Endorsement: Legislative picks in Mankato open seats

10/30/2006

Sheran, Morrow, Brynaert have strong public service records.

Star Tribune ENdorsement
Published: October 27, 2006

All 201 state legislative seats are on the Nov. 7 ballot, but only a few dozen of them are swing seats, conceivably winnable by either party. The outcome of these races will determine which party controls the 2007 Legislature.

In the next several days, the Star Tribune will express its preferences in 22 of the swing-seat contests. We begin with three races in the Mankato area.

Senate 23: Kathy Sheran

Capitol old-timers say that 57 years ago, when Robert Sheran would rise on the Minnesota House floor to speak, a crowd would gather. The state’s future chief justice was that highly regarded by his peers.

DFLer Kathy Sheran, 59, inherited her father’s gifts and followed him into public service. She served four strong terms on the Mankato City Council and one year as acting mayor. An assistant professor of nursing at Minnesota State University, she also has deep experience on civic and health-related governing boards. She’d make an excellent replacement for retiring DFL state Sen. John Hottinger.

Her opponent, business owner Mark Piepho, 53, served eight years in the House in the 1970s and 1980s, and one year, 1990, in the Senate. He also had a stint as mayor of Skyline. He’s as witty and likable as ever—and as conservative. He thinks state and local governments are overspending, and that belt-tightening is all that’s needed to stop the climb in property taxes and college tuition.

Sheran has not only staked out wiser positions, but also evinces the leadership ability it takes to put sound new policies into law.

House 23A: Terry Morrow

Two high achievers, DFLer Terry Morrow and Republican Andy Davis, offer voters a choice between a lawyer-professor-school board member and a decorated veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan.

We prefer the Gustavus Adolphus professor, Morrow. As chair of the St. Peter school board, Morrow, 43, has been a spur for innovation, such as a cooperative cost-cutting effort with neighboring school districts. He maintained public trust during tough financial times for the district, as evidenced by 2-1 majority votes in levy referendums in 2002 and 2005. His extensive résumé suggests that he could go to work immediately on a wide range of legislative issues.

The same cannot be said of Davis. He’s an impressive 25-year-old with an admirable service record during tours in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, and in Iraq in 2003. Since leaving the Army, Davis has organized a veterans’ support project at the University of Minnesota and served on a governor’s panel that advocates for veterans.

But Davis has some catching up to do on state issues. Unwisely, he signed the Taxpayers League’s “no new taxes” pledge. He wants a freeze on education spending until schools adopt higher curriculum standards and spend less on administration. He thinks the state is overspending on mass transit, the arts and a lot more. He draws too many positions from conservative playbooks rather than from his own experience and analysis.

House 23B: Kathy Brynaert

DFLer Kathy Brynaert is one of the best prepared legislative candidates we’ve seen. She would be a worthy successor to 10-term DFL Rep. John Dorn.

Brynaert, 62, has been a member of the Mankato school board for 11 years and is its current chair. She approaches matters of governance in the thoughtful manner befitting a holder of a master’s degree in philosophy.

Republican Luke Robinson, 31, moved to Mankato three years ago and recently left a law firm to establish a solo practice. He’s running for public office for the first time. Robinson holds traditional GOP views on taxes and spending, and acknowledges he hasn’t studied many legislative issues.