WINONA, Minn. – With the November election less than two months away, political campaigns are ramping up, and voters in Winona showed they are eager to learn more about their potential representatives.
Early Friday morning, a group of residents hoping to learn more about the political candidates on November’s ballot gathered at the Winona Chamber of Commerce for its Eggs & Issues forum.
Several topics important to Winona voters were discussed, including taxation, infrastructure, transportation, health care, education, and energy and sustainability.
More often than not, the conversation came back to government spending and mandates, highlighting a key talking point among politicians and voters.
Winona city council member Aaron Repinski , Republican candidate for the open 26A legislative district seat following Democratic Rep. Gene Pelowski’s retirement, said he believes it is important to focus on the needs of the people as opposed to wants and criticized how current legislators dedicate their time, effort and money.
“With the mandates and the taxes that they’ve done, the government puts new mandates out on things, and then they increase things. They give you money but they put more mandates and they take more money away,” said Repinski. “We need to eliminate some of the mandates that are happening, and we do need to lower taxes.”
He argued for the need to lower taxes and help retain Minnesota’s young population and future generations.
“They don’t want to stay here because of all the taxes and how hard it can be. How are we going to keep that demographic here? Minnesota is dying, as far as getting those younger generations,” said Repinski. “If we don’t start cutting some of the taxes and stuff, they’re not going to be able to keep improving the workforce.”
Sarah Kruger , the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate for the open 26A legislative district seat, believes tax fairness is a concern to everyone, but said many of the projects the state invests resources into are critical services, and referenced the budget surplus and how it was utilized.
“We’re looking at the city, the county benefitting, soil and water, WSU, Southeast, our school district — folks here are benefitting from all of that,” said Kruger. “I do agree in being fiscally responsible, but, from this list, where would we like to take money back? … We have to balance the budget in the state of Minnesota according to our Constitution , and a balanced budget isn’t balanced with one-time funding that is used for a permanent cut.”
She said state legislators need to support and grow the economy in Winona to continue to draw in young people. She suggests investing in improved transportation options may be able to accomplish that.
“If we have greater transportation opportunities for them, that is one fundamental piece of the puzzle, so that they can get to Rochester or the Twin Cities and come back home and be based out of Winona ,” she said. “We are so fortunate in our community to be a real cultural Mecca in greater Minnesota , and I would argue, in the Midwest and across the country for things like Shakespeare and Beethoven and music festivals we have. … If we have for folks to be able to come to our community and then get back home and attend these events, that helps immensely grow our local economy.”
County Commissioner District 4 candidates Greg Olson and Jerald Hettenbach also attended the forum and provided some insight into what they hope to accomplish if elected.
Much like the other candidates at the forum, the discussion came back to budgets, which Hettenbach addressed in responding to a question regarding access to affordable housing in the county.
“We do need workforce housing. … We have 27,000 people that work in Winona , and we have 25,000 people that live here in Winona . You have people coming from La Crosse, you got people from Pullman, you got people from Rochester , all coming to town, but then they’re leaving,” said Hettenbach. “They’re going to buy coffee up in Rochester . They’re going to restaurants in Rochester , like we need that money. We need them to stay here. We need them to spend, we need their kids in schools. We need their kids in daycare. We need that money to stay here in Winona and Winona County .”
In response to a question regarding tax policies in the county, Olson said taxes were not the biggest issue that constituents have brought up. Instead, he has heard more concerns regarding infrastructure in Winona .
“When I knock on doors and make calls, I’m not hearing complaints about taxes. I am hearing complaints about roads and bridges. How do we maintain our infrastructure? That’s what I am hearing,” said Olson, before referencing a policy proposed by state Rep. Steven Jacob , who was also at the forum. “That’s where we came up with the half-cent sales tax — I would support it. Mr. Jacob was part of that when he was on the board. We have to pay for county roads, we have to pay for infrastructure. We have to replace bridges that cost money. How do we do it? Effectively and efficiently.”
Another candidate forum hosted by the Winona Chamber of Commerce is scheduled from 7:30-9 a.m. Sept. 27 , according to the chamber’s events calendar.
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