It's Official

Hello there, Gus here.

Today my owner Steve Kemp headed over to the Houston County Auditor's office and filed to become the next State Representative from down here in southeastern Minnesota. He released this statement:

“Today I filed to become the next person to represent southeastern Minnesota in the State House of Representatives. I'm running because I believe that we need a new approach to how District 31B is represented. I'm running to help put a stop to the slide that our great state of Minnesota is in. I'm running to help create incentives to develop new investments and small businesses in our local economy. I'm running to help rework how we fund our education system so that some of the burden is removed from the backs of local property owners. I'm running because we need safe roads and bridges to ensure safe travel to our jobs, our schools and our homes. I'm running because Minnesota is facing a financial crisis to the tune of a 6 billion dollar deficit. I'm running because I was given two ears and only one mouth, I want to hear from you, whether we agree or disagree. I'm running because I refuse to see Minnesota become a shadow of its past. I look forward to a substantive campaign.”

Congratulations Steve!

Look, it's official: http://candidates.sos.state.mn.us/

~Gus

Parade Walking Fun!

Hello there, Gus here.

Boy am I tired. I panted and slept all the way back from Preston. It was a great day though, I got to meet so many new people, and my owner Steve Kemp got to meet a lot of new people too.

We walked through my hometown of Spring Grove in the Syttende Mai parade with many local DFLers, and then we drove over the Preston to the Trout Days parade where we joined more DFLers to walk and show our support for DFL candidates!

It was nice weather, and I got petted by quite a lot of people. I'm glad I got to go out and see Steve running for office, I hope to be able to go to more parades, as long as I have water and people that like me.

~Gus

Immigration

Hi there, Gus here.

My owner, Steve Kemp, is a great guy. He cares about Minnesota, and he wants to see it return to its better days. He sent this statement along about some immigration legislation that was recently introduced by his opponent.

~Gus

Recently, Representatives Steve Drazkowski and Greg Davids introduced immigration legislation that Rep. Drazkowski admits is a waste of the legislature's time. This law would require more mandated work with little increased funding. It's a tragic continuation of Governor Pawlenty's "do more with less" philosophy long supported by Representatives Davids, Drazkowski, and Tom Emmer, a philosophy that has brought our state to the dire economic situation that it currently faces. It's a law that enforcement professionals in Minnesota have already said is not needed. Lets not add on to the burden of our local law enforcement departments that are already feeling the tight squeeze of our budget crisis. This proposed law would create a Minnesota where racial profiling is not only encouraged, but legally prescribed. This legislation provides a venue for anyone in the state to sue the government if they believe law enforcement is not making a "reasonable attempt to enforce" the proposed law, how do we measure that? We need to be focusing on our current problems, not creating more. We need to focus on our crumbling roads, our schools, and our budget crisis. Minnesota is not Arizona and that's a good thing. Let's not follow them down the same bumpy road, let's lead Minnesota down a different path, a path to financial soundness and economic prosperity, with safe roads and a good education. As for Arizona and its recent immigration law, let us Minnesotans remain colder in climate, not colder in heart.

Hello there, Gus here.

Steve made it back from Winona and told me all about how great it was to speak with Democrats at a wonderful event. He said he talked to the wonderful candidates, and awesome activists.

He was glad to be received so well, and excited to see so many people interested in taking a part in their political future.

He was glad he was able to have a good conversation with our DFL endorsed Governor candidate, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, as well as State Representative Gene Pelowski, and State Senator Sharon Erickson Ropes.

He said it was windy, but it was a great time near the lake.

~Gus