to cut your tax. I'm going to cut your taxes. I'm going to cut your taxes. Let's look at the long-term if we can make some Investments, I mentioned chemical dependency treatment savings. $1 for every dollar spent let's look at the long-term how we're going to bring down taxes in the long run. Not just the short-term and how we can promise Ben things in the election year. Thank you. We're back to Lucille's and this next question is for Ted Mondale and for Mike Freeman. My name is Vanessa from the seal kitchen and I'm representing the PACE program of the Urban League City Inc. In the peace program math question is what are your plans be specific on to address the issue on affordable housing in livable wages. Ted Mondale, I think there's two issues there. And again I lay that out specifically in my cotton invest strategy. I've laid out 30 million dollars a year to be split evenly between the urban area and the greater part of the state of Greater Minnesota to go into creating incentives for more affordable housing, but why we also create more incentive for affordable housing we have to take away some of the barriers the problem is with some of our Section 8 subsidies and some of the subsidy from the state and the federal government. The landlord's can't use them because they're so bureaucratic and tied up. I want to find a way where we can streamline those particular program so that they work better for communities. I chair the Metro Committee in the state senate for subcommittee for four years and we made a major breakthrough on affordable house like reading in San Jose, but it's not just enough to create and send you got to take some some of the barriers down for affordable housing for Economic Opportunity. We need to make sure that everybody has a school in their neighbor. It's going to produce for them and where they need to go. But I think we have to invest in our schools. We have to invest in early childhood education again. I lay those out and paid for Waste but I think we also have to make sure that every child knows they have opportunity. That's why I've called for what I call my gopher scholarship proposal that allows every child to go to a two or four-year Minnesota institution if they graduate from high school with a B average it's the way they can earn their way to have the type of training. They need to be able to be self-sufficient. Georgia does its work well and we ought to be able to do it here was to fold one was on affordable housing. The other was on living wage as far as affordable housing. It's clear that the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency another city and county need to focus on low-cost housing. They need to focus on housing low cost housing throughout the metropolitan area and not merely in some neighborhoods. We have some substantial neighborhoods that need Improvement. Near North Side in the near Southside of Minneapolis. We need to concentrate efforts and dollars there and I think we can do those if we really focus and address the problem your second part of your question was about living wage in the first thing we can do is to make sure that any company receiving Public Assistance must pay their workers a living wage. A living wage is a wage to me that makes a family of three can live on that above the poverty level. It makes no sense to give a company a subsidy if they're going to pay a $5.50 hourly wage because then they're going to qualify for other kind of Public Assistance, and we need to make sure that you're my tax dollars are invested in companies and people that pay the kind of wage that people can live on that strengthens families and that strengthens neighborhoods. Thank you, Mike back up to Duluth and this next question will be presented to Mark Dayton to Ted Mondale again and to Hubert Humphrey. In Duluth, good evening. My name is Sharon Mark and I live here in Duluth. And the first thing I want to say is please don't any of you tell us that our questions are good. We know that my good question at this time is First I'd like to preface it by saying here in Duluth. We are firm Believers that if you do the crime, you should do the time but not on our dime. Our question here is how would you support Innovative Financial accountability program that require convicts to repay the states and cost of their imprisonment and whatever Services they received while in prison. Start with Mark Dayton. My kids have a saying let's be real we're not dealing with the most productive members of our society and to think that we're going to make a crime pay for the citizens of Minnesota. I think it is unrealistic. To say you can't try to make a difference on the margin and I've in two of my students has a commissioner what state agency had the Prison employees come in and do the furniture for our office and did an excellent job. So those kind of programs but you know, we can't fool ourselves and say that we're going to have all this for nothing, you know, we're caught in this balance between wanting less taxes and we want more from things that government should be doing I call it essential spending four essential services. And one of those is crime prevention. We are going to have to lock more people up is going to cost more money if we're going to enforce the laws of and password use of a gun by felons for possession of a gun without we're going to have to beef up and spend the cost more money. I think we would be deceiving you and everyone here if we said that we're going to come up with a magic solution to be more on top of what people want, which is getting the crooks off the streets and out of sight and at the same time. They turn it into a profit-making Enterprise. I do want to thank you for that. Good question. It is a good question. It's a challenging one because as Mark says quite frequently the individuals that are in prison really don't have the tools to understand how to create a good job have get a good job. So they can actually pay you back for the crime that's been committed. I think certainly one of the things we want to do is to make sure that while they're in prison that any of the funds that they do make that there be a strong portion of that going back to victims of crime, but in addition to that I would like to see us make sure that we have the educational program so that when that individual comes out of prison that there continues to be a reimbursed An effort made I believe that's certainly part of what ought to be indicated when and I can tell you this as Governor you sit on a Board of Pardons and ten years after someone has done their time and they have served their probation. They come back and they want to get a pardon. I think it's about time that we asked what have you given back to not only the victims but the community as a whole and I've been trying to do that as a member of the Board of Pardons and I can tell you that it's not always been easy to accomplish that but as Governor, I'm going to stick to those priorities. Thank you. One of one of my proposals in my crime and violence initiative is to force convicted felons to pay restitution. And if they don't have the resources as Mark pointed out, then you need to force them to have to to do community service as a price as well. And I think one of the things that government has to do Is sit back and get the right priorities and incentives and understand that most people are going to do the right thing. And if they're sending to do the right thing to do the right thing, but we also have to make the incentive. So the people who are doing the wrong thing have to pay the price. I think we have to push that restitution issue through further and if they don't have money do community service, I think we also have to have zero tolerance for drug and alcohol abuse both within the prison if they're going to get out and also Wilder on parole as well. Most of the crimes that happened about 50 to 60% of them there is drug and alcohol abuse involve into her out on probation you're out on parole. I think you need to be sober as well. Thank you and goes to Jesse Ventura. Johnson and Mike Freeman. Lori we do have a question here at dawn education. Thank you. Good evening, gentlemen my community. I'm bernkastel from audible watana. My community has recently passed and I present is committing about 36 million dollars to improve our local education system. We don't want those monies compromised by new state mandates. Do you support profiles? And if the state is going to fund profiles of learning or any other state mandate will local government local control be compromised by or replaced by the state? Mandate, what's that with Jesse Ventura? Well, first of all as I stated earlier made shank will be my person healing my lieutenant governor dealing with education, but I would stay this as mayor of Brooklyn Park there was nothing more frustrating than to get a state mandate that would come down to our city where they mandate you to do something and don't send any money and then they make you figure out how to pay for it yet you have to do it. So I do not support state mandates. I believe personally my opinion. I want to keep schools as local as possible. That's why you have local school boards, and there's also another little twist to this the farther you send money away from you the less bang for the dollar you're going to get on that money. So the closer you can keep money to you the less government then has a chance to dip in and get their hands into the pot. You send a dollar to the state. You're probably lucky to get a quarterback take a look at our latest. 4 billion dollar Surplus. They took a dollar and gave you a quarter and told you to be happy with that show up. What I would stand for is this I very much agree with local government. I agree with local school boards having local control of their students very much. So and I think the profiles and learning there are certain elements of it. That could be very very good. But again, the teachers must be prepared to implement that and I'm not sure that all the teachers at this point in time at night. I'm not sure they totally understand it because I know I certainly don't just say you're pretty pretty good. I enjoy listening to you. That's some good ideas. Well dug, you will recall. Well when I grilled you on recreational property of Siri. The biggest the biggest mistake I ever made by telephone from my hotel room. I went and Jesse show it was still fun profiles of learning as I said before. I'm the one who's running for governor who has actually thought I was a head start teacher. In fact, I can remember having to sing with the children. I'm a little teapot short and stout kind of appropriate and so early childhood education of courses is very very important particularly, where where there are at-risk children. I strongly believe in that profiles of learning the education finance bill cast to come to the tax committee. And we intensively in the Senate tax committee this year went over the issue of profiles of learning. I was very very concerned very very nervous at least above average intelligence. And when I read that I think it was 60 Pages. There was a lot of abstract stuff in the profiles of learning and those who are advocating. It assured me. I am and time again that in fact teachers Educators principles not just administrators and bureaucrats in St. Paul had a lot of input in that and it was developed with the idea of improving standards higher standards for children. I hope they're right I voted for it because we do need higher standards and more accountability, but I am nervous. I hope it works. Will burn first off I want to thank you and the people vote on it to supporting your school's additionally that's critical. But when in a Freeman Administration, we're going to try to help to make sure you don't have to use local property tax dollars to make improvements to your schools that are out of his State responsibilities. I've already talked about the profiles and learning the concept is good. The bureaucracy is messed it up. We've got to reduce the paperwork and make it more functional for teachers. But I also want to say in terms of your mandate question that if the state is going to mandate things in education, they ought to pay for it in January of 1997. I called for 200 million additional dollars dedicated to schools that have significant numbers of kids on free and reduced lunch. Why because those are some of the schools in the children who need the most help in learning and we need to Target our resources and I came up with a Twist $8 when I called for additional classroom time. I've allocated specifically, what do State dollars will go to cover that cost and I come from that very honestly because my wife Terry was with me tonight is a Richfield School Board member and I can't go home. If I propose an education program doesn't have state tax dollars in it. But this is the end of the first hour. We have another hour to go on the Minnesota citizen Forum gubernatorial primary debate your listing on the news and information station of Minnesota Public Radio. It's Lynne Rossetto Kasper this week on The Splendid Table. It's a look at an American tradition soul food with author Joyce White. Be sure to join us that Saturday at 2 and Sunday at 7 on Minnesota public radio. Scanner W FM 91.1 You're listening to Minnesota Public Radio. We have a cloudy sky and 80° at care W FM 91.1 Minneapolis. And st. Paul cloudy to partly cloudy all afternoon kind of hazy and humid high temperature in the mid-80s. There is a good chance then for showers and thunder showers both tonight and tomorrow in the Twin City metropolitan area partly cloudy over the weekend. 3 minutes past one in back now to our special rebroadcast of the citizens Forum gubernatorial primary debate with moderator Lori Sturdevant. Hi, my name is Judy Wagner, and I'm from Blaine. My apartment I should have said this question is for Mike Freeman and for John Marty. With soft skills by that, I mean skills like showing up at work on time appearance interaction with co-workers being so important for job retention and reducing poverty. How would you as Governor specifically promote the teaching of soft skills in our secondary school systems market today, the people who are unemployed are primarily people who are hard to employ those people who have not have the opportunities. They haven't developed those skills as well as some of the education skills for those people who are not in our school system. We have to recognize that and we have to take the time and energy to help teach them. One of the programs that I supported was the author of in the Minnesota Senate was a wage subsidy program which provide the sub to be for businesses who would work with the hard to employ to bring them up to Snuff so they could be productive citizens. It appears to me that we need to make sure we concentrate with our school. And with our families to teach many of those soft skills that you're talkin about. Those are skills that I was fortunate to learn for my mom and my dad and many people in this room were but some young people aren't as fortunate. They only have one parent they are in a poverty neighborhood there in a situation in which older people don't really care and work with them and we frankly have to make sure that we have programs. And by the way, I think we have strong Volunteers in our communities that would work with these young people and I think that's what I think we ought to provide that kind of mentoring is support if an adult invest some of their love time attention a young person that young person will Blossom very much the importance of things other than just a particular work skill, but the work ethic if you might call it that the idea that we know the importance of showing up on time that we know how to stay there what to do when there's a crisis with childcare. All of those things have to be addressed your specific question about in the school's I think is very important because too often we talk about what's good for the school while we're going to focus just on the basics of Reading Writing arithmetic with these things are important skills to and then I think Mike said some good points about how it's a lot of this ought to be done in the family's it ought to be done in the community and it shouldn't have to happen in the schools. But let's face it. It does in the school is better not ignore these things that life skills and whatever they call what we used to call home economics. We have to focus on those things too and not say that those aren't important because they're not basic literacy and math skills. We have to focus on a broad range of things and that's important. I think we also have to work on making sure that we have the support whether it's to mention the volunteers in the community or whether it's through assistance from employers or job coaches when we're helping somebody move from welfare to work. We've got to make sure somebody's there to help them. Answer the questions understand the importance of showing up on time. It's not one thing two schools can do on their own but the schools have an important role. Thank you. This question will be four. Johnson Mike Freeman and Jesse Ventura so that to a land that was sealed. My name of the name of my organization is Central neighborhood Improvement Association Warehouse in Sabathani my question to you and this is a very very serious question. How you doing? Mr. Humphrey? I see you there. I know you you know me. I want to know how would you support the activities of African Americans to achieve Justice in their Community Lorain, Ohio. I'm going to appoint people like you did my Administration. I don't have all the answers, but I'm going to have a very very balanced group of people in in my Administration. I come from a region of Minnesota that has a lot of Native Americans. I work directly with them on many many issues and and tried to to work with them and as they were improving their lives, I'm up former high school counselor and educator and I always fought when I was the counselor for the kids at the bottom. Those were having trouble learning those who had kids at risk. I remember tutoring kids were failing. I didn't have to do that as a high school counselor. I'd give them tutor and Mentor their correspondence courses and I think that's the kind of government. We need someone with a common sense kid with a lot of heart that Who's background in the son of a truck driver? Background low income at a fight and work hard for where we got and I'm going to be a good governor for for you Afro Americans or minorities, but all people in this state will I've seen you at Sabathani too because I've been there number of times and let me say that we need as part of our government to support our neighborhood councils. I know the work you're trying to do in your neighborhood and trying to improve it make housing better and more affordable. You trying to clean it up you trying to reduce the crime the street and we need to recognize that those are important activities and we have to provide the resources and interest from the governor. We haven't had a governor in a long time who cared about a metropolitan area is Hennepin County attorney. The last eight years. I spent a lot of times in neighborhood and I recognize there's a lot of strength in the ideas. And then the people in those neighborhoods what most Folks don't understand is the strength that exist in those neighborhood. We need to provide some resources help him do that now specifically to we need to listen to our parents about our neighborhood school and what the parents and the emphasis they want for tickling extracurricular activities, but also the topics that they want to focus upon beyond the basics that's important to have that parental input. And finally, we need to recognize the importance of my or minority-owned businesses and provide jobs and opportunities. I'm proud to be on the board of Summit Academy OIC is training people that's working with people is the best way to keep young people out of the criminal justice system is to provide them the opportunity for a good education and opportunity for a good job. Thank you. Thank you, I grew up in South Minneapolis. I know what South Minneapolis is. Like I went to Minneapolis Roosevelt High School and I think that one of the things that I greatly believe in and one of the things that I think has been the down Fall of the inner city has been School busing and I'll tell you why because when you bus children all over the city, they get no sense of neighborhood and by keeping kids in a neighborhood. It gives you when I went to Roosevelt High School. I knew I went to Cooper Grade School Sanford Junior High School in Minneapolis Roosevelt High School and we became an IT and focused. It was the same thing at Central High School which no longer exists Washburn North and all that. I think that's been a failure and I think that by building community relations through your school's it gets parents involved because it all centers back to parents and support of government to these parents and creating role models and you must create role models for the young people to believe in to live with and as far as it goes for African Americans, I treat everyone equal and and I think it's government's place to create as close as they can to a Level Playing Field, but I also believe in cap. Because the more you depend on Socialism or government that takes away freedom and with freedom comes responsibility and I think we need to teach young people that freedom is upmost importance because with that they can achieve anything they want if I can make it and I grew up in South Minneapolis so can every other kid in South Minneapolis. Thank you. She will be for candidates Hubert Humphrey Ted Mondale and Don Johnson. I'm Barbara new bar from rural Gilbert and we believe too much emphasis is placed on punishment and loud enough on prevention particularly for are you what do you think are the best prevention programs and how would you implement and or improve them Statewide? Thank you. I couldn't agree more why we have to have strong laws on the books. So that individuals who do commit crimes and violent acts understand that there are clear consequences that are going to be meted out for that. You know, it's it's really not good enough to start at the state pen. You got to start at the playpen at bottom line. That's what it's all about prevention. And we need to make sure that we have the prevention programs in place. That's what I've been working on for the 16 years. I've served as your attorney general. I think you see that with the partnership for a drug-free Minnesota. I think you see it in the program that they are in the central Hillside of Duluth with weed and seeds. That we're working within communities working to prevent and rebuild communities and make them stronger. I think you see that in the safe schools surveys that we have taken so that we know and then can anticipate what the problems are regardless of whether they're violent crimes or whether they're hate related in hate-based crimes. Those are all of the concerns that we need to deal with specifically as I started out in my public where I work very closely with the YMCAs to see that we have Youth Intervention programs. I believe that it was my local area along with the Bemidji that had the first a Youth Intervention programs. We need to bring about those kinds of activities that help young people stay on the right track before they get into the trouble of getting on the wrong track so time. And again, I think that prevention is is absolutely critical. Well, I disagree with you a little bit. I think that not enough attention is paid to punishment or prevention and I think we have an old system in place. That was a model of a Nation where the lowest rate of crime at the lowest cost with the lowest recidivism the rate of people that went back to jail. In the state and this country changed and crime goes to where enforcement is wax. And that's what's happening today. So we need to put career criminals in jail people need to know that they paid that they pursue crime here in this state that they go to jail. Secondly we need to do a better job of prevention and I think we've I keep getting the climate question. I don't know what that means. But I think we need to do a better job of identifying those you that are headed towards life of crime with know who they are. They commit a number smaller crimes early on but but my top public health issue was governor will be to deal with the issue of crime and violence because it's not just the criminal justice system. It's a public health issue as well. And we need to understand that most people that are committing crimes are committed crimes on people who they know who they are and it's people who know each other who don't feel like they have whole proper tuning your life. We're on some kind of drugs or alcohol and have some kind of a weapon and we got it. We've got to focus on these used early on we need to make sure that they know they have the opportunities to to go for in the future though. It's not just a criminal justice issue is a public health issue and we need a governor who's going to stand up take accountability invest in the things that work stop investing in the things that don't work. But make sure that the top priority is to reduce crime and violence in our communities to Ted Doug Johnson. I was a co-sponsor of the children does endowment Fund in the last session the legislature. I think that that and almond fun would be an excellent place to Target new dollars for early childhood education kinds of prevention programs that you're talking about. But I agree with Ted, I don't think that those in charge of law enforcement in the state top state officials have done enough for deterring Crime. I've been talking to parents throughout Minnesota. Not just the metropolitan area, throughout, Minnesota. They are afraid they are concerned about those few in the schools that are dealing drugs. The governor's top priority has to be Public Safety when there's fear in our neighborhoods when children are afraid to go to school. We have to do something. So glad you're right more deterrent upper measures have to be taken. You see more and more families sending their children to private schools doing homeschooling public education is good in Minnesota at itself in the mirror and say how can we change and one of the reasons that that were losing some students as parents are afraid to send their children to our public schools, and I want to change that and is Governor. My number one priority will be fine control at its Ted Mondale and Martha will have a question here on welfare and poverty. Find Patricia ketterling from Rochester. My question is a great number of single parents with small children are on welfare. Many of these families would probably not need this assistance if the other spouse parent we're not absentee and or failing to contribute to the family. What ideas do you have to address this problem? What start with Monday? Will the state has made efforts and some of the counties of made efforts to be more aggressive in seeking funds from most cases fathers who have run away from their responsibilities. I was up in Ely just a couple weeks ago where they have to be unique to computerize the information about the deadbeat dads those avoiding responsibilities and in the trial counties. We need to change some of our privacy laws so that we can hook up that information with tax returns and other financial statements driver's records in the lake so that we can merge the data that we have and be able to catch these people who are in Minnesota shirking their responsibilities. And once again, we need to we need to figure out how he'd take the technology that's now out there and put that work on behalf of our citizens know you can't have it both ways. We all have to be more aggressive than in providing that information and following through on sanctions through the courts if necessary to to get that money back and hold people too, but it's it needs to be a more aggressive All Out full court press Thank you Ted Mondale. In my cotton vest strategy. I have a 62 million-dollar a year plan to help strengthen families and especially targeted at lower-income families. I think first we have to get tougher on child support enforcement and that's something I think that's happening. But the fact of the matter is a lot of time you just can't reply on that alone. Secondly in my plan. I would make early childhood education more accessible to more families. I think we need to understand that early childhood education begins early on. Secondly. We need a Great Lakes pan. Childcare we've seen articles about people going to get jobs. So don't take them because they can't get the child care of a lability third when I was in the state legislature I passed a bill and we went out and did pilot project for at-risk families. We sent at home nurses. We did nine of them one wanted Dakota County was fabulous. And one of the things are doing is going to young parents before they have their kids and talking to them about their parental responsibility. But what we found is that they Social worker nurses out the high-risk family a lot of single moms where there's been violence and the turnaround it's been fantastic and they're talkin to fathers were having kids and are part of that family and those fathers are starting to be involved as well. I think that we also have to recognize the economic contribution of parenting as well. And I think the one of the things I have is tax credits for stay-at-home parents because we have to recognize that the parents play in a major role and we need to need to be there as well. So I hope you take a look at the complete policy, but it's an investment. We need to make it if I may say so I'm a young parent. I got three young kids. I'm a little league coach the summer. I must admit I'm missing a couple of games, but it's tougher to be a parent today than it used to be when I was a kid. We used to go to the playground we come home for dinner and when our parents job was to move us into society and now our parents job is to keep our kids away from society and while government can Raise kids in what government can't make good parents government has a role to play to strengthen families a special especially single parent families as well. We need to do that. Thank you. Say Paul Neal Anderson from St. Paul Jesse Ventura for Hubert Humphrey. And for my face answered questions on education coming from welfare coming from crime coming from Squirt finding and everything else. This education is extremely important extremely important and you know it I've been through many many many campaigns. I've been through with gentleman. I've been through more campaigns than anyone of you. I hear an awful lot Time After Time After Time. Let's get education going. Here we are in 1998 still talking about education. It is extremely important. I did teach school or a short time back in my youth. And it does not make me an expert believe me, but the question again is teaching in the classroom and teaching non-basic 9 basics. And I again I heard somebody say read and write and respitech. There is more to it than that also. We should be more respect. We should make our parents. The parents of our students should be more responsible for many of these things that we teach in our schools. And then we also have a significant difference. Between scores of students from District to district and how can these be addressed? Professional so they know what part of the state should respond to. One minute. Okay, let's let's look at the significant differences and how can we correct that? Probably without spending an awful lot of money. quality come around full-circle the big lie in this state in the last couple years has been that we're putting all this extra money into our public schools and it's just being wasted and I fundamentally disagree with something a Doug Johnson said a while back at my first job out of college was teaching in a public school in the Lower East Side of New York City for 2 years. I tried to teach 9th grade General Science and believe me. Those kids taught me a lot more than I taught them. And I've always said it's the toughest job ever had and having been in over a hundred schools around the state in the last year-and-a-half and several hundred classrooms. It's a tougher job today than it was back then. In real dollars the state support for education for the number of students we have has gone down in the last decade. Did you look at those schools? And you see the effects you see teacher is trying to teach kids who are coming from far more diverse backgrounds who don't speak the language in Minneapolis-Saint Paul or 60 different languages in our Public School System. The number of ESL kids not just in the Twin Cities, but all over the state has tripled in the last few years. We have 50 1,000 more students in our Public Schools K-12 in Minnesota now than we did five years ago. And I think Minnesota would be appalled if they knew how we are under funding public education and all this other stuff about how we can do, you know, the one word into words Solutions, you know tax credits here in about yours there. We got 850,000 kids to educate the state and we've got to do it the way we've always done it which is to have dedicated people in those classroom with the resources to do the job. If we don't have a governor who's willing to put the Publix money, where is mouth is then you shouldn't be the governor of Minnesota. I agree with what Marcus said. I think you got to put your money where your mouth is and you got to say this is the first priority. It's the best investment will ever make the public education system in Minnesota has always been the centerpiece of our success throughout its history and it's going to be the centerpiece for our success in the 21st century not we need to make sure that we establish the benchmarks and whether they are profiles and you know in learning or any other sets of Standards, we need to make sure that we hold ourselves accountable. We need to make sure that we are seeing Real Performance that we're not just graduating kids on through grade so that they think that they're going to make it through we need to make sure we help them and we need to have a remedial efforts right when that problem seemed to exist we shouldn't be afraid of looking at the the results of those standardized tests and seeing if there's a problem that's that gives us the understanding of where we need to allocate the resources at both from the Level as well as the state level but bottom line. We got to quit kidding ourselves. We are not solving the problems by dividing the people in a battle over vouchers when in fact the necessary resources have to go to the public education system. And that's the first priority you're going to see for me. If I'm your Governor Jesse Ventura, I'll do the best. I can I wasn't exactly clear what the question was after after. We got all the way around it, but I will tell you this again, I'll repeat I chose a lieutenant governor who has 36 years in the Saint Paul School District was at extreme success was an award-winning teacher for 36 years. So that will be her priority. But let me tell you this. It doesn't come to teachers number one. It doesn't it comes to parents being number one when you hear about kids falling through the cracks. Excuse me. If you're a parent who pays attention don't you realize in third grade when little Johnny comes home and can't read and write that something's missing here. It comes back to you as parents parents after take the active role. You can't shift the burden to the teachers. You can't shift the burden to the government. We are here to provide K through 12 education. And I think it's time we sure that up. I've Heard lots of proposals down the line here of two years of free college two years of this and that I think we should concentrate on K through 12 right now fix what we have before you venture out. I'm an ex-military man. And I was always taught you take care of your backyard before you head out into the other person's territory and I say we focus on K through 12 before we worry about giving College education's, excuse me, when you're 18, you're an adult find your own way to college. Thank you that you've been listening to the Minnesota citizens Forum gubernatorial primary debate on the news and information station for Minnesota Public Radio. We've had with us ddfl and Reform Party candidates for Governor and believe it or not candy. It's what you just been through was the structured portion of our evening euphemistically call in the Wild Card portion of the bait. What we'd like to do is invite the citizens in each of our location to those of you who are brave souls with a burning question on your mind. Preferably one from our packet of questions already prepared. Please step up to the microphone. I see someone waiting already at Lucille and we'll go through the same order that we've been following all night for cecile's then Duluth then Rochester and then here in St. Paul. We'll see how far we can get going to change the rules a little bit instead of me saying this question is for two or three of you and who's at the microphone is going to say which one candidate and please just one you'd like to have respond to this question. Try to stick to the one minute world all to keep things moving. So please when they're also on the questions as long as the answers. Why don't you take it away at Lucile's say your name? And where you from in North Minneapolis? I'm sorry that it would be limited to just one but it anyone can select and select the question who want to maybe mr. Humphrey will take the question is the state of Minnesota recently entered into a 6.5 billion dollar settlement with the tobacco industry the Center for Disease Control the Surgeon General and court records and files revealed that African-Americans were specifically racist lady and detrimentally Target it causing continued and continued to cause severe damage. Will you support a vehicle structured by the African American community that will ensure that the African-American Community participate in the negotiations and distribution of the 6.5 billion dollar seven. Randy. I couldn't agree more that he the documents that were introduced to into that the court trial showed very clearly that these tobacco companies in the industry did indeed Target minorities and I think that part of the remedy that comes in the form of those dollars certainly ought to go back to take care of that kind of targeting so I would be happy to work with you. I would hope that the legislature would be sensitive to those kinds of concerns as we set out a significant portion of those dollars specifically to help young people not get started and help others get off the addiction of nicotine. That's a very good idea and I'm really glad you brought up and I'd love to talk with you further about it. Okay. Thank you. 222 Lutz. the question for one cabinet mystery Doug Johnson start Bar store want to ask how do we focus all the educational policies that we've been talkin about tonight? First on what's good for the pupils who unfortunately don't give political contributions and therefore don't have cloud in the political field. Pupils teachers and parents have to be more involved and they will be more involved in my Administration. You're actually absolutely correct. We have to find out from the kids their priorities and give them a chance to make part of the decisions for their for their education what I'm hearing from parents more and more and from students is we have to get drugs out of our schools. We have to have schools that are drug-free we have to have schools that are weapon free. And we have to get more student involvement. But I also want to involve parents more parents have to be more in that decision making process and I'm an educator was for many years and I think I'll be a good Governor because of my background and education. I'm Becky Hoffman my quest. Mr. Freeman, I want to commend attorney general Humphrey for the leadership. He shown and taking on the tobacco industry here in Minnesota. I'm especially supportive of the provision in the tobacco settlement. It designates funding for the creation of a comprehensive. Tobacco prevention program. My question originally was for all of you, but I'd like to know from mr. Freeman. Do you support the central settlements recommendation to use 650 million dollars of the 6.1 billion dollar settlement proceeds to create a tobacco prevention program. It's clear that when the money from the tobacco settlement arrives that we messed address a lot of it to secession programs to educating our young people not to start smoking the health care concerns that exist and I think that Being able to do something to counter the publicity the television of the year the ads and billboards everything that's been influencing. Our young people to smoke is important. We also need to make sure that we have dollars available to provide for treatment for those people who are addicted to her suffering the health problems that result from smoking make you pop your name. My name is Keith West. I'm a resident of Saint Paul and my question was directed to mr. Ventura due to NAFTA. There's been an increase in relocation of businesses outside the United States, what would you do to ensure that businesses located in the inner cities seems to me that I find it strange that the reasoning for relocating businesses to hold on quote third world countries is profit margin and they seem to feel that there is some sense of Security in a quote on quote third world country what what type of answers what what could you do too? Well, that's a tough question. This is only the governor of Minnesota and I think that's a national federal policy. But I think it all comes back to taxes. I mean right now Tax Freedom Day in Minnesota is May 16th. We work for the government until May 16th every year before we start working for ourselves and what it all comes back to me is this is simple we have government that is too large government that is going beyond what the Constitution both federally and the state of Minnesota considered government to be so that by lowering the size of government by lowering taxes and giving money back to the people back to businesses. They won't run off then everybody is paying too many taxes cut-and-dried end of story. We all pay too much in the thing people need to remember is this government does not create any money. They simply read this distribute it so that money comes from Someone else when you accept something from the government someone else paid for it. Show my view is let's cut down the size of government. Let's lower taxes make more profits and don't think for one minute are bullish economy right now is based upon government. It's not it's based upon the private sector and investment there. Keep more money in the private sector you get more investment. You'll get more businesses back in to the inner city to Lucille Lucy or I'll have you a question. My name is Bill English and my question is to Mike Freeman. Mike given the overwhelming support for some form of hand gun control in Minnesota given the fact that currently in individual an adult can sell a gun to a to a youth a young person illegally and get less time than he would for selling them a pack of cigarettes. What art would you be in favor of rather severe penalties for any adult selling a child a gun today? It's a significant crime for any person selling a gun to juvenile juveniles aren't entitled to carry guns. Any person who gives adult who gives a child a gun who commits a crime with it has a crime himself him or herself and those that's an initiative that I took the Minnesota Legislature, but if we want to be really serious about reducing gun violence in our streets and not only never been here, but throughout Minnesota, we need to fully enforce the two of the legislature finally gave us after 5 years of asking that's a five-year mandatory minimum sentence for every felon in possession of a gun the overwhelming amount of violence in our society created by guns are done by people who have already committed felonies and we need to make sure that those felons know if they carry a gun they face. Mandatory minimum sentence, that's what we need to do second day. We need to provide a whole series of conflict management and resolution process is short of violence. You're absolutely right when I was a young man growing up in South Minneapolis are what we dealt with and we had disputes we dealt with our fists today unfortunately guns are there we need to stop the sale of illegal guns and we need to penalize those who sell them two young people. Would you be in favor of a more severe penalty that exist today such as 30 Years first offense no parole for selling a kid a gun. Selling a kid a gun 30 Years first offense. No parole. The answer is yes. Back to Duluth who has a question for some of these counties maybe who haven't been exercised enough just lately. Hello. Hello and tell him I'm from Duluth and I've got a question directed to any of you men that are brave enough to answer this one. Now. If you don't pick when I will so I feel that the kids are home after school unsupervised. Perhaps we should pay parents like we pay for child care. What would you do to encourage one parent to be home with the children by the tax credits and subsidies for childcare away from the home. We are to look at providing those kinds of financial benefits to those who provide child care in the home. But once we get into a situation, we have both parents who out of economic necessity have to work my proposal as we got to keep our schools open from 5 from 7 in the morning until 7 in the evening starting 5 days and This week and I'd like to see it extended to a 6 possibly the 7th Day and and later. We need to give working parents of the assurance that their children are safe supervised and productive when school lets out. And before they get home from work and that the saddest thing I've seen in in in this whole campaign is in a elementary school. Were you seeing first or second graders do I clutching their teachers in most cases hymns of their dresses? Because they don't want to leave at 3. They don't have anywhere to go where they're going to be safe. So I think you got a resource there. We have a major investment center public schools in terms of the facilities spring in mentors coaches counselors people who will work with kids provide remedial assistance and in the kids were behind their studies open up new Vistas new games new Pursuits. Got a couple can it just itching to get in? Can you send one more that's have took my belt earlier that we need to recognize the economic contribution of parenting. And today. We have tax breaks equal to the child care credits for 1 year for one child. I think we need to expand that out for 12 months per child because the fact of the matter is there's a real economic contribution have parents at home. The second thing is is in dealing with a direct question on after school programs. We need to understand that it's going to be our school districts are parents are principles in the community. They're going to know better how to implement different things and we need to ask them what they need to follow through and give them the resources. So what we shouldn't do is have a one-size-fit-all policy in St. Louis Park. We have an initiative called children's first it's working but it's working for our community. It might not work in North Minneapolis and it might not work in blackduck but we the parents and we the community leaders know what to do in. I think we have two state has a role to help communities do the type of things to make sure that were raising healthy children. And my topic is poverty. We are concerned about children living in poverty not having the same opportunities for Quality education as children above the property property level. We proposed Minnesota follow the leader of Wisconsin and providing funds to poor children who want to attend a private school of their choice. This would provide much-needed competition between public and private schools. Would you support this proposal? No, I do not support the disposal to provide public dollars is vouchers or some other means of funding private schools. I think we have very great financial needs in our own schools. And I think the article in our responsibilities of state is to provide a uniform high-quality public education system for all people. I think it's appropriate that parents may choose to send their kids to private school. I think they should do that. Not that the taxpayer expense and for low-income kids and I think their whole lot of other parts of the poverty thing that we haven't had a chance to get into tonight that I hope we do it yet, but for the whole thing from kids and getting a good school system recognize not every kid needs the same thing and we do have some good alternative schools. They're helping address those needs but taken dollars away and frankly despite all the talk about I'm going to cut in taxes. I'm going to cut tax in with a cut taxes and I'm going to spend on this project here 6 million here and 30 million there whatever you got to recognize there's a fixed amount of money. You can't spend 10 * if we're taking money and putting it into the private schools at the last hours for the public schools. And I frankly think we have to work to make sure we have the best school system in the entire country you a question in St. Paul for one of the County's Sarah. My name is Sarah Lagos and you can ask how to resolve these issues about the welfare reform. It seems to me that they all kind of interact and it leads us back to education and mr. Humphrey talks about education starting at Dave one birth and I think of Education starting at conception and Along with that we have talked about the crime tobacco's excetera. It seems to me that education should include involving parents and what their children do and not enough of just saying okay parents you have to do this, but in terms of saying that parents have a responsibility, but all parents don't know exactly what that responsibility is. We've not talked about the fact that I believe that most parents really do love and care about their children but parents don't know we know cigarettes cause problems when we don't know that they don't know if the civically that's cigarettes cause auction oxygen deprivation before birth. There are things that education should I mind mind do to help parents before they have their children and have to have the children prior to that first time that the inter-school I would like to know from you. Whoever wants to answer the question. How are you going to integrate these issues because we talked about them all as though their separate and in reality they are are connected to each other. How to say that given the time that we have I think I can hear from two or possibly three if your brief 3 answers that start with skip Humphrey on this one, let me just give you one example of an idea that I've been visiting with some folks about this is the perfect answer for all of it. But we have many single parents with children that need to get off of the welfare in the poverty that they're in and into the job and that's the goal that we all have but we also need to make sure that that parent is not separated from the responsibilities in the opportunity of making of creating a good strong family during the time that they're getting that training for the job. It would seem to me rather interesting if we couldn't do some of that training right at a childcare facility so that you have the parents at the childcare facility with their child and with other children learning how to be good parents learning the responsibilities of being on time doing a job and all the rest and get it. Ready to go to work that gives us at least one opportunity to integrate a lot of these issues. Some people ask why we going to reduce those how we going to pay for the cost of that early childhood education and Care maybe one of the better ways to reduce the numbers by having parents at that child care center. That's just one example of an idea that a citizen brought to me. I think if we reach out to the public we are going to find answers of how we integrate these efforts at that. Very same time that young new mother can learn about the health effects of a lot of the decisions that she will have to make for her children real quickly. I think that one of the points and I think's gets touched on this in terms of getting the parental education. We have some good public program Early Childhood family education home visitation program. Those are very valuable, but there are lots of great non-profit programs out there the mail in Prague. Great story a couple years ago about a group of mothers low-income mothers no support to teach them how to parent one Mother was complaining. She didn't know what to do. No matter how hard she spanked or eight month old son. He wouldn't quit wetting his pants. Nobody ever told that mother that you don't spank an eight-month-old because they're not able to do that yet. These other parents working together. We're able to help teach each other. I think we have to Foster and encourage programs like that. Sometimes the government has to be involved sometimes nonprofits can do it very well. But let's do it both cuz we have to hit every child. I was particularly agreeable with you. And you said that almost all parents do care about their children's education. That was my experience. I think that some of the families now that are ravaged by drugs. I know this I've seen families were children are really ignored because of the drug culture that's happening in our families. I would do two things and let's build on some Testing programs rather than always new program times. Maybe we should get rid of something and if it's not working, I think teachers as mentors that we would connect teachers with particularly at risk students and their family and they have to be reimbursed for that teaching is a lot tougher today. That was when I started 25 or 30 years ago, I would link the teachers directly with the parents and the children number to we have a public health nursing system in our state these public health nurse nurses are excellent and they can work with families and with children and bring these families and give them support in the kind of educational things that you were talking about. That would be my Approach not new programs to try to build on some of the things that we have now, and I think we can make difference in the lives of our families I think you're absolutely right. And when you go out and look at the issues and think about them for a while, all the issues are linked cuz when you look at dealing with the issue of crime and violence, you see that the nature of it is changing most of the kids that are are choosing a life of crime are doing so cuz they don't think they have opportunity in their lives. They don't think they have opportunity their life so they don't see jobs around them and they don't see how they're going to make it. If you look at the Yellow Pages the jobs that are available out there almost all require some kind of training above where you're at in high school, but the fact of the matter is the study of show of all the kids, especially lower-income kids that are choosing dead-end jobs rather than getting the training. It's because the cost and it's not because they want to get the training. These are things that are all linked and the end in what what you need to make it in the future is changing and now we need government to change as well government deliver services and chimneys people's lives go like This and just as we want to hold everybody accountable in our schools accountable. I think government has a job to to control its pending prioritize where to put $6 and make sure that the core Services of governments perform work and I think that's what taxpayers should demand have to catch up of our citizens Forum this evening now, we'll go back to draw a brief closing statements. If you can remember back to the beginning of this evening, we'll go in the reverse order that we use. So we'll start with John Marty. Thank you. Thank you for participating in this process is something to talk about government. They don't want government to give up and go away. They want the government that is effective and efficient that works for them instead of the special interest. You know, I was very outspoken on Stadium subsidies, and I'm glad to have a lot of support for that issue now, but you know, we've got to be willing to stand up to the interest so so I'm giving the big campaign contributions those who have the truck loads of obvious here at the cap. Now that's a lobbyist in the room here tonight. They're supporting candidates and there's a reason they support candidates because they want to get something out of government. Can you got to listen to that and pay attention now, it works because however this race comes out somebody up here or elsewhere is going to be serving. The people of this state is Governor. We got to make sure we're working for the public interest not the people who are most vocal here and in the campaigns with their money I Want to Thank You Lord. I want to thank the citizens formed wonderful questions that were given tonight and some of the ideas in the discussion that we're here. As I said in the beginning I want to be your Governor because I truly believe that Minnesota as good as it is can be better can be the best place on Earth in which to live and I think the key that is having a government that understands its limits, but at the same time is willing to set the priorities and to discipline itself to be a helpful partner in achieving those priorities. Proud of the work that we've been able to accomplish with cooperation of the public through the Attorney General's office. I know that that opportunity to serve as the people's lawyer has been beneficial to the public. I want to serve as the people's governor and I ask for your support. Thank you Lord. And thank you everyone for listening for to a long hours in the last month. I've been honored to win the endorser the dfl party the AFL-CIO and just recently Paul and Sheila wellstone those endorsements came because of my commitment to Minnesota's kids to our education to expanding our already good education system because of the track record of my commitment to doing something about crime. We've heard a lot of citizens talking about it today and is Hennepin County attorney over the last eight years. I've sent more Violent Femmes to prison than any other elected official in history this state that simply isn't enough. We need to start first with their young people truancy and curfew If you're out late at night, you simply can't get up for school and we need young people in school 80% of the people today in prison don't have a high school education. We need to keep our young people in school. We need to protect them and nurture them every single one of God's children is entitled to basic protection food and help that's my commitment is your government Reform Party candidate. I would like to address everyone here thank them very much and throughout the state of Minnesota and would like to remind them that I as a Reform Party candidate accept no Pac money. So therefore there are no strings attached to me as a governor but along with accepting no Pac money, you don't get endorsements because if they can't own you they won't endorse you may Shunk and I are the only two candidates who are vested members in unions yet. The AFL-CIO says we can endorse our own Union Brothers. I guess. We live in a 3-prong cyst. A check and balance legislative executive and judicial. Why do you want your head executive to be born out of these two legislative parties? Because if they do then they're there for the party. They're not they're necessarily for what's Best in Minnesota when a bill comes to my desk. I can sign it or veto it on its merits or lack of and I won't have party pressure put upon me and finally, I would just like to say it's amazing again. Listen to Democrats talking about cutting taxes when they just had four billion dollars and surplus which nobody here advocated except me giving the money back to the people in this wasn't even budgeted. Thank you. Is before us is how to achieve better government government that works for all of our citizens and we talked about some of that night terms of better schools are we didn't get much of the better highways in mass transit which is another critical need tougher crime-fighting vertically and in light of the last question about helping people out of poverty into the mainstream of American life. It seems to me we also need to recognize that it that if we want to reduce the cost of government and the size of government. We also have to reduce the need for government and that means we have to share in these Solutions week. We need an economic system in this state and nation that allows every citizen to earn his or her way into the American dream. We've seen some steps in that direction with the recent economic improvements. We have very low unemployment rate in this state we've seen as a result the welfare rolls were told recently buy a house a house committee and washing and drop by 23% Minnesota. We need to give People through incentives to work living wage that I have a minimum wage this country at 8:59 dollars an hour or so the work pays we need to provide health insurance for everybody who's working. And that's a proposal I made with someone else's followed up on we need to make the hmos deliver the kind of healthcare the people who are working and paying for health insurance deserve. So we need everybody to join into the solution. Not just government. Let's move on to Ted Mondale for a closing statement. Thank you for holding this form tonight and putting your time into this effort and I appreciate the opportunity to tell you about my plan to cut taxes control government spending and make new Investments to help families and communities and to meet the health care needs of our senior citizens. You know when politicians get together, they usually talk about how people are failing politics. I think they're wrong. I think it's our politics that are failing people. I'm a different kind of democrat and I'm running a different kind of campaign to tell the people the truth about what my plans are and how I intend to pay for them for the issue in this campaign is not the government's always bad nor is it the government needs more money to restore the public trust government needs to show that I can control its pending invest in new priorities and do a better job with a money. It already has to have to cut you out there. Thank you for the invitation. I'm from a small town in northern Minnesota the son of a truck driver and I'm very honored to be able to participate in this great state and run for governor of this state. I think that I bring more experience and more background and more common sense into this race for governor than anyone else has been said or many questions asked about some very very important issues to me real Minnesota and particular what's happening in the agricultural regions of our state. If you get a chance go to the northern part of the Red River Valley and see the decay in the fear in the lives of young fires in the decay of those communities and their schools. This is a big state a big stick. I know Minnesota, I know state government and I hope that I am your governor on Election Day. Thank you all very much for the Star Tribune. Ktca TV in the Minnesota Public Radio on Lori Sturdevant, and I'd like to thank you for joining us in this First Citizens conversation with the candidates for Governor if you'd like to hold your own discussions with Why they should have talked about tonight. You can call 625-8095 and 15 ft back at that number will be glad to provide you with a discussion could have your own. Thank you and goodnight. That's a debate among. The gubernatorial candidates was originally held last night at the State Office Building in St. Paul and corns people asking the questions were located in Rochester to lose man Lucille's Kitchen in Minneapolis in addition to the State Office Building. That does it for our special edition of midday today like to thank you for tuning in at 9 tonight. We're going to be broadcasting the 11th hour of our midday program today our conversation with Bob Walker president of handgun Control Incorporated. So that's coming up at 9 tonight. Today's programming is made possible in part by The Advocates of Minnesota Public Radio computers include 3 a.m. And its subsidiary Eastern Heights bank and the Honeywell Foundation providing the benefits of control worldwide that does it for midday today tomorrow. We're going to be getting ready to start celebrating independence day will also be taking a look at the summer movies coming up next to the art of bird watching on top of the nation. On the next All Things Considered will hear from the u.s. Ambassador to Laos the local Hmong population is anxious about the human right situation there. It's all things considered weekdays at 3 on Minnesota Public Radio k n o w FM 91.1 listen to Minnesota Public Radio. We have a cloudy Sky. It's up to 81 degrees at Cana W FM 91.1 Minneapolis. And st. Paul fire department cloudy through the afternoon fairly humid as well temperature could warm up another couple of degrees.