Following this election's trend of earlier-than-ever campaigning, Brandon Clokey on Tuesday announced his bid for the Minnesota House's District 7B seat, held by longtime DFL Rep. Mike Jaros.
Clokey, a 37-year-old residential designer, said he wanted to "ride the coattails" of excitement about this year's contentious presidential and U.S. Senate races. He said he also wanted to tap into the enthusiasm Duluthians displayed in November for electing members of the 30-something set.
"I have the utmost respect for [Jaros], but he's been there 32 years," Clokey said, emphasizing that he wants to bring change to the Legislature.
Clokey, a DFLer who has worked with Life House Center and Churches United in Ministry, identified reducing levels of homelessness and poverty among his top priorities.
"I'm very disturbed by a system designed for people to fail," he said. "It doesn't work when you have stereotypical multimillionaires deciding how to deal with poverty when they have no real-life experience."
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Clokey is also outreach coordinator for the Duluth Fathering Project and board president of the Hillsider Newspaper. The father of three was born and raised in Ohio and has lived in Duluth since 2004. Because it is so early, Clokey said he has yet to do any fundraising or to put together campaign staff.
