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There is good news and bad in the special election to fill the state senate seat of retiring legislator, Dick Day. The good is that we have three candidates who present very different styles and (with some exceptions) competing views on the pertinent issues of the day.
For example, on the budget, the Republican candidate, Mike Parry, hews pretty close to Republican orthodoxy - and will clearly be a feisty advocate for spending cuts (fifteen percent across the board) though he wavers when asked whether that applies to education or any other specific budget category. The Democrat, Jason Engbrecht, refuses to identify any area of current government spending he feels we can do without - despite a huge whole in the state's budget - and advocates "revenue" increases as part of the budget solution. The Independent, Roy Srp, stresses his record as Mayor in keeping the city's budget in the black (without property tax increases) despite state imposed cuts in Local Government Aid - and pledges to bring the same approach to state budgeting. This is just a sample of what we are learning as these three candidates share their views with area voters. Fortunately, because of seven debate forums (all of which have been covered by the local media), we are being given ample opportunity to compare and contrast the candidates.
Here is the bad news. Area voters are also being inundated with robo-calls and mass mailings (some of them negative) all financed with outside money. The two major parties (Republican and Democrat) and their associated interest groups are determined to win this election to advance their own agendas (which in many respects do not align at all with the concerns and needs of area residents). And they are obviously willing to spend whatever it takes to "buy" their candidate a victory. Do your best to ignore this outside influence - and instead make your decision next Tuesday based on what you know about each of these candidates. Here in Waseca, we already know a lot about two of the three contenders, Mayor Srp and former councilman Parry. We have learned more about them and Mr. Engbrecht through the frequent debates. So, vote what you know – not what these outside groups want you to believe.
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