State Representative David Bly, MN District 25B

This past week I took some of my students to a STARS youth conference in Minneapolis.  They did a presentation of their small business project to raise money for the local food shelf.  They did a great job explaining how to make and market the Soy Sense Candles they make in Cheryl Mathison’s business class.  I enjoyed observing their growing positive sense of self. 

It was a tiring week that began with my final preparations for the endorsing convention.  I was pretty confident I had the delegates to carry me through, but one never knows for sure. In a contested race it is always about making sure they will be there and they will vote for you.  It was gratifying after the second ballot to go over the top.  I want to congratulate my opponent Tim Lies for making a great effort and giving me a credible challenge.  Ultimately I believe it makes me a stronger candidate.  

I want to thank Anne Maple for placing my name in nomination and Cary Coop and Cynthia Child for their seconding speeches. Here I am with my son, Gareth before the convention convened. My speech from that night:

I’m David Bly you know me.  You know I’m a teacher and that I work with at risk students.  You know I listen and care about each and every one of you.  Some have doubts about me.  It’s not that you don’t like me as a person you wonder can I win.  I make no excuses for the past.  But I want you to know that I am a better candidate than I was in 2002 and in 2004, I have a new and energetic campaign team and I have a new plan to win this seat.   

I ran in 2002 because I was concerned about what I saw coming when an aggressive taxpayers’ league saying state government was too big and too costly when the cost of government was actually going down, argued Minnesota should stop investing in its future.  I did better in 2002 than most people thought I had a right to hope for. 

In 2003 and 2004 I saw all the things I feared come to pass.  Throwing people off state health insurance, cuts to eligibility for childcare, cuts to early childhood education, cuts to k-12 education, increases in college tuition and shifting of costs to local governments.  These cuts hurt real people.  Like the young mothers in my school program who used the day care that closed due to lack of funds. Property taxes went up, fees went up, further shifting the burden of the cost of government to middle and lower income folks. We were lied to again and again about why the shortfall existed and what could have been done about it.  Over half of the budget shortfall was a failure on the part of our state government to deal with Ventura’s idea to shift education funding from property taxes to the state budget.  But they had no way to pay for it.  Ventura had recommended a sales tax on services but it was rejected in favor of spending down the surplus.  When the surplus was gone it left a huge whole in the budget.  It was dishonest not to own up to it.  I believe government should be both honest about what things cost as well as how to pay for them.

The 2005 session is more a record of what did not get done than what did get done in almost any arena the environment, transportation, energy, health and human services.  The house rejected supplemental funding for education in the Greiling Dorman bill, and although they eventually voted to increase education funding the increase in the formula was so small it did not make a dent in the 2003 cuts.

But we all remember that the 2005 session is the session where the wheels came of the wagon and they were forced to compromise. That compromise is what gave schools the 4% increase that legislators are patting themselves on the back for.  But over a ten-year period it amounts to only a 1.4 increase. Today students sit in crowded classrooms.

In the coming years our population in Minnesota will be vastly different than it is today.  We will be top heavy with a much larger elderly population and a smaller working population.  And a higher percentage of that working population will be non-white.  If we want prosperity the answer is not gated communities but investing in education and making sure those workers have good wage earning jobs.  But also a sense that we are a community and we need to take care of each other, which is why I believe in Public institutions, public education, public roads, and universal health care.

If we refuse to invest in each other - in our common future - we are abandoning our prosperity.

The Democratic Party has always been about Hope, Fairness and community building. That’s why it is my campaign slogan. You know what I stand for; I have not wavered:  Education, single-payer health insurance system, clean energy, clean environment, good jobs.

I want your endorsement because I know I can win.  I have the energy, the commitment and the desire.  All I need is you.  Thank you.

Since that day I have been meeting with supporters and out in public participating in church and community meetings.  This last Monday I attended a presentation by Glenda M. Russell of the New Leaf Community Service in San Francisco.  Civil Rights on the Ballot: Costs to Individuals and Communities. She talked about the adverse effects legislation like the Marriage Amendment the Minnesota House is trying to find a way to pass on communities and citizens.  She also talked about how important it is to put your energies in to building up community rather than fighting and tearing things down.  What we give our time and energy to controls us, so we better find things important enough for that expenditure.