This long campaign season is coming to an end on November 8.  Our candidates, Doug Fulton and Beth Beebe, have been persistent in their door-knocking all summer and well into the fall. They have no intention of letting up this final week.

If you haven’t been out with Doug or with Beth, do it this week.  The weather is expected to stay unseasonably warm through much of the week. 

Doug will be walking in Bloomington Precinct 12. Starting times vary by day. Meet him at the parking lot of the Community of the Cross Lutheran Church, 10701 Bloomington Ferry Rd. Your best opportunities to canvas with him will be Tuesday (3 PM), Thursday (3 PM), Saturday (11AM), and Sunday (1 PM). 

Beth will be knocking in several western Bloomington precincts.  Supporters eager to get out and walk with Beth should call her at (952) 444-5300 before 2 pm each day to let her know and learn where to meet.  Beth will shift to apartment buildings if the weather turns inclement. 

If you have any problems reaching either of these candidates, please call the SD50 telephone number (952) 856-3028. 

If you cannot door-knock, please contribute.  Both candidates continue to need funding for last-minute campaign expenditures.  Use the links below to access the candidates' websites, where donation pages can be found:

• Beth Beebe's campaign website
• Doug Fulton's campaign website

The polls show that the races for MN Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Auditor remain very close.  The differences between the Republican and DFL candidates are often a couple of percentage points or less, essentially within the margin of error of the polls.  The number of undecided voters is shrinking fast.

As of the end of last week, about 290,000 Minnesotans have already voted.  This is roughly on track to the number that voted early in the last (2018) mid-term.

For the Republican candidates to win, we must get all Republican voters to the polls.  Every vote is important.  

If you haven’t voted yet, you can now vote early by “direct ballot”.  During the final seven days before an Election Day, early voters who vote in person are allowed to place their ballots through a tabulator instead of sealing them into an envelope for later processing by the Hennepin County Ballot Board.  You can watch as your ballot is tabulated and be aware of any errors the tabulator may detect as the ballot is processed. 

The producer of the Republican Roundtable, Patti Piatz, submitted the following links that provide you an opportunity to see the candidates and hear their messages directly, in their own words:

Beth Beebe (HD50B) on the Republican Roundtable:  CLICK HERE

Doug Fulton (SD50), Ryan Chase (HD49A), and Shawn Holster (SD63) were on a 3-guest panel: CLICK HERE 

Frank Pafko (SD51) recorded the following 3-minutes segment for the League of Women Voters: CLICK HERE

Oct 14, 2022
My devoted message to you, all Minnesotans and Americans.

My “why” rests on the job not yet being complete and ensuring a better America for my children. Although my service in the Navy was cut short due to unforeseen circumstances, I knew what was going on at home was not the America I grew up in—or the future America I wanted for my children.

My road to Turning the Ship Around has been incredible because of people like you.

Please take a few moments to read my open letter below to explain why this win will just mean more.

Thank you,
Tom Weiler

 I am not a professional politician. I am a believer. I believe in America, and Americans. Not just certain Americans — all Americans.

I believe in mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; Democrats, Republicans, Independents; protesters and peacemakers; Vikings fans and Packers fans. I believe in those who hope and those who struggle to hope; those who teach and those who learn. I believe in Americans.

For 20 years, I dedicated my life to all Americans, to all of us, to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States." I served in the Navy to preserve every single American's freedom to be oneself, to speak one's mind, to live one's American dreams. I believe in the spirit in each one of us that strives to make life better for our children, our neighbors and our opponents. I served to protect that American spirit.

I have the same perspective when it comes to serving my country and representing my fellow Minnesotans in Congress. My service will be to all in the Third Congressional District, to all Minnesotans and to all Americans; it will be all-embracing.

I will serve my fellow Americans by making common-sense decisions to pass laws that improve people's lives. Because when I go to Congress, I intend to do something. I learned in the Navy that talking about action gets little done. Real action makes things happen. I became a successful leader in the Navy because I listened to people's concerns, I delivered solutions to problems, and I developed and executed plans to achieve the mission. I will use this experience and this pragmatic problem-solver mentality to achieve good results for our country.

I believe Americans deserve a safe place to live, work and play. I believe Americans deserve a thriving economy with opportunities that enable them to provide for their families. I believe our children deserve to be safe in their schools.

We do not need superheroes or professional politicians to achieve these goals. We need believers. And I am a believer who can lead with integrity; act with intention; and return to each American spirit the flourishing country they deserve.

Beth Beebe is running to be the new State Representative for MN House District 50 B. Beth has experience representing the residents of west Bloomington, having been twice-elected to the Bloomington School Board, where she's in her 5th year.

Beebe has sent out a series of issue-specific emails to voters. These were republished on her website (CLICK HERE) recently, and here are a few key points:

On Crime:

• I support the full funding of local and state law enforcement.
• I will work to tighten MN Statutes, eliminating loopholes that are allowing judges to release violent criminals in a “Catch and Release” of repeat offenders. This is endangering communities and exhausting law enforcement efforts.
• I will work to ban ‘charitable bail’ groups like the MN “Freedom” Fund that is bailing out violent criminals, as a so-called form of protest to defund the police. These violent criminals have no skin in the game. There are no consequences and no incentives to prevent them from committing other offenses while awaiting trial.
• I will work to classify carjacking as a separate, violent crime. This will reverse the recent reclassification, without objection by my opponent, of carjacking as simply “auto theft”.

If you feel less safe now than you did four years ago, it is not just a feeling.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension issued its 2021 Uniform Crime Report in early August. The report details massive increases in violent crime under Gov. Tim Walz’s administration, including:

- 21.6 percent increase in violent crime – including a 16 percent increase across Greater Minnesota and a 23.9 percent increase in the Twin Cities Metro Area
- 8.65 percent increase in murders
- 8.5 percent increase in motor vehicle thefts – for the highest total since 2001
- 35 percent increase in assaults on peace officers since 2020

For more information on the trends in violent crime under Gov. Tim Walz, CLICK HERE

The increase in crime should be of particular concern in our minority community. While Gov. Walz has trumpeted his protection of minority rights, the growing rate of gun crimes in Minneapolis is hurting residents of black neighborhoods at a much higher rate that of our white neighborhoods.

Andy Mannix cited police data in a report published in the Star Tribune on August 12, 2022. The report noted that “police counted one Black shooting victim for every 150 Black residents of the city.” This compares with one white victim for every 3,768 white residents. It is not surprising many Black residents of the North side of Minneapolis live in fear.

“Violent crime has been on the rise in Minneapolis since 2020.” While it has shown signs of peaking, it remains at a concerningly high level, “still way up from 2019.” The upward trend remains evident in carjackings.

Gov. Walz let the city of Minneapolis burn in 2019 before finally calling out the National Guard. He has similarly been slow to stand up for public safety on our urban streets. When was the last time you thought of enjoying the restaurants and the nightlife in Minneapolis?

Isn’t it time for a change?