Mike & Judi
"Letter to Editor"07/15/2006
Dear Fellow Minnesotan:
Mike Hatch and Judi Dutcher are now the DFL endorsed candidates on our gubernatorial ticket. I am honored to join the thousands of Minnesotans who support their candidacy.
I believe this could be a great year for Minnesota. Every survey indicates that Mike and Judi are the choice to lead our state government for the next four years.
Simply put, Minnesota wants change. We have seen our property taxes skyrocket over the past four years. We have seen tuition at our public colleges go up by 80 percent over the past eight years. We have seen health premiums soar by 50 percent over the past four years. We have seen gangs proliferate while both the federal and state governments slashed aid to our cities and forced reductions in police protection. We watched the first government shutdown in our state’s history. The people of Minnesota deserve better.
A governor needs to have determination, strength and compassion. Mike is smart. He is tough. He is on the side of the people.
Judi Dutcher is also a great leader. As State Auditor, Judi won the respect of state and local officials for her role as the taxpayer’s watchdog. She earned a reputation for being fair and evenhanded as a regulator. Judi is smart. She is well liked. She gets things done.
As Attorney General, Mike fought to get HMO’s and insurance companies to provide mental health coverage and got a mental health court established to give patients better access to treatment. Mike was the first attorney general in the country to get hospitals to quit overcharging the uninsured. He got utility companies to reconnect the poor with natural gas during subzero weather. He was the first public official to expose the sale of financial data by banks. He exposed waste and fraud in our health care system. He was aggressive on hate crimes.
As Attorney General, however, Mike has limited authority. He can sue. He can audit. He basically has only two keys on the piano to play. As governor and lieutenant governor, Mike and Judi have all 88 keys on the keyboard to play, and I know that Mike and Judi will use this authority to further the interest of our great state.
Mike and Judi want to roll back college tuition cost. They have pledged that by the end of their first term, no Minnesota kid can use money as an excuse not to go to college. They want to tackle the health care crisis and make health insurance accessible and affordable for all Minnesotans. They want to reduce property taxes. They want to unweave our entangled transportation system. They want to attack gangs and the drugs that poison Minnesota’s children. They want to invest in stem cell research and renewable energy. They want to fund the Clean Water Legacy Act. In short, they have ambitious goals which fulfill the great promise of our state.
In order for Mike and Judi to get to tackle these goals, they need your help. Governor Pawlenty has indicated that he will not abide by public financing, which means he is raising millions of dollars in an attempt to buy back another term. We cannot let this happen. That’s why I urge you to support Mike and Judi with a financial contribution.
I hope you will help Mike and Judi by making on online donation today.
With your financial help, we will see that these two fine people lead Minnesota into the 21st Century.
Very truly yours,
Walter F. Mondale
P.S. Mike and Judi can only change Minnesota with the help of good people like you. Please help Mike and Judi’s campaign to change the direction of Minnesota by making an online donation today.