Jim Fuglie's News from the Trail

Fellow Democrats,

One of the most heartening parts of my job as Executive director of the North Dakota Democratic- NPL Party is watching a group of incredibly sincere Legislative candidates begin launching their campaigns. These are a bunch of extremely talented people, the best our party has to offer, and they are committing a whole lot of their time for the next six months offering themselves for public service, in the best spirit of what our founding fathers envisioned to be a great democracy.

The process starts with writing fundraising letters, and I’ve been working with them to hone their appeals to best effect, so that they will have the funds available in the fall to carry out the end game of their campaigns. I want to share with you this morning some excerpts from some of their letters, as they go about asking their friends and families to share in the costs of a campaign—not an easy task for most of them, but one they are wiling to tackle.

From Ellen Linderman of Carrington, our candidate for the House in District 29:

“I recently had the honor to be nominated by the Democratic-NPL to run for a seat in the North Dakota House of Representatives. As a family farmer and active member of my community for the past thirty years, I am excited by this opportunity to provide the leadership and vision our state so desperately needs.”

“Like my fellow North Dakotans, I am deeply concerned about the direction we are heading as a state and as a nation. We in rural America currently face an imposing array of challenges, including a major energy crisis that has driven up fuel prices and placed an enormous financial burden on the farmers, small business owners, and working families that form the vital core of our communities. This year alone, the average farmer in this state will be forced to pay an additional $30,000 as a result of the high cost of energy. I firmly believe that with strong and effective leadership, we can solve this crisis, and together we can meet the challenges facing our state and our nation.”

From Bob Horne of Minot, our candidate for the Senate in District 3:

“While North Dakota is doing better than much of the nation, we have yet to reach our full potential. We must develop our renewable energy (ethanol, biodiesel, wind) to improve farm income and reduce dependence on foreign oil. Sky-high gasoline prices hurt all of us and slow the economy. Property taxes are too high and rising, partly because of an out of balance funding plan for education. While we should jail methamphetamine dealers, we need better treatment programs for meth victims so their families and society can improve.”

From Jim Pomeroy of Fargo (Yes, he’s Earl’s cousin), our Senate candidate in District 27:

“I believe we can satisfactorily fund public education - preschool through higher education - and at the same time reduce property taxes. We need to close the gap, arriving at 70% state support for public schools. We are nearing the time when a majority of our fine public school teachers will be retiring. At the same time our state ranks 50th in financial compensation for teachers. Sadly, we train many excellent teachers in our colleges and universities who would like to stay in North Dakota, but are recruited to leave the state for positions that pay up to twice as much as they can get here.”

From Jim Yockim of Williston, our Senate candidate in District 1:

“The choice is simple for you. If you think that we are funding our education system as well as we can, if you think college tuition should increase at 9% a year, if you think Williston is getting the attention from Bismarck that it deserves then you need to do nothing. If, however, you think we can do better, then I need your help. I want many improvements for our state and I truly believe we can do better than what we are doing now. I want our children to have a quality education system. I want our teachers and public employees to be part of a system that appreciates their good work and compensates them accordingly. I want to be able to tell our children that our state is known for its high quality jobs rather than as a low wage state. I want us to celebrate the birth of each new child and know that they can find health and prosperity throughout their lives if they choose to stay in North Dakota. I want our elderly to live out their years in safe, comfortable homes with quality health care. I want to encourage a healthy farm and energy economy. It all can be done and at a price we can afford.”

These candidates have a firm grasp on the issues. They know why they want to serve in the Legislature. These four, and the sixty-some others who are writing those fundraising appeals right now, need our support. If you get one of these letters (and you likely will), please help them. You’re on their list for a reason. They know that YOU know how important the issues facing North Dakota are right now, and they want to bring positive change. To do that, they will need our help. I’m going to help. I hope you will too.

See you on the Trail.

Jim