Ready to carry the optimistic energy from the Democratic Convention into Minnesota’s Eighth District contest between Jen Schultz and Pete Stauber? Ready for an end to the dark and divisive blame game of the MAGA movement dividing our families, friends and neighbors and preventing progress on issues most important to us? Statistics say that most of us agree on most things, but the current atmosphere of us against them prevents any compromise on issues on which we don’t see eye-to-eye.
Jen has a graduate degree in economics, taught health care economics, was a successful four-term state legislator working across the aisle, writing and passing legislation to benefit the whole state. She supports working families, voting rights, human rights, women’s reproductive health care, a living wage, cutting costs for affordable healthcare and housing. Jen turns to respected specialists for insight into complex and divisive issues. She understands different areas of the Eighth District having visited throughout the district during the last campaign and last two years. Jen has a 100 percent AFL-CIO voting record and understands the importance of our industries. She will prioritize the aggressive creation of long-term, high-paying jobs, preventing jobs from moving overseas, implementing policies that build a strong middle class. Her mining stance is a rare blend of inclusiveness, practicality, and care for the beauty and economic vitality of our natural resources. She recognizes the importance of mining jobs while prioritizing protection of our water and honoring Native American treaties. Her proposals from bringing steel production to the Iron Range to investing in technology for safe mining practices demonstrate a comprehensive approach that considers economic and environmental factors ensuring that mining benefits our local communities above all else and cutting ties with multinational corporations that extract our resources without any flow of money back into the region. She does not take the easy way out.
Pete Stauber’s monthly emails invariably start with doom and gloom, blaming the Biden administration for all wrongs and disparaging the state of our country. They parrot Donald Trump’s lies and tout the work of House Republicans. I mainly remember the House spending a lot of time trying to impeach various Democrats on “trumped” up charges, fighting among each other, failing to pass a national budget, and killing (on Trump’s orders) a bipartisan border bill co-authored by Senators Langford, R-Okla., Murphy, D-Conn., and Sinema, I-Ariz. who worked months on a bill dealing with the issues that the Republicans continue to blame on Democrats. It is called the least productive Congress in modern history.
Stauber prioritizes ultra-wealthy, foreign mining companies and big corporations ahead of working families, supports an extreme abortion ban, voted against investments in labor, police, veterans, common sense gun legislation and communities in the Eighth District and has endorsed a convicted felon for president. He voted NO on everything from workers’ rights to organize, tax cuts for low wage workers, and expanding broadband coverage. He consistently demonstrates a lack of leadership and disregard for community well-being. Jen Schultz was willing to participate in several debates. Stauber refused, turning down dates on Almanac North and once again with the Duluth News Tribune and Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce making him the only candidate since this debate started in 2010 to do this. When Schultz called him out for dodging voters, Stauber agreed to a WDIO-TV debate.
Driving between Duluth and Grand Marais, I see more Schultz signs than Stauber signs leading me to believe that others want this change and to move us into the light. Please join us in voting for positive energy and a bipartisan effort on behalf of all Eighth District constituents. Vote for Jen Schultz!!
Barbara (Lund) Gabler
Lutsen