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Race for vacated Senate seat gathers momentum
Posted: Friday, December 18, 2009 1:21 pm
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Race for vacated Senate seat gathers momentum
By CLARE KENNEDY
Staff Writer

OWATONNA — Sen. Dick Day resigned just 10 days ago, and the race for his seat in District 26 is already crowded — five Republicans and one Independent have publicly declared their candidacy.

But one party is staying out of the fray for now.

For the time being, the local Democratic-Farmer-Labor party is staying mum.

“We don’t have anybody ready to announce officially. There are people looking into it — talking with their families and getting prepared,” said Vicki Jensen, the chair of the Steele County DFL. “Early next week someone will announce their candidacy. A lot of people are thinking about it.”

Day announced his resignation on Dec. 8. The six-term Republican senator is dropping out to head up Racino Now, a non-profit lobbyist group. To fill Day’s seat, Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Tuesday that a special election will be held Jan. 26 — with a Jan. 12 primary, if necessary.

Interest in Day’s seat is high.

Politicians in Waseca were the first to pounce. Waseca Republican Mike Parry declared his intention to run within hours of Day’s announcement. Close on Parry’s heels was Waseca Mayor Roy Srp, who is running as an Independence Party candidate

This Friday, four more Republicans officially threw their hats into the ring, said Dave Thul, the co-chair of Steele County Republicans.



The first was Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz. It is Kuntz’s second bid for a seat in St. Paul in as many years. In 2008, Kuntz ran against DFLer Kory Kath for the House seat in District 26A. With 57 percent of the vote, Kath defeated Kuntz.

Kuntz said he decided to run after former Medford Mayor Dan Kaiser withdrew from the race.

“I thought the citizens of this area needed an opportunity to have an Owatonna resident to vote for,” Kuntz said.

As it turns out, Republicans in the region will have two Owatonna contenders to choose from. Ted Boosalis, the former owner of Costa’s Chocolates, is hoping to win the Republican endorsement. Boosalis said his reasons for running were simple: He has passion for politics.

“It’s a wide open race and I have many conservative values that the party can accept,” Boosalis said.

Two Republicans from Faribault also hope to win Day’s seat in this whirlwind race. One is Faribault City Council member Steven Underdahl, who owns and operates a contracting company, Procon Inc. Underdahl said he was running to promote economic growth.

“I’ve been a small businessman for over 30 years and I’ve seen the challenges government regulations pose for businesses and how they affect how we do our work and our ability to create jobs,” Underdahl said. “We need to create a better environment for that.”

The fourth Republican to declare candidacy on Friday was Teri Menard, a businesswoman in Faribault. Menard could not be reached for comment Friday.

With so many candidates, one thing the Republican party must guard against is splitting their own vote.

“For me, the biggest issue is to make sure we have unity coming out of that convention. Everyone has to be mindful that we don’t want to see factionalization coming from that,” Boosalis said.

To avoid rifts, the party will have an endorsing convention on Dec. 28 at the Elks Lodge in Faribault. The convention will take place just one day before the week-long filing period closes: The Office of the Secretary of State will be allowing candidates to file from Dec. 23 to Dec. 29.

“That night each candidate will have a chance to speak and once they’re done the delegates will vote,” Thul said. “It’s our hope that we’ll have a endorsed candidate then — so only the endorsed candidate will go up to St. Paul and file. If it works out then there won’t be a need for a primary.”
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Member Opinions:
By: MichellePederson on 12/24/09
Mike Parry is best for this seat. Go to www.mikeparry.com for more information. You can call or email Mike anytime...mike@mikeparry.com or 507-382-8447.


 
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