Republican candidates for governor Brian Sullivan and Tim Pawlenty say they share the same conservative vision for Minnesota, but each has his own way of getting there.

Wednesday, February 13, 2002

Republican candidates for governor Brian Sullivan and Tim Pawlenty say they share the same conservative vision for Minnesota, but each has his own way of getting there.

The candidates found common ground on taxes and education policy at a candidates’ forum at Riverland Community College in Albert Lea Tuesday, but highlighted differences on highway funding and rural economic development. While the pair found themselves agreeing or differing only slightly on most of the issues raised, they went out of their way to point out differences as they vie for the GOP nomination for governor.

Sullivan, a Twin Cities business owner, frequently returned to his core message: Career politicians are well-meaning but out of touch with the lives of real Minnesotans, and the party needs a candidate like him, who draws his experience from the business world.

He said his experience as an entrepreneur taught him that the state has a stifling environment for businesses, with high taxes and overbearing regulations that drive jobs across state borders. Cutting taxes and easing regulations is the way to encourage development statewide, he said.

&uot;People will plant the seeds and if the soil is fertile, the seeds will sprout,&uot; Sullivan said. &uot;And Minnesota does not have fertile soil. We have a regulatory climate that basically treats you as a person not to be trusted,&uot; Sullivan said.

Pawlenty, the house majority leader, agreed that the state as a whole must be more welcoming to businesses, but said unlike Sullivan, he supports special attention for needier areas, particularly rural Minnesota. He suggested tax-free zones, which he said have spurred tremendous development under Republican leadership in Pennsylvania and Michigan.

He also mentioned support for value-added agricultural products like ethanol and biodiesel as ways to help keep outstate Minnesota healthy.

&uot;Greater Minnesota is important to us not just economically but also culturally,&uot; he said.

On another important rural issue, highway and bridge funding, both said the state is not doing an adequate job, but they differed in their methods for fixing the problem. Pawlenty has already presented a highway funding plan that taps the state’s future tobacco settlement payments – estimated at $200 million in revenue per year – while Sullivan said he would rely on bonding as a more dedicated way to pay for road projects.

Both panned the Twin Cities light rail project supported by Gov. Jesse Ventura and said the state should focus on improving its roads.

Pawlenty pointed to his running mate, Rep. Carol Molnau of Chaska, as his leader on transportation policy. Molnau is chairwoman of the House Transportation Committee, and Pawlenty said as governor he’ll make her a &uot;one-woman SWAT team&uot; to shake up the transportation department.

On education, both agreed that the state’s Profile of Learning should be repealed, and that control over curriculum should be returned to local school boards. Both also said the state should iron out funding inequities between rural and urban schools. Some schools receive nearly double the per-pupil funding as others, and rural schools often get the shaft, they said.

The candidates differed on Albert Lea’s proposed half-cent local-option sales tax. Sullivan said cities should be allowed to determine their own destiny, and that if voters approve a heightened tax, the state should allow it. Pawlenty, however, said such taxes are getting out of control and should be held in check.

&uot;We allowed a few of these (local taxes) in the ’90s, and now everybody wants them,&uot; Pawlenty said. &uot;It’s getting to be a problem, really.&uot;

&uot;We’re trying to get out of the business of having local governments raise their sales tax on their own,&uot; he said.

Perhaps the strongest distinction the candidates drew was their experience. Pawlenty said no Minnesota governor in modern history has been elected without having held some public office; even Ventura was a mayor first. Sullivan has not held public office.

While Sullivan emphasized his role as a common-sense outsider and painted Pawlenty as a political insider, Pawlenty stressed his roots as the son of an immigrant packing house worker in South St. Paul. He said he was the only member of his family who could attend college.

Pawlenty said he has the political experience and know-how as well as a connection with the average Minnesotan; Sullivan stressed his real-world credentials and hinted that his financial clout is needed for the Republicans to put Ventura on the defensive and win the governorship.

&uot;It’s always better to be able to get your message out,&uot; he said, mentioning that his TV campaign ads will start appearing today.

Party members in every county will vote on their choice for the party’s gubernatorial endorsement during precinct caucuses on March 5. Pawlenty and Sullivan have both said they will abide by the party’s endorsement.

Tuesday’s event was coordinated by the Freeborn County Republican Party and moderated by county GOP co-chairman Matt Benda and Albert Lea Mayor Bob Haukoos.