Candidates for State Representative Square Off In Final Debate

Questions and answers ricocheted off the walls of the Powderhorn Park Rec Center as and squared off in a candidate forum Wednesday night. Blumenshine and Allen are vying to replace now-Sen. Jeff Hayden as Kingfield’s state representative.

With only a minute to answer questions posed by the audience, the debate resembled Steven Douglas versus Abraham Lincoln, armed with machine guns.

For those who watched the duo’s debate last month at Turtle Bread Company at 48th and Chicago, many of the candidates’ answers—and even some of their jokes—were predictable.

Both said they support universal healthcare and unions’ collective bargaining rights, and oppose voter ID laws and public funding for a Minnesota Vikings stadium. In interviews after the debate, they both even offered support for a moratorium on home foreclosures in Minnesota and programs to keep Minnesotans facing foreclosure in their homes while trying to renegotiate mortgages, pointing to bank bailouts for justification, although both admitted they were not as familiar with the issue as they’d like to be.

But one question from an audience member struck at the heart of the election in house district 61B: How should voters distinguish one progressive candidate from the other, beyond their DFL and independent labels?

Allen reminded voters of her personal experience growing up poor and Native American, and suggested this would help her stay true to the community’s needs and values.

“Still, I can be moderate on many issues” when trying to compromise with Republicans, she said, “so long as it doesn’t run against my core beliefs.”

As he had in the past, Blumenshine plugged his “respect” platform as a way to break down partisan divides and get laws passed in the state legislature.

“All I’m asking for is 10 months” until the 2012 elections, he said. “10 months to exceed your expectations and get things done.”