Here's where District 13 House and Senate candidates stand on issues this election

SARTELL ― Residents gathered Wednesday evening at the Sartell Community Center to ask questions of the candidates running to represent Minnesota State Senate District 13 in November.

The event was hosted by the St. Cloud chapter of the League of Minnesota Women Voters and co-sponsored by The ARC Minnesota, and candidates were allowed a set amount of time to answer submitted questions from the public.

• Incumbent Jeff Howe, R-St. Cloud, and Alissa Brickman, DFL-Sauk Rapids, are running for the Minnesota State Senate District 13 seat.

• Incumbent Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and Andrea Robinson, DFL-Cold Spring, are running for the State Representative District 13A seat.

• Incumbent Tim O'Driscoll, R-Sartell, and Melissa Bromenschenkel, DFL-Sartell, are running for the State Representative District 13B seat. Bromenschenkel did not attend Wednesday's forum.

More:Central Minnesota's District 13 makes history with 1st all-woman party ticket in St. Cloud area

You can watch a video of the forum at https://www.lwvsca.org/.

Opening statements

Brickman thanked the League of Minnesota Women Voters and The Arc for hosting the forum and said "it is so important that the people in the community have access to their legislatures." Brickman lives with her husband in Sauk Rapids and said they have raised five children together, including two with special needs. She owns a photography studio in Sauk Rapids, is a special education para-educator at Westwood School, a community organizer and life-long volunteer. "I believe that my ability to create space for civil and productive conversation will bring a sense of empathy and compassion back to our government," she said. "We need representatives that represent us. As your state senator, I would always seek the guidance of my constituents when deciding how I would vote and never lose sight of the fact that my decisions impact each and every Minnesotan every day."

Howe said he grew up in Chokio, a small town in western Minnesota. Howe and his wife have raised four children in Rockville. Howe has served 38 years in the military, 27 years in the fire service, was a city council member in Rockville, served six years in the House of Representatives and four years in the Minnesota Senate. "I think the key important skill that I have is building relationships. And without those relationships, you cannot get anything done. In life, nor at the legislature. And that's the key to working across the aisle to get things done. And that's the key to make things happen," he said. "So that's why I still run. I think I carried over 60 bills. And I still believe that not all of them got passed, so we still have more work to do."

More:Community, education focus of Minnesota State Senate District 14 candidates

O'Driscoll said he is a Sartell native and his father was the first police chief of Sartell, "so law enforcement is very near and dear to my heart." O'Driscoll said his dad taught him that, "you can't take, you have to give back to the community," which motivated him to run for city council, serve as Sartell mayor from 2007-2010 and in the legislature for 12 years. "I have the ability to be able to get things done, and I have the track record that shows that I can get things done," he said. "Most recently, Sen. Howe and I authored a bonding bill that brought $5 million for the city of Sartell that has provided money for construction on a road that will link this part of the community to the medical district. And the city right now is in the position of being able to bring any large number of businesses to help the economic growth of this community."

Demuth is in her second term as a state representative for 13A and is seeking a third term. Demuth and her husband have raised four children in Cold Spring and she was born in Paynesville. They own a business in Cold Spring and Demuth served on the ROCORI School Board for 11 years. "And that prepared me for my role as a legislator," she said. "I had the opportunity to learn how you listen to your community, and then you make the best decisions that you can for the most."

Robinson is employed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation as a small business contracting supervisor for the Office of Civil Rights. She has a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's degree in public administration. Robinson was born and raised in Central Minnesota and lives with her husband in Cold Spring. They've raised seven children and been a home to three foster children. "I found my voice in advocating against racism and bullying in school that my children have experienced. Subsequently, my family became the target of a hate crime," Robinson said. "This experience fueled my passion to find common ground and uncommon circumstances. And we need candidates that have real life experiences. We have too much at stake. Minnesotans are struggling to make ends meet and infrastructure in Minnesota is failing. And our personal freedom is the cornerstone of debate. I'm still just a Minnesota mom. But now I'm a Minnesota mom on a mission to represent all individuals of District 13 at the capitol."

More:Cold Spring family sues ROCORI School District, says it did not address racism, harassment

Given the dual responsibilities of representing your district and working on behalf of the state of Minnesota as a whole, do you think District 13 has any specific challenges? And if so, what are they and what will you do to address those challenges?

O'Driscoll said the legislature needs to send an annual budget and ensure the laws are fair, "whether they are traffic laws, whether they are crime laws, whether they are voter laws, they all need to be followed and they all need to be be supported." He said District 13 has a lot of transportation needs, and many rural roads and bridges are in need of repair, which impacts business' ability to move commerce from farm to market.

"I think it's very important that we are citizen legislators and we work and we have part time jobs as legislators," Demuth said. "That allows us to be in our communities and hearing directly from the people, what matters to them, and how we can best serve them. We're not just down in St. Paul all the time, not listening." She said District 13 has a unique make up of agriculture, manufacturing and small businesses. "When we looked at frustrating shutdowns that were unnecessary, we heard from business owners saying, 'This is how we support our family. This is how we support our community. Work with us,'" Demuth said. "Having that dual role gives us that opportunity to hear directly from people." She said having better access to dentists, doctors, strong school systems and infrastructure makes the community strong.

Howe said sometimes it's hard to strike a balance between making decisions for the entire state and the local community. What makes District 13 unique is its combination of urban and rural, as well as manufacturing, mining, resorts and agriculture, he said. "Some of our schools here are well funded, some of our schools get thousands of dollars less a student than other schools, we have to figure that out," Howe said. "And we have to make funding our kids level across the board. So all schools and all kids get the same type of funding."

Robinson said one of the biggest things that is overlooked by living in a rural area is transportation needs. "The funding primarily goes to the metro, and overlooks the years and decades that our roads and bridges have not been maintained," she said. "Being fiscally responsible means that when we have the opportunity to have federal funds or matching funds, that we do what we can to keep those funds, passing bills that allow matching funds to to have roads in Greater Minnesota and the metro maintained." Robinson also highlighted the importance of fiscal responsibility and bringing new life experiences to the House of Representatives.

Brickman said her main priority is education. She said because there are fewer property taxes paid into certain schools they receive less funding than others. "So what I'd really like to do is make sure that our state actually funds our schools, it should be fully funded, it should not be based on our property taxes. I think that's a real, real problem we have right now," she said. Brickman said infrastructure is also important, as is high-speed internet especially when the COVID-19 shutdowns showed how important working from home was for many people in rural areas, those who are disabled and not able to work or require transportation to get to work. Brickman also highlighted the importance of addressing climate change, especially its negative impact on watersheds statewide.

More:Growth, spending main focus of Sartell City Council candidates

The 2022 legislative session adjourned on May 23 with no agreements on how to invest the multi-billion dollar surplus. What do you think should be done with a surplus? And what do you think the spending priority should be in the Minnesota Legislature going forward?

Demuth said the end of the session was very frustrating and she expected more would get done. "It's important to remember that our government was fully funded within the first year of the biennium. So any additional spending was going to be just that, it was going to be additional," she said. Demuth said Minnesota has the sixth highest individual tax rate, third highest corporate tax rate and 19th highest property tax rate in the nation. "What I'm looking forward to doing getting back in January is changing that. We need to end the tax on Social Security completely," she said. "After that, then we need to take a look at reducing that bottom tax tier so all Minnesotans benefit from it, that it's not just wasted money, or it's not going into other things, but everyone would feel that tax relief, so we can have a strong economy and keep going with that."

O'Driscoll said a surplus is an estimation of how much funding a state will have that can change based on economic conditions. "[Inflation] is eating the daylights out of middle and lower income people right now," he said. "A lot of those folks are on fixed incomes with Social Security. We need to get rid of Social Security taxes on Minnesotans, that will immediately put money into people's hands to be able to spend money, to be able to have that to meet their needs." O'Driscoll said investing in infrastructure is important because the cost of roads and bridges "are going to only go up," and investing in the movement of goods from source to market is essential. "I'm sorry to say that a lot of that surplus that's there will probably be eaten up by the inflation that we're seeing," he said. "Folks, we are in some very, very trying times. We have to give people their money back."

"A huge priority should be being transparent and responsible," Robinson said. "When we have a surplus like the magnitude we did, we need to address why that happened. Minnesotans are struggling, families are struggling. It should be a priority to be responsible to address how it happened. But then never walk away from the table and leave it there." She said there was a large infrastructure bill that passed with matching funds, but because there was no compromise, walking away from that was huge and "cannot happen." Education and public safety funding, including funding of pensions for police officers to attract new officers is also important, Robinson said.

Brickman said one of the main reasons she chose to run for the senate is the lack of staff, support and funding in local public schools, especially in special education. "I also think that public safety is absolutely important. We need to fully fund our police department, we need to fully fund training and we need to make sure that mental health is included in that," she said. "And Social Security tax, I absolutely agree, we should definitely eliminate that. I also think that we need to equalize our property taxes."

Howe said he works doing housing inspections, "and I will tell you, there are people that are just living from not paycheck to paycheck, but they're living from hand to mouth. There are some people that I look at with their kitchens, they've got nothing in the cupboard. And we need to fix that," Howe said. "We've got billions of dollars sitting down there as a surplus. We need to cut some taxes, we need to let (people) have more money in their pocket." Howe said he would support eliminating the social security tax and continue funding transportation costs and road work.

Would you support increased gun control measures such as red flag laws and universal background checks? To clarify, red flag laws allow police, family members or doctors to petition a court to take away someone's firearms if they feel that a person is a threat to themselves or others.

Howe said he would not support red flag laws because he said it bypasses someone's due process and violates the Constitution. He expressed concerns about someone with a vendetta making a phone call to police and taking away someone's guns, especially before hunting season.

Robinson said she is a proud gun owner and doesn't believe personal rights should be infringed upon by the government when it comes to red flag laws. "You have your right and there's a responsibility," she said. "And there's other avenues to ensure that individuals in particular situations are safe for themselves and others."

Brickman said she attended a suicide awareness meeting on Tuesday that spoke about how high the suicide rate is in the agricultural community. She said as a gun owner, she believes guns are a right and would not want them taken away, but as a community to come together and ask to hold someone who is at risk's guns for a weekend would be the best way to address this. "But do I think that the red flag law, if it's going to protect the person who might be ready to hurt themselves or someone else, I think we all have to think about what's common sense, we have to be responsible gun owners," she said. Brickman said she supports universal background checks "to keep our children safe."

O'Driscoll said, "We don't need more gun laws, what we need to do is enforce the laws we already have." He said if someone may hurt themselves they can call 911, police and other first responders for help. He said demonization of police has resulted in more people not going into the field, which doesn't help the situation and undermines public safety. "It's tough being an American right now," he said. "Let's enforce the laws that we have instead of putting additional laws out there. Let's fund our police department, but show some respect for law. Again, that'll go a long way in solving a number of our problems." O'Driscoll also said he would support more mental health services for farmers.

Demuth said she does not support red flag laws and said the biggest failure is letting criminals "off the hook before they should be" and reducing sentencing. Enforcing the law will make us safer from gun violence, she said.

Would you vote in favor of a constitutional amendment banning abortion in Minnesota? If so, would you allow for exceptions in the case of rape or incest?

Robinson said no, she believes an abortion is a medical procedure and an individual decision made between a physician and a patient.

Brickman said no, she believes having an abortion is a health right and a woman's right. "If we start taking away women's rights, we're going to start on a battle of the hill of the rights that start going away," she said. "And I am not willing to do that. I will fight for the rights of my constituents."

Demuth said abortion is already constitutionally protected under Doe v. Gomez in Minnesota but she is pro-life and supports life "from conception until natural death and I am not going to waver on that." Demuth said she would like to support more people with unexpected pregnancies that need other options, whether it be financial help, adoption support, child care and support to continue their career or education. "I have been a single mom, I know how hard it is," she said. "And without family support coming around me to help me I wouldn't be where I am today. And so I have done it, I know it is hard and it can be done. But it takes all of us working together to protect life."

Howe said any constitutional amendments would be voted on by citizens of the state, which is the only way abortion could be banned in Minnesota. He said he is pro-life and considers it one of God's miracles. "I'm a believer from womb to grave that we should do all we can to protect life," Howe said.

O'Driscoll said he is pro-life and believes that although, "unfortunately, we don't know how she would have voted" on this issue, it's possible Ruth Bader Ginsburg could have overturned Roe v. Wade. He said abortion is a state's rights issue and should be put back to the states to make that decision. O'Driscoll said he joined bipartisan legislation to support licensing and inspections of abortion clinics, and said abortion clinics don't have to be held to the same health standards as hospitals or doctor's offices. O'Driscoll said legalization of abortion has made "abortion more prevalent, most likely less safe."

In-clinic abortion procedures are 14 times safer than childbirth and less than 1% of women getting a medication-induced abortion at Planned Parenthood had a serious side effect or a failed abortion, according to peer-reviewed American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

What should be the legislative role, if any, in determining school curriculum and what is taught in classrooms throughout the state of Minnesota?

Brickman said it's already not the role of the legislature, but the role of the Minnesota Department of Education. As someone who works in a school she said there are a lot of false narratives going around that are untrue. "I invite you to come and volunteer at our schools. We have a lack of staff right now. We could definitely use some parent volunteers so there's really no reason for the legislature to get involved in education except for the funding," she said.

Robinson said we've lost sight of standardized testing in the curriculum over the years, which the legislature does have the ability to fund, including trade programs. She said the curriculum should be taught the same no matter where the school resides in Minnesota.

Demuth said she served on the ROCORI School Board for 11 years, and knows the state sets the standard but the local board "is the best way for our schools to educate their kids." Demuth said education is 40% of the legislative budget yet Minnesota has some of the worst achievement gaps in the county and called for a need to "completely rehaul the way we do education funding in the state," because "spending more money is not helping." She said the fight isn't about curriculum but educating our kids.

O'Driscoll said there should be a series of checks and balances between the judicial, legislative and executive branch, but feels that school districts don't have the ability to make some decisions about what the kids in the district should be learning "based on the norms and values of that district," and "now, St. Paul gets to make all those decisions," leaving some students without the skills "to be able to learn a living to be productive citizens in the community." O'Driscoll said students in Minneapolis and St. Paul get double the amount of funding compared to students in Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Avon, Albany and Holdingford, and a great place to start when talking about equity and equality is funding Greater Minnesota schools. About 10,500 students attend public schools in Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Avon, Albany and Holdingford and about 71,800 students attend public school in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

More:St. Cloud school board candidates talk priorities, plans in forum

Howe said, "we need to equalize how we fund schools in this state. But we also need to allow school districts to determine how they teach their kids because the school districts should be run by the parents, because they vote for the school board members." He said the Department of Education should "dial back" its power in determining learning standards and let school boards make those decisions. "Either that or the state should start buying all those textbooks for all the school districts and we can send them to boarding schools from now on and it will be state boarding schools. Is that what we're looking for? I don't think so," Howe said.

The Minnesota End of Life Options Act modeled after the Oregon Death with Dignity Act would allow terminally-ill, mentally-capable adults to receive medication from their doctor or licensed health care provider that they could self-inject for a peaceful death if their suffering were to become intolerable. The bill includes safeguards against abuse. What is your position on this issue?

O'Driscoll said he is pro-life from conception to natural death and said this idea "does not seem right" and is against his morals.

Brickman said you must have to be in a really bad place to chose this option, and this question means there needs to be more done for people who are in these situations, including funding mental health programs. She said she does believe in the right to choose, "but I also believe that we need to be trying to give these people the best life that we can and the most support that we can."

Howe said he would not support that because he believes there are already medications out there that shorten life. "I think it's already available. And I don't think we need another law on the books to to make it any easier than it already is," he said.

Demuth said she supports life from conception to natural death and would not support an End of Life Act in any way. She recalled as her grandmother who raised her was passing away in 2010 how caring hospice and long-term care workers were for her grandmother and her family, which should be a model for the rest of the state.

Robinson said she would not support end of life legislation because she would find it hard to believe a person wishing to end their life is mentally sound. "There are other avenues to provide support and I simply do not support assistance of ending life," she said.

Across the state, there are significant disparities in access to quality education, health care, child care and housing. What, if anything, can the legislature do to address these disparities?

Robinson said the first way is to vote in individuals that have different life experiences that can bring those ideas with them to the capital, ensuring all voices are heard and a community's needs are represented.

Howe said the area is sliding into a single-payer health care system which makes it difficult to find doctors close by and that are affordable. He said there needs to be more health care competition to regulate prices and provide more options for people.

Demuth said local representation and control in schools, cities and townships is very important to address unique disparities in each community. She said holding federal congressmen and senators accountable for paying their part of education is important as well as ensure there is adequate child care in Greater Minnesota.

Brickman said part of the reason the area is dealing with a labor shortage right now is because there is a lack of child care which prevents people from going to work. More health care accessibility, public health care, high speed internet and appropriate wages for child care workers will reduce those disparities, she said.

O'Driscoll said many health care providers and small businesses closed in the pandemic, and there is a shortage of people in professions like teaching and health care. Legislation he and Howe are putting forward is finding ways to give 16- and 17-year-olds exposure to trades like construction to give them an opportunity to pursue a field other than a four-year degree. "Not everybody's cut out for a four-year or wants a four-year degree. I think that solves a lot of our problems along the way," he said.

More:Crime, infrastructure, development focus of St. Cloud City Council candidates

Politics today are way too divisive and it seems like a lot of important work does not get done because of it. How will you work with the legislative body to correct this and do the work that needs to be done?

Howe said if you don't build relationships with people across the aisle, "you don't get things done." He said most if not all of his past bills have had bipartisan support. He said some of the problems are that far-left and far-right candidates get elected, "and if you're in the center, you're the dead skunk in the middle of the road." Howe said he knows there are things he won't compromise on and things others won't comprise on, but that you have to find compromise in the middle.

Demuth said things have become so divisive in our communities, within families and "definitely in politics," but she is hopeful that when they return in January there will be more face-to-face interactions because working virtually for the last two and a half years has been difficult. "Out of the three committees that I've served on the last two years, we have not had one single meeting in person. And you can't do work like this in that manner," she said. "You build those relationships when you're sitting at a committee table. And then you get into the elevator or you walk through the tunnel, and you're getting to know the person, not just what what is in front of us that we're working on, but also who they are, who is their family, what do they like to do, you go out and you grab dinner with somebody, that's we build those relationships." She said civilly listening to each other will serve us better in our communities.

Brickman said compromise is the most important job of any legislator. "The gridlock that has happened is not fair to you. It's not fair to the communities, it's not fair to the people who have been waiting for things to happen," she said. "Without compromise and civil conversations, we all suffer. So we have to go back to what our nation was founded on: debate, negotiation and compromise." She said door-knocking for her campaign was a beautiful experience that introduced her to a lot of different people and emphasized that we are more alike than we are different.

Robinson said her motivation to run was finding common ground in uncommon circumstances. "When my children were going through what they went through at school, I had people on both sides that were very upset and very loud. And oftentimes I felt like I stood in the middle," she said. "But I saw another another part, that at the end of the day, all of us still had very similar goals: that we wanted to raise our families in the community we lived in, and we wanted safety and we wanted our children to get an education." Robinson said the current state of affairs is that we've lost sight of that, and family and neighbors don't talk to each other because of the political signs they have outside. "One of the pillars of democracy is compromise. And so when you make your way to the capitol, you have to keep that at the forefront. And also remember that you're there to represent the people of your community, not just your best interests," she said. "We just need to move away from solely voting based on political affiliation. I'm sorry, I have to say it, but it's true, you have to find a representative that best meets the needs of what you're looking for."

O'Driscoll said two examples of the bipartisan work he has done in his legislative career on behalf of Minnesotans is reforming mismanaged school trust lands and undertaking some pension liability reforms. "Some of these things aren't real sexy to lead the 6 o'clock, the 10 o'clock news, but they are very important things because if we didn't deal with those, they would lead the 6 o'clock and 10 o'clock news," he said.

You will each have one minute to summarize why you believe your qualifications are well matched with the requirements of serving as a Minnesota legislator.

O'Driscoll said he has a lifetime history of service to people in the area. "These are people I went to school with, these are people that I know and have been working with for a long time. I have the ability and the demonstrated ability to be able to lead and to get things done," he said. "On my sign it says, 'trusted leadership.' Not because it's a drop line, because it's actually how I run my business when I'm dealing the legislature."

Howe said he's been a public servant his whole life. "I've served in the military, I've served as a firefighter and I've served as a councilman, I've served that is in the legislature," he said. He said it's important legislators work part-time so they spend time in the community. "I think society gets to be actually better and stronger with the more people that get the opportunity to serve. And that's why I actually voted and argued against the constitutional amendment that prohibited us from raising our own pay," Howe said.

Robinson said she thinks change is good and we should elect representatives with new visions and new ideas. "I bring something different to the table with life experience, something that I've been very open and honest with," she said. "I've experienced what it's like to struggle. I was a single mom. I've been on social service programs and know what works and what doesn't work. I'm also a wife of a Black man and I have brown children, and I understand their experiences to a different level. I'm willing to listen, I'm willing to compromise and I'm someone who brings something different to the table."

Brickman said she didn't start down this path with political aspirations but jumped in after the Roe v. Wade leak. "I have a trans daughter, and the next rights to go would be hers," she said. "So that is why I am here. And I'm here to fight for everyone who needs to save their rights, who needs to feel like they're allowed to be who they are." Connecting with people in the community and speaking to school boards and city boards has been a great experience, Brickman said. "I'm just willing to fight for people who need someone to fight for them. So that's me. And I believe that we can build things better around here. Better education, protect our children, heal our environment and reconnect with loved ones lost over these political debates," she said.

Demuth said it has been her honor to serve 13A for the past four years. "I have to tell you, on the wall in my office in St. Paul I have the name of every one of our cities in 13A and every one of the townships. It goes floor to ceiling," she said. "I look at that when I am in my office. And the reason I did that is because I needed to make sure that I would remember when in St. Paul not just the people that voted for me but I'm 100% your representative in 13A and I needed to first make decisions based on what would be best for my constituents." Demuth said with her business experience, elected experience and experience on the school board she would bring common sense Central Minnesota values to St. Paul.

Becca Most is a cities reporter with the St. Cloud Times. Reach her at 320-241-8213 or bmost@stcloudtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter at @becca_most.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to sctimes.com today.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Where Minnesota's District 13 candidates stand on election 2022 issues