The North Shore has not been forgotten this primary election, with a number of candidates on the August 10 ballot making the trek up Highway 61 to visit with voters. Two candidates who have met with the Cook County News-Herald
in recent weeks are secretary of state candidate Dan “Doc” Severson and Lieutenant Governor candidate Yvonne Prettner Solon.
Dan Severson
Severson made the trip up the North Shore first, on Thursday, July 22, stopping at the News-Herald
office to answer a few questions—the first, how did he get the nickname “Doc”?
Severson was commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1979 and was awarded his Navy pilot wings after completing Naval Aviator training in 1980. Like all pilots, he received a nickname. In his case, his name was close to “Doc” Severinson, a late-night talk show sidekick. The name stuck throughout his military career and through his terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He is serving his 4th term as state representative in District 14A, which includes Stearns and Benton counties.
Severson said he decided to run after hearing complaints of possible election fraud from constituents afterthe last election. Hearing the concerns, he contacted the seated secretary of state. He said he was told,
It’s not my job.” Severson said he had a hard time finding anyone who could address his constituent’s concerns and he decided to do something about it. “I thought, if I had this much trouble getting information—as a state representative— what chance does an average citizen have?”
He decided to run for the secretary of state position on a platform of election reform, with his primary goals to enact requirement of photo ID for voters, to tighten the voter registration process to ensure that non-citizens and/ or felons are not voting, and to bring back reconciliation of voters to ballots. “You have a lot of people out there following the rules, doing the right thing,” said Severson. “But if they don’t trust the system, they may stop participating.”
Severson said he will also continue to champion veteran issues and education, and will work to promote strong family values.
Yvonne Prettner Solon
Prettner Solon met with senior citizens at the Grand Marais Senior Center on Tuesday, July 28, enjoying lunch and fielding questions from the “regulars” at the center. She also took a few minutes to talk to the News-
Herald,
first answering a question that she said had required a lot of soul-searching: Mark Dayton is not the DFLendorsed candidate for governor. As a faithful Democratic Party member, how do you justify signing on as his lieutenant governor?
“I’ve known Mark for years. I worked with him when I was on the Duluth City Council,” Prettner Solon explained. “He called this spring and asked if I’d be co-chair of his campaign. Thenone day, he asked if I’d be the lieutenant governor candidate. I had to think about it.” Prettner Solon had just been endorsed as a state senate candidate, so it wasn’t an easy decision. “We had just won the unallotment issue and we were facing the state’s huge budget deficit. As the session wound down, I felt we were ‘caving in.’ I decided I was ready. I told Mark if he isn’t the next governor, I don’t want to be in the legislature next year.”
Before heading to a stop at Hillhaven assisted residential housing and later the Silver Bay Veterans Home, Prettner Solon touched on Mark Dayton’s five-point plan for seniors, which includes, among other things, the establishment of a “senior services center” in the office of lieutenant governor.
But Prettner Solon said she and her runningmate have a message for everyone. Part of that message is that hard decisions need to be made. She said that includes ensuring that the upper 10% of income earners who now pay about 8% state and local taxes are required to pay what other wage earners do, which is about 12%.
Prettner Solon said Dayton knows what needs to be done and he is not afraid to take a risk.
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