Like to welcome me back to mid-day here on Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Gary. I can glad you could join us today or two weeks to go now to primary election day in Minnesota and have you decided yet who you think should be Minnesota's next Governor. Well, if you haven't perhaps this next hour will help you decide today as part of our continuing coverage leading up to the September 15th primary. We're going to bring you a Citizens forum debate with the five dfl candidates and the Reform Party candidate for governor the debate took place Saturday at the Minnesota Public Radio State Fair booth.Welcome to a special Minnesota citizens forum debate focusing on the race for the governor of Minnesota and Lori Sturdevant of the Star Tribune and your host for today's debate. It's sponsored by the Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio and Katie catv. We're broadcasting live from the state fair for Minnesota Public Radio. The citizens forum is an effort to bring the voices and ideas of average citizens to bear on the shoes. Governor's race questions today will be posed by people who have studied the issues in a series of form for the last several months. They'll be asking questions that were developed in conjunction with other citizens after some discussion and deliberation. We're going to be here today from the five dfl candidates for Governor the ones who will be on the primary ballot on September 15th plus the Reform Party candidate Jesse Ventura. We invited Republican Party candidate Norm Coleman to participate, but he declined our invitation.Willam opening statements this morning because we have a major news development in the state of Minnesota sew-ins instead of the remote that you may have been the plan candidates would like to ask you to comment on the Northwest Airlines pilot strike and its application to Minnesota and what you think the governor of Minnesota a lot to do in response will begin with Mark Dayton. I'll get my minute to the audience if they want to keep up the Uproar there. I didn't get so horrible that we're in a situation to state. Where are only in totally dominant Airline Northwest switch controls 85% of the gates at the Metropolitan airport and whose Regional carrier masaba is the only a carrier for most of Greater. Minnesota is shut down and that's the thank you we get as Citizens for the public response to help that company survive earlier this decade.Unfortunately at that time the governor made all of these A promise is Northwest and extracted nothing that was on paper and return with the exception of an Airbus base in Duluth where they have kept their word and jobs in Hibbing what you're not what they promise to be airport noise is not been addressed the Labor Relations have not been addressed and now we have a shutdown if I were Governor, I started building competition to the airport. I kind of every major airline in this country and say come on in here help us have a competitive environment. Thank you very much. I want both parties both the company and the union to get back to that bargaining table. That is absolutely critical to get this solved. I think there are people of Goodwill there. They can solve these differences they can get it done. If I were Governor right now. I've been working every minute that I possibly could to see the both parties are at that table that they finish their negotiations and they allow all of us to go.On with the kind of transportation that we need the fact is it when when Northwest was down when the workers needed help the people of Minnesota you were there you ponied up and you made the significant contributions now it is time for both parties to work out their differences and get back that bargaining table finish it up and allow us to get on with a better life and a greater economy in Minnesota. Thank you intervene as governor in and get them back to the table. But I would also make a phone call out to the president of the United States because this also falls under his jurisdiction. He has the power to get them back to the bargaining table as much or more. So as the governor. Also, I think we need to work both federally as well as locally to solve this problem. I certainly believe in collective bargaining and I agree with the right and ability of people to strike if they showed desire butIs going to Cripple the Midwest and cripple the Twin Cities and I think it's imperative that. Again we get them back to the bargaining table by whatever means necessary to do so and concessions need to be made it certainly probably on both sides for the good of all. bike frame Good morning for all citizens in Minnesota that the Northwest stop playing. There's a lot of work to do by both the pilots in Northwest but I think the principal burden is on Northwest. They asked the citizens of Minnesota to come up with 325 million dollars of loans and we did they ask the pilots in the other people who worked at Northwest to give money back and to support them. And now that I'm a record profits Northwest can't settle with their pilots. I say Northwest get back to the table. Let's get those airplanes flying we need in the state of, Minnesota. Ted Mondale Ted Mondale, very important time for the governor to be very proactive enforcing both parties to the bargaining table to make sure that this strike is settled equitably and as also as quickly as possible, it's not time for posturing anymore. And I think the governor can play a very strong role in this area. We need to recognize the sacrifice of the workers made to keep that Airline going. We also need know that in our particular area. It's very important that Airlines stay strong. I think we also in the decision to not build a new airport. We made the decision to try and build as many gates as possible as low-cost as possible. I think that bears out that that was a good decision and I actually hail the Mac for making the decision to go ahead and build that terminal so we'll have the gates to have more competitors into this Market. Thank you. Come on now. I went to bed early last night and didn't hear that. The contract was not settled. I woke up this morning in the skies were pretty quiet and I had a kind of a sick feeling that I ought to think that party is couldn't bargain in good faith and and get that matter settled. It's an important issue of her management and employees but the traveling public and the people of Minnesota to have reliable Air Service. I don't think it's a good time to be polarizing folks involved in negotiations on this issue as Governor. I would be working for Solutions not pointing fingers. In fact, I thought about this a few days ago. If I were the governor, what I would do is I would bite him invite them up to Denise's my home on Lake Vermilion and I'd say let's go fishing both sides. I'll take you out in the pontoon boat and I'll swing across Big Bay and I'll go between and Find some islands and they'll have no idea where they are and say okay work this out or Swim hole, but a governor has to provide leadership and and I'm a negotiator and I would be working working myself getting the parties back together and getting it settle for Minnesota. Thank you. You're listening to a special Minnesota citizens forum debate live at the Minnesota State Fair on Minnesota Public Radio on your whole story Sturtevant of the Star Tribune and it's time to get our citizens into the ACT. These are people who have studied the issues now for some months have met with their fellow citizens in groups to formulate questions. And those questions are going to be the ones they'll be presenting today each question to be answered in turn by three candidates and we've mixed them up with a drawing of numbers before hand. So you'll hear that from them in a in a random order. The first question will be on education and its to be answered by by Skip Humphrey by Mike Freeman and by Mark Dayton will hear from skip Humphrey first, but the question is going to be presented by by Ray Ray Ray you get up and say your name and where you from and state your question, please. I'm already killing him from Duluth. You guys all know where Duluth is. I hope what plans or ideas you have to get parents more involved with their children's education. Well, first of all, I think we need to have education as the number one priority for the future of this state. That's the first priority and we have to start literally when the child is born. We need to have good pair training and involvement directly involve so that we start at the earliest age is Rodger Moore and I and are balanced budget have proposed that we have a income tax credit for child care so that we can make sure that individuals have it and parents have the opportunity to have their kids early on in in that child care. Then we want to go right into K through 12 with smaller class sizes all of the other options and choices that independent school districts and parents need to make and make sure that we have the opportunity to have young people when they're graduating from high school that they can go right on into those Technical and Community College and higher education. That's another area where we put another additional income tax credit over a billion dollars worth of income tax cuts permanent cuts for this. Play the Minnesota Working Families in Minnesota. Next. We'll hear from Mike Freeman. We re your question was about families and education and nothing is more important than having families involved. That's why Terry Freeman. I've entrusted the three most important people in our life Katie Beth and Matthew Freeman into our Public Schools. That's why Terry's a school board member in the ritual school. And what we need to do is Outreach to the parents. We need to encourage them to be involved in parent-teacher conferences. We need to be encouraged him to be part of PTA and of sports and after school activities, they got to attend school board meeting that we need to make it more user-friendly one of the great things we do when we want to get people involved in a campaign is you have food and you have a good time, but we need to invite people to have potlucks but it seems to me that we can do that encourage people to come to the schools and get involved. We actually need people to reach out at the family. There's some families that don't have telephone. Let's knock on their door. Let's encourage them to come. Let's do that kind of community. It's part of Minnesota and our Public Schools will be better. Thank you. Ray first of all, I would replace the regimented testing at the end of 3rd grade with an individualized review at the end of every grade where the school the principal and teachers would review the progress of every single student and we're certain levels of Mastery and not been achieved in the basics of Reading Writing and math parents would be called in that child's situation would be reviewed parents would be urged to get involved in summer programs or media programs and children would not progressed on to other grades until they had mastered those basic. Let's have an early warning device. So that parents know in the immediate sense that their kids are at risk. Secondly. I keep the schools open till 7 in the evening ideally later. So many working parents don't have the opportunity during the day to take part in activities parent teacher conferences the like let's let's make our schools are most valuable public resource open to the public and get parents involved throughout the day and the With their children, thank you very much. We have one more question and education. The next question will be answered in order by Doug Johnson by Ted Mondale and Jesse Ventura. So go ahead Sandra Coulson from Minneapolis. And my question is we are concerned the profiles and learning is expensive and untested what safety net will you provide if it fails and what happens to the kids who feel failed meet the standard number one. I am the most qualified candidate in the in this race on education. I was a public educator for over 30 years. Project Head Start was a high school guidance counselor after being an elementary teacher for many years and I know what works in schools and what doesn't work. I think that we have to give the profiles of learning and graduation standards time to work the worst thing that a governor or legislature could do would be to pull the rug from under that program. I think we will get higher standards and and more Burning up from our students and we have to have standards and if if children are not are not passing. I don't think that we should make it easy for them to to move forward. You're not going to get better education and our children getting prepared for the 21st century unless we have some tougher standards and as Governor, I will not support efforts to get rid of these new initiatives that public education is instituting in their schools. Thank you. Johnson next Ted Mondale. Search flights each other's steps. I took a simple concept and made it too complicated. And also there's this Theory now that people in St. Paul the bureaucrats know better than our teachers and parents how to teach our kids until we're driving process down rather than empowering up. I've talked had a number of teachers conferences in the last couple of months. Are they and the administrative going to try and make this happen? I think there's a couple of things though that need to happen one. These standards are too low and I think for school districts will reach higher standards. We need to put the dollars available for them to go and reach those standards and give them the flexibility to need it. Secondly what were missing is is we're not saying the kids can read by the end of 3rd grade, you know kids learn to read a third grade and then they read to learn after that and I put an initiative forward to allow School District to put a plan together so that every child can read by The end of third grade and I think we're only going to hit those standards if we're able to make sure that the children as they move up have the skills. They need to actually learn later on. Thank you. First of all, I'd like to state that I have the most qualified lieutenant governor when it comes to education. I went out into the into the teaching district and got a 36-year educator who is spent on 22 years in the Saint Paul School District down in the trenches with the children. She knows what works and that is may shonk mechant just told me that profiles and learning and goes 2000 will work. She said that it is a been rushed a little bit of pain the teachers so it's imperative for our teachers to educate themselves so they can make it work and the key to this is this it's going to allow teachers students as well as parents to know exactly what it's going to take for each child to move forward the next year and what criteria will have to be met when they do go forward and I think with parental involvement teacher involvement and it also stimulates the children so far. May has told me that kids love it and kids got to love to learn if they're going to learn and that therefore We must give it a chance to happen. Thank you. Okay, what kind of shift goes to taxes we're going to shift gears to taxes. Now. I first text question will be answered in order by Mike Freeman Ted Mondale and Jesse Ventura Sharon. Say your name and where you're from say hi. My name is Sharon Brown returned from North Saint Paul. And I'd like to say first off that I think it's wonderful that we all seem to agree the children are our future without our children. We have lost everything one of the one of the most important parts of childhood is getting those children into the education program early such as head start at the present time a lot of middle-class people can't afford that as Governor. What would you do to ensure that not just the vocal the most vocal programs are funded but but across-the-board more more equality in that funding for preschool education. Thank you. Thank you Sharon, and it's real clear that many many children benefit enormously from early childhood education. We've called for an extension and expansion of early. Childhood add my wife works with kids with special needs early childhood and those children in particular need that Head Start is a proven success the kids who go there not only learned better in elementary school and high school. They do better in life in terms of economics in terms of remaining out of the Criminal Justice System. It's that kind of Direction and money we need to do but if you're also talking about taxes, we need to talk about how we put more money back in the hands of families so they can work with it. I've called for 20% permanent property tax cut for homeowners renters and Farmers. It's the most comprehensive property tax cuts of all the candidates including some other candidates who have ignored the property tax issue. We simply have to make sure families have dollars so they can spend it on their kids to help their education is well. Thank you. Mike Freeman next Ted Mondale. Call Sharon thank you for that question. And I'm the father of three young kids. And after the rides. They took me on last night. I think I'd rather go bungee jumping with Mark Dayton, but I got pretty scared and pretty wet. I agree with you that that we need to focus better and make new Investments. We got to cut old government programs to make investments on kids to move them forward. I think we have to fully fund the sliding fees Child Care Program. I think we have to expand out the tax credits. If we expand the tax credits out to families of $50,000 a year you pick up forty thousand more kids to get their Child Care Credit. We need to bring an early childhood education piece into the childcare centers. I think we also have to do home visiting for high-risk programs. But one other thing we need to do is we need to expand out the same kind of tax breaks for childcare also the stay-at-home parents, but I think one thing that we don't do in in this state and perhaps this country is is understand the economic contribution of parenting so we have to have a bra on Tools that will help our family strengthen themselves. Thank you. Next Jesse Ventura alarm. All the Constitution says we will support K through 12 education. I will pull up support that Constitution completely but I will tell you this I think at a young childhood level there is nothing more important than parents being there to raise their children not government government gets involved enough. What do we do by empowering people and giving people back their money by cutting taxes cutting the size of government down you will then have more parents able to be at home through that 0 through for 5 years and play a much more important part in their children's lives rather than shifting it over. Yes headstarts important for the children that need it and it should be there for them and should be fun. But I want to empower people more right now. You have to work one parent has to work to pay the government while the other parent Works to support the house. Let's cut down the size of government. Jim Hickey Jesse Ventura will stay on our taxes theme with one more question. This one will be answered in order by Mark Dayton Hubert Humphrey and Doug Johnson David McKnight from South, Minneapolis. Gigantic Surplus, it should not be how would you correct this in future years? Well, we reached the point where we're complaining about gigantic surpluses will have to remember that when we start dealing with gigantic deficits, which we've experienced every time the national economy, He's going into recession. The surpluses have nothing to do with the level of Taxation. They have to do with the accuracy of forecasting 6 to 30 months ahead. Given those Surplus as I get half of it back to taxpayers in the form of property tax reduction. I must disagree with Mike Freeman that before his proposal. I can been for more than a year. So we had to take K-12 education funding off the property tax entirely that would reduce property taxes by more than 40% Statewide and put her public education financing on a farm or Progressive base for the future. So half of it back and the other half of it Forward invest the rest of it forward and our children improve the quality of public education and in our own Futures by rebuilding our highways developing mass transit had some of those other things the government yes government can do for people I'll thank you for that question. Gigantic Surplus plus I must say in the next biennium over nine hundred million dollars coming from a little settlement with tobacco. So we have a very significant amount of resources. What do we do with it? We target it to Working Families as I indicated before our budget proposes on a balance basis after you put reserves in and all the other things over 1 billion dollars over the four years of permanent income tax cuts. Also, it provides 4 / 340 million dollars worth of property tax cut the power back then with the people that's where it is targeted towards young families with children who have in childcare making sure that we have the opportunity to have children go on to higher education and unique and the only candidates in the whole country proposing a $500 credit for each family that's taking care of an elder person. It's time we take care of the whole family. That's how we do it. Thank you. Skip Humphrey next. Johnson said before that H&R Block would get rich of skip Humphreys tax plan ever passed the legislature would be so complicated. Even those who know complete their own taxes would never be able to do it again. I think there's a simple solution. Number one. I propose a 1.2 billion dollar income tax cut Over a four-year period if there's additional Revenue I want to have the state lower the property taxes that people pay for education in the state and 3rd. I think we can eliminate the problem in the future by having an automatic reduction in the income tax withholding rates as we build surpluses. We don't need these surpluses at this level. We shouldn't have these surpluses at this level. So I'm going to propose a blinking adjustment to the withholding rates in Minnesota. So workers will take what more Homepay with them and the state won't have it building up in the State Treasury Office of the public radio. We're going to shift gears now to Crime. The first question will be answered in order by Ted Mondale. Skip Humphrey and. Johnson, please say your name and where you from my question concerns crime. This subject is loaded with emotion and can be very divisive at its worst. It can polarizer citizens what plans do you have to cut through the rhetoric and get to workable and cost-effective solutions? But first and foremost, we have to recognize that the philosophy that's permeated our criminal justice system for the last 15 years has failed. We have a pro probation anti incarceration policy in the fact is dealing drugs is Big Business and big money and where we're putting the drug dealers back out on the street for whatever purposes it's wrong until we fix that philosophy. Nothing's going to happen the first and foremost we have to do that second and we've got a bill to Metro Jail judges are making decisions to let dangerous people back out on the street because of space that's wrong. Now criminal justice itself is going to do what we've got to give prosecutors more help. We got to get police more help and then we got to focus on juveniles where wait until these kids come through the system they get in trouble when they're 9 when they're 12 on the fifteenth and pretty soon. They murder someone or create a gross felony when their 18th, we've got to focus resources there. I put together a significant package through my cut and invest strategy. How we can advance not only getting tough but getting smart on crime and I think by doing it right we can make a real difference in head in the right direction in the state. I want to thank you for that question. First of all, I'm very proud of the fact that I am the only candidate sitting up here that is endorsed by more than 7,000 police officers that are on the street and frankly the hundreds of thousands that are around the country. I think they know what the need is and they know who's going to get the job done. We need strict top enforcement. We need to go beyond where we have gone. We need to make absolutely certain that you and I have an opportunity to have to be free of any kind of violence or threatened violence anytime of the day or night we can do that by adding a doubling to the gang strike task force, which we have proposed in our budget we can make sure that we do that by making sure that Norm Coleman and this idea of carry your gun everywhere around think of it for a moment folks if you were standing here and 15 people were Sending around with a loaded gun in their pocket. That's what would be under that now the other key thing is don't start at the state pen start at the playpen prevention programs early intervention making sure that we start at the very earliest ages learn and earn all of weed and seed all of those programs are critical. The number one priority of a governor has to be Public Safety and I don't think that There's enough safety and many of our neighborhoods in Minnesota. There's too much fear. There's too much fear and some of our schools were Denise Snyder live in northern Minnesota. We don't have to lock our doors. And so I'm going to be a governor that gives real first-hand attention. The criminal justice problems in our state. I don't have all the answers to this issue north of the other candidates at this forum. What I did was I selected why considered an expert Tom Foley the former Ramsey County attorney now acting Washington County attorney is my running mate for lieutenant governor the first 90 days of my term. Tom Foley will be working with law enforcement people around the state with the victims of crime with those most affected in those neighborhoods, and we're going to have a change the Catch and Release policy. The Minnesota are not working when we're 49th or 50th in the country in the incarceration rate. There's something wrong and I would have changed that. Thank you Doug Johnson sticking with the crime theme this time. Our question will be answered in order by Jesse Ventura Mike Freeman and Mark Dayton. So far intervention programs, like they're having a peer to be working as Governor what methods are you going to use to evaluate current programs to determine their effectiveness or to develop new programs? Well, first of all as Governor you can influence as Governor, you can help to create programs but it still has to come from the legislature. The legislature does most of that the governor leads once you try to do the curb crime and get people involved is what we did in Brooklyn Park when I was Mara Brooklyn Park Minnesota, we had a city in trouble up there crime was running rampid. You organize the neighborhoods when I was married for the four years. We had national-winning night out against Crime programs in Brooklyn Park. That's how we solved crime, you know, you hear politicians talk about adding more police and all of that stuff while police react how many cops when you ask them actually stop crime in progress very seldom. And only when they're lucky you have to organize neighborhoods. You have two neighborhoods that want to stop crime that want to be involved than government should be there to support as well as the business Community. You need to three prong attack the citizens the business community. Government. Thank you, Jesse Ventura. next Mike Freeman Rob for the last eight years. I've been Hennepin County attorney. What I focused on its crime prevention with juveniles in programs at work. You see 95% of the kids that commit a crime we're truant from school first. And so what I did is I work with County attorney Sue out the metropolitan area. We now have a uniform curfew cuz you got to get the kids off the street late at night so they can get up and go to school the next day and we work with the schools to make sure that they're doing the programs to keep the kids in school and when they're not there with us. It used to take 6 months to get a true and kid before judge and now takes 3 weeks because of you work with those young people. You give them the chance they want to learn they want to get off the street. That's a problem. That makes sense. I don't want to take that Statewide. We also have to recognize that there's some kids who really are causing a lot of trouble. We need to certify them as adults. We need to give them big-time on both sides. When you do the crime prevention with the programs that work like curfew in truancy. We need a certified. And send away for long periods of time those kids who commit adult crimes. I think Jesse said it very well. We need to communities involved in the whole lives of their children rather than relying on one program or another to do the whole job. We need to go back to the time when our kids were engaged and involved productively from the time they wake up the time they go to bed rather than be letting out of school and early to mid afternoon and have nothing nowhere to go and nothing to do rather than taking all that money to build new subsidized stadium for major league sports team. Let's take that money and put it into Community ball fields and Parks all over Minnesota and youth programs that get those kids involved. Let's extend our schools till 7 at night or 11 at night. So that a child has a safe place to go after school and has a better alternative to drugs all the way through secondly for those who do start slipping down that path. I'm the father of two teenage boys and I say the first time you wore them in the next time. You're welcome, and I don't mean that physically but they're going to be consequences when kids step out of line starting in the first grade teachers tell me the kids are swearing at them with no consequence or here carrying guns with no consequence. We got to have Juvenile Detention and intervention programs that turn kids around. Thank you, Mike. I think Mark was getting us ready for my next topic. We're going to shift gears again and consider the question of sports and Public Funding their of will answer in order this time from candidates. Skip Humphrey then Mike Freeman then please say your name and where you from. I'm from Maplewood considering you. I'm going aggressive competition between stage 4 sport teams. What would you support? What do you support HR the kind of guy h3044 a proposal by the Congress to eliminate States 70 subsidies to sport teams. Well, I don't know the details of that legislation, but I'll tell you this. I know exactly what these people have said abundantly. They have said they're not going to be blackmailed by wealthy sports club Owners and we are not going to put public dollars and a private stadiums bottom line. That's what's going to happen. The priorities that I have heard all throughout this state or education Quality Healthcare getting rid of a crime of violence and making sure that families have the power and the resources turning back those taxes back to the people. That's what those priorities are. There is no other priority for that if that's if the twins want to build a stadium let him build it along with a whole bunch of other people. Okay, that's fine. But I'll tell you this number one. I love the twins. I love what I've Loved professional sports the by Khalid they've got to get it. Right and I guarantee us attorney general. We're going to keep on this battle and we are going to get down to the bottom of what is wrong with this industry. And that's why we've already started investigation. Thank you. Next Mike Freeman. Well, thank you and I have consistently said throughout the campaign are consistently do as governor. I oppose any state tax dollars for building stadiums for private professional sports teams. Now we had a lot of discussion by Lieutenant Governors and I'm very proud of representer Ruth Johnson whose area is higher education, but skip Humphrey selected my good friend Rodger Moses running mate and ride your mobile help to put together the deal. They gave us Norm Coleman luxury hockey suites with 95 million of your taxpayer dollars. It's Rodger mower whose picture is been in the newspaper flying around with Arne Carlson sang. We got to build a twin stadium with your tax dollars will skip I don't think you can have it both ways. You can't stand up her and say you're not for it and then select a running mate who's Cleary advocated and pushed and deliver on your tax dollars for private Sports arenas. Martin Martin familiar with the details of his hard to legislate economic competition issues money stays the way to deal with this is dinner with the people in Minnesota. And just say no to this kind of being held hostage by the owners and the players who are so far out of touch with economic reality that if I could wave a magic wand I'd say that every American don't buy a single ticket to a single game don't watch a single game on television know by a single piece of merchandise for a year send these owners and players off in separate corners and tell him to talk some common sense to another and come back when they got real proposals. But in the meantime, I say no tax dollars and I say also, Why is it the norm Coleman Feinstein to meet with the Minnesota Wild officials time after time and he can't sit here in front of the people of Minnesota. He wants to be your governor and two months. He isn't it any of these events. He's got time for the Rich and Famous. He doesn't have time for the people of this state show up Norm show up Norm show up Norm until he does. I'm going to call him no show Norm all over, Minnesota. Continuing on this theme. The next question will go to Doug Johnson then Ted Mondale, then Jesse Ventura Elmer. Say your name or your phone, please? With the obscene salaries being paid to all sports figures. How can the we can even consider time and our legislature to talk about funding other industry has to pay their own way including television and Hollywood hoop a large steel salaries, but they have to pay find out how to pay their own way. Excellent question when you're a governor or member of the legislature. You should be like a person making a decision on business or members of a family planning their budget and with the escalating player salaries that have been occurring in professional sports. I could not justify giving $0.01 of the state taxpayers money for a new stadium. The players salaries have broken the system and the owners have not come to grips with that nor the leadership of those player players in this country, you know, a governor has a major responsibility. Protect the financial Integrity of the state the state being the taxpayers and citizens of Minnesota and then till we get some sanity in the players salary structure in this state. I will not support $0.01 for professional sports stadiums. Thank you. Next is Ted Mondale. People have a right to mistrust government as they do government can control its spending. It says one thing and does another like stadiums and a can't prioritize where it dollars go. I've consistently said no to sport State funding for the 4A baseball stadium because it's the wrong priority in for the wrong ideas not Mike is right. Skip has significantly changed his position on the baseball stadium since Rodger, come on and you're seeing all these promises billion dollar tax cuts is only 250 million and dug out of here in about this new program last night promised serves Anonymous as there's a 12-step program if we all take that step 12-step program, maybe before the election day. We'll all know. What were four and where we're going, but I can assure you from the beginning of the end. No State money for a Stadium from from Ted Mondale as your governor. Last detective Ventura. Well I come from the world of professional sports. And I and I also come from Hollywood. And I will tell you unequivocally that I do not support $1 going for a new Twins stadium with public financing, but I will take a different approach if there's a voluntary mechanism out there that people want to use to pay for a new stadium. If you feel that you must help poor Carl, you should have the mechanism to do so, I don't have a problem with putting a roll of slot machines out at Canterbury saying this is to help poor Carl and if you would like to contribute go ahead. I just don't believe it should come from public tax dollars how you spend your own entertainment money is your business if you want to approve or go along with a mechanism to help keep the twins here keep the Vikings here or other Pro Sports. I will not stand in the way of the private sector being able to do that and you can spend your own tax dollars or not tax dollars. I should say your own entertainment dollars the way you deem necessary. Okay. Thank you, Jesse Ventura. But it's what happens now. I must tell you that this portion of our for our form is quite scheduled or rigidly format. And I know that our friend the Attorney General really wants back in on this question. Would you have a wild card statement coming up few minutes ahead. I think you'll get your chance yet. So just bear with us back into I'll keep that in mind. We are going to continue with the schedule for him and move on to welfare and poverty. The first question on that topic will be addressed for in order by Mike Freeman then Ted Mondale then Jesse Ventura Lisa. Tell your name and where you from, please. I'm Lisa tubs. I'm from Rosemount Minnesota. My question is what are the policies that you support to help farmers stay on the land rather than moving to the city and if there are no existing ones, what do you propose? Thank you Lisa and last I issued a comprehensive agricultural paper in March and prior to that a comprehensive economic Redevelopment plan, but most recently we've been clearly been made aware of the tremendous problem in our family farms today and that's the problem of price throughout the state and a problem of disease in the Northwestern part of the state some people have said well we can't do anything except ask the federal government to do something and it is correct. The federal government has the most to do with Farm prices, but when your people are hurting in your state it's incumbent Upon A government to do something that's why I stood was Senator Paul wellstone last Tuesday and called for a special session to talk about how we help refinance on a temporary basis some of the farm loans because many Farmers can't make those mortgage payment. We need to talk about how we can postpone property taxes over. Of time to allow those Farmers come through and frankly. I think it's incumbent upon everyone to say to their governor candidates. It's not enough just Blame it on the feds. What is you what are you is a gubernatorial candidate going to do I'm going to help to refinance the loans. It can't be paid recognize that there is a crisis out there. It's caused by some things out of our control and some in our control weather falling International prices disease, but the fact of the matter is there are people hurting out there and I support dogs called to have a special session to do everything the state can to keep our Farmers on the land. Now that's just a short term policy in the long-term. There are some things that the state can do we can expand out the homestead tax credit. You hear about Farmers making $35,000 and paying $20,000 a year in taxes. That's too much we can invest in the type of things to bring value-added products in place. There's a new soybean manufacturing plant down in Fairmont. And that is a Panacea higher prices higher income investments in agricultural research investments in the type of crime. Disease-ridden crops that that we can have moving forward. So it's another thing to stay can do but in essence there's also a federal problem and you need to have a governor that understands the problems that will la be hard to roll back to Freedom the farm a little bit and that give us a type of trade and international markets and the balance between the Pecan Valley so that the farmers can stay on the land and truly have sustainable agriculture next Jesse Ventura. There's a crisis out there. There's a crisis called too much too big too much government. That's the crisis out there and I want to stay right now. I am the only candidate sitting up here right now that stood at the steps of the Capitol and said give the Surplus back. No other candidate up here was up their state. Now, how do you solve the problem? You solved the problem high taxes don't make any difference whether your Farmland whether you're Urban or whether you're suburbs when you're paying the government too much money that does not help the economy. The economy is help by giving money back through tax cuts through less government and cutting it down back into the pockets of the people who then can spend it and get the economy rolling against big government does not help the economy. Remember that all of these people up here. They look at it as being a CEO make the government grow grow. Grow. Well, I have the opposite attitude. I say make it smaller and smaller and give it back to you. One more time one more time on welfare and poverty this time. The questions will be answered in order by Mark Dayton then skip Humphrey then. Johnson, please. My name is Sue Saint Paul and I questioned property issues many times are in Turbo oven with diversity issues. If you're elected, what would you do to ensure that your cabinet and at all levels reflect the racial diversity of our state? By doing what you said. I think your points extremely well taken. We need men and women from all different races cultures background sexual affinities to be prominent Role Models as individuals and as professionals not representing a particular segment of our population. I've tried to accomplish that throughout my public life and my private life and I certainly would take that as a priority and a major responsibilities as Governor, but I think we also would like to reach out to talk about But Jessie said about growing government. I agree with him but on the other hand, I want to see the people who are left behind in this Society with a Chance which is why I think that rather than going government to provide health insurance for those who don't have it. We had to require every Minnesota employer provide health insurance for the 400,000 unemployed in this state almost half of them are families where one or more members are working with a living wage legislation. So people can earn a wage in the marketplace sufficient to provide for their family and educational system to let those children become the future Commissioners than Governors and senators from Minnesota. Thank you Mark Dayton next. Skip Humphrey. Well, I think first of all your question is a wonderful one. We need to make sure that the next Administration has a full representation of all of the people who are citizens of Minnesota are demography is radically changing. If you go to any school, you'll find any number of individuals. They're just learning to use English for example as their second language. Make sure that we have that up to it. We need as Mark says good role models in the highest level of government that are competent to provide the kind of advice to a governor and to be directly involved. The other part of this is getting it right making sure that those individuals are working on the priorities that the governor and the administration and the legislature and the people of Minnesota set forth. That means they've got to be tied into the idea that education is going to help us that what welfare-to-work is going to make a big difference in our lives. They've got to be willing to work hard and work together and I assure you that my Administration will have those kinds of individuals there. Thank you next when you elect a governor. You should select the one that you think has the most experience in dealing with the issues of this state and the one that you can trust, you know, I was a very very close friend of Rudy perpich has And one thing about Rudy perpich is he recognized the diversity of Minnesota. He was the first governor to appoint a significant number of women the state supreme court. He he was a he was a governor that that brought diversity into the cabinet. So that minority groups were represented as well and Doug Johnson comes from a part of Minnesota. The same area is Rudy perpich and I'm going to be the governor that's going to make sure that all walks of life in Minnesota are strongly represented in the Johnson fully administration at Saint Paul. Thank you Dad buy a TV, Minnesota Public Radio and the Star Tribune bus and the structured portion of our forum and we now interrupt few minutes of what we call the wild card wild-card is where any question goes from our citizens and we like you citizens to direct those questions to at least two preferably not all six of the candidates so we can mix it up a little bit but first off I have to keep a promise. I think Skip Humphrey want to see a little more about that. Ventura so keep your answer to less than a minute and Skip go ahead on Charles Swanson Trail. Say your name again for the record and where you're from and we'll get underway here. My name is Charles and Skip and Mike to answer this question as a candidate. What are you doing? And as a governor, what would you do to convince apathetic citizens to participate in the process by voting in the city of Brooklyn Park Brooklyn Park you at a 20-year incumbent a group of good old boys in a bunch of career politician. So there was plenty of apathy the year before the election before I ran only 2,500 people voted in a city of 55000 when Jesse Ventura gets involved 2500 increase the 20,000 the very next election. So I think it's simply a matter. How being exciting offering something new and offering not a career politician someone who comes from the private sector who will truly shake things up, you know government spends a lot of time giving us headaches now it's time for us to give them a headache send me over there. But I think there are a couple of ways first. I agree with Jesse it needs to be exciting and you need to be involved with it. This is your government the government start the enemy you be a part of it make sure you're involved very directly. One of the things that I like most about the Joan grow commission report for example is to increase the opportunity with absentee ballots will get a much larger number involved in that way. That's it. That's a significant idea. But you must be a partner in this effort. Just remember if you don't participate the government still going to be there. It's going to cause the trouble that some people are complaining about once you're involved one to participate at all levels and become involved. Then it becomes a true partner that we need. So that's what I'd ask you to do. This is really more up to you than any politician. It's the involvement of young people old people those of us in the middle of a it's time for us to get together and move, Minnesota forward. What we need to do is to turn away from the campaign's by name recognition and tv ads return to the campaign to reach out to the people. I'm proud to have earned the dfl endorsement for governor. How did Iron that by traveling to over two hundred different cities by meeting and talking with people. I know so much more about this state because I did that traveling and in the process we reached out to people who will vote who will get involved. Now we needed to make some reforms in that process. We need to make it in more inclusive. We need to make it simpler. But we need to make sure that people are not alienated because the only time they see their candidate is on a TV ad but because I seen them in their homes and their communities in their neighborhoods. That's the kind of candidate Ben and that's the kind of Governor. I'll be thank you Mike next question before your name and where you from. My name is Steven Blake and though I'm from Chicago for the last six years. I've lived here in Minnesota in Winona, and my question is a two-part question. Four candidates Humphrey Freeman and Ventura first part is very simple. What's more important to a child's overall development well-being and Welfare Love or Money. The second part of my question is what will you do is going over to see that failure to allow visitation is sanctioned with the same energy by the state as failure to pay child support. I think definitely love is more important than money. You know, you can't unless you're dealing with prostitution and that's not really love isn't that sex love is more important than money. You must understand when you punish a child, you have to punish the child with love if you strictly punish that child that the child will then become more belligerent than ever and I think there should be equal rights involved just as much as money, you know. Naturally. There are delinquent fathers out there that run off and they don't support their families and i would support definitely make them have to support with money, but likewise the court system also must be fair to the father's to if they are supporting their children. They deserve equal rights and equal access to those children at all times our Constitution states equality for all and that's what I believe in equality under the Constitution. Thank you. Thank you. Goodbye break. I think the question was well stated obvious a love and care are fundamental. That's what families we need to support families so that they have the time and the opportunity to share that very important. I'm particularly and young children's lives have to realize young children between the time they're born and the time they graduate from high school only learn about 25% of the time in the school. It's at home where it makes a difference and loving and caring certainly is more important than the money. We also have to have a balance. I agree with what just he says when he says we need to have a fairness within the system we need to make sure that courts are including not only the dollars from one owner, but both orders when they're developing there if there's a separation if there's a divorce but we know absolutely bottom light need to make sure that parents understand they are parents whether they're together or whether they're separated or divorced and they Responsibility all throughout that child's life. Thank you, my friend. Lover money, if you could see the looks in the face of for wonderful people my wife Terry my son Matthew my daughter Katie and Beth and answers. Obviously, it's love and I'm so lucky to have them with me today and throughout the campaign. Parents non-custodial parents have a right to see their children and we simply need to do a better job is Hennepin County attorney. We collected 80 million dollars of child support, but we need to make sure that people have a right to have visitation have a right to have the interaction and we need to try to encourage parents who can't get along to make sure their fights are between themselves and not through their children. Thank you. Ready with the next question me. I'll say your name and where you from one more time, please kids are spending on non basics in our schools. Many of these are required by the state of Minnesota. Are we we are asking schools do much of the work that parents should be doing it. What's your solution to this problem? One I will be an advocate for Parental involvement in schools. I'm going to have Steve State resources. I have parental advocates in the schools at the high school counselor. I knew the difference the public health nurse and I used to get in the car and visit the homes of a children and didn't come to school. So we're going to be a leader in that area of Parental involvement thing I'm going to do is Governor is less micromanagement from the state on the delivery of the funds to the school district. I think legislators and governors are trying to do micromanage those school districts with one model for the whole state and that doesn't work more accountability at the local level and less bureaucracy and control at the state level. Mark Dayton your question also and contain the answer. We have tried to broaden the scope of what we're teaching in our schools to Encompass more and more and more and more social concerns and weave overwhelmed our teachers and we're under funding our public education our schools and our teachers and you're shortchanging our students as result. So we need to put the focus back on the basics ridiculous for younger children are coming into the schools without open the language skills coming from another country without off in the educational background coming from other states and focus on the basics and have more tailored remedial program. So those who are coming in behind catch up quickly because if they don't catch up quickly, they're going to be turned out from this dude out from the system and they're going to be dropped out from the school's up above and then we also need to realize if we're going to have the schools teach education. We need to have against social services and community services for these children. That's why I get in my proposal to keep schools open 7 the morning till 7 at night is a way of Extending the school so that the education can happen during the school day and other experiences going to have him there after we have time for one really quick question and maybe 30 second answer some Sharon. Go ahead. I'd like to ask Ted Mondale and Skip Humphrey considering the Native American tribal Serenity and the gambling issue kind of put into one Wisconsin just settled their big compact with the tribes over there. What was your position on settling compacts with tribes in Minnesota and do your favor gambling spread throughout the state offers sedation. Thank you. Do you have to go ahead first comes as any surprise? I'm opposed to public gambling. I don't I don't agree with it. But we have a relationship with our tribes those compacts are in place. They were put in place by a legislative commission and a governor before and they are permanent. And so we need to work with our Native American tribes to make sure that we diversify the industries and create opportunity for both Native American and all of Minnesota in the late 80s and we have them now I was on the gaming committee. I think we need to recognize and understand sovereignty and I don't think that the solution to the problems that we have with gaming is to have a huge put gaming at all across the state and I think we got to look at the lottery as well. Cuz I have problems with the state saying it's okay to go gambling. So I think gambling is a big issue. We have the compacts over negotiated. We need to understand sovereignty and I don't think We should expand gaming in the state. Coming and enjoy the fair. Thank you citizen. Thank you, Janet. Have a good day. At citizens forum debate was held Saturday at the Minnesota Public Radio booth at the Minnesota State Fair would like to remind you that all five dfl candidates will be getting together for one last pre primary debate coming up on Sunday, September 13th at 7 p.m. At the Fitzgerald theater downtown St. Paul. We're sponsoring the debate and p r o v broadcasting it live Andre broadcasting it here on midday the day before the election and we hope you'll be able to actually attend the debate in person. It's going to be held against Sunday September 13th 7 and 9 p.m. At the Fitzgerald theater in downtown st. Paul tickets are free at the Fitzgerald theater and out of the MPR State Fair Booth besides that prior to the debate from five to seven a big Street party as well. So marked out on your calendar tomorrow here in midday will be broadcasting live from the state fair. Judd Nelson will be joined by veterinarian Katie and Hunter and Deb Schneider Pet Day on midday tomorrow. I'm Lorna Benson on Mondays All Things Considered who's got the money in the race for governor will get our first glimpse into the campaign finances of the gubernatorial candidates. It's all things considered weekdays at 3 on Minnesota Public Radio know FM 91.1 You're listening to Minnesota Public Radio. We have a partly cloudy Sky 75° at Contra W FM 91.1 Minneapolis. And st. Paul partly sunny through the afternoon The Weather Service says we can look for a high right around 80° partly cloudy tonight with an overnight low in the mid-50s. There is a 20% chance for a shower or thundershower tomorrow with a high in the upper 70s hits one.