Gaylene Spolarich, DFL, was in the county recently campaigning to become the United States Representative for Minnesota’s 8th congressional district. She is running against incumbent Rep. Pete Stauber. Above, Gaylene listens as Denny Fitzpatrick asks her a question and Roger Linehan, on the right, looks on. Gaylene calls herself a practical and progressive Democrat. Her campaign slogan is “Healthy people, healthy places, and a fair economy.” Photo courtesy of Denny Fitzpatrick
Gaylene Spolarich paid a visit to Cook County last week and stopped to meet people in Grand Marais and Grand Portage.
Spolarich, a member of the Democratic Famer Labor party (DFL), is running for U.S. Congress. She met with about 40 people at the Cook County Senior Center (The Hub) in Grand Marais on Wednesday night, March 4 and the next day she went to Grand Portage to meet with folks there.
During the meeting at The Hub, Denny Fitzpatrick said, “We took time to talk about our fears and hopes first—pausing from reading or watching the news, to eat soup and be face-to-face with neighbors.”
“We also talked about ways we can work together for clean water, relief for working families, and more possibilities for rural regeneration… and to get Trump out of office.”
“I brought along some art activities too because creating things together is another way we remember how to be human—and that our creativity is powerful.”
Who is Gaylene Spolarich?
Gaylene is an indigenous woman (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) who describes herself as a mother and grandmother, a caregiver of four young children, and an active member of her community. She spent 25 years working in local and tribal government for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, leading education programs that uplift vulnerable children and families. She also served as a city councilor for Palisade, Minnesota.
At the age of four, her parents moved their family from the reservation in North Dakota to Aitkin County in northern Minnesota. Her father worked in construction all through the northland. When they moved, they settled in a trailer house in McGregor, and later, after saving up money, her parents purchased a small farm near the Mississippi River. Today Gaylene lives in Palisade, just three miles away from the family farm.
Spolarich is an advocate for affordable health care for all. She would also like to bring more green jobs to the region and focus on sustainable farming and food security. She believes we can have a thriving economy without “compromising the ability of future generations to live well and sustain themselves. We’ll do this by working together across our communities to develop sustainable jobs that improve—rather than degrade—the health of our environment.”
Her campaign slogan is “Healthy people, healthy places, and a fair economy.”
Spolarich calls herself “A practical and progressive Democrat,” She says, “I’m running for U.S. Congress in the 8th District to energize our communities around core issues and values that we hold in common. As I travel across the region during my campaign, I hope to deepen my connections with others who share a concern for the health and well-being of Northeastern Minnesota’s people and natural environments— highlighting those inspiring efforts across the 8th District where communities are already working together to forge a healthy and fair path forward.
“This is the energy— and the relationships—that I will bring with me to Washington if I’m elected to represent our district in U.S. Congress.”
Leave a Reply