About this: This endorsement was determined by the News Tribune editorial board. Like most of us, Justin Eichorn is frustrated with government.
Unlike most of us, he’s stepping up to do something about it. He’s running for the Minnesota Senate in District 5, which includes the city of Grand Rapids where he grew up and where he’s the third generation working and operating his family’s outdoors store.“I haven’t been a politician. I haven’t been in government. I haven’t been around forever,” Eichorn said at a News Tribune-sponsored candidate forum last month in the St. Louis County Courthouse in Virginia. “I think I can bring some positive change and some positive economic policies to make sure that we continue to grow (this) area, because I would love to be able to see my kids stick around when they grow up and have this same great lifestyle that we all enjoy in this part of the world.”A political outsider with business savvy and sincere passion for the place he calls home, Eichorn is the choice on Nov. 8 for any voter who was left frustrated or even angered by the end of last year’s legislative session. A bonding bill didn’t get done, even though it was a bonding year and, really, the only reason lawmakers were in session. A long-range funding plan for highways and bridges wasn’t hammered together despite years of widespread agreement that such a plan is needed now. And a tax bill was vetoed over a $100 million typo - and then no agreement could be reached to call a special session to fix the typo. The Legislature has gotten that divided, that an agreement can’t be reached to fix a typo.Change clearly is needed in St. Paul, Eichorn said at the forum. VIDEO: Iron Range candidate forums Senate 5 and 6 “If I’m blessed enough to go down there, my only lobbyist would be the people of Senate District 5,” he said.He’s a clear alternative to the DFL’s decades-long stronghold on the Iron Range and Northeastern Minnesota. Like other Northland Republican candidates this fall, Eichorn is pushing the message that the DFL isn’t the same party Rangers supported for decades. Rather, they say, the party has been taken over by extreme views in vehement opposition to the mining, forestry and woods-products industries that are the heart of the economy in Senate District 5. “My No. 1 (priority) is going to be jobs, jobs, jobs. If something happens to our mining (or) our timber industries - I see Blandin Paper Co. in Grand Rapids struggling - what do we really have left? I mean, we have a little bit of tourism,” Eichorn said. “We absolutely need to make sure that we have a (business-friendly) economic climate, and the state sets that economic climate, so businesses can come here and businesses that are here can be successful.”In 2013, when the DFL controlled the House, the Senate and the governor’s office, Minnesota earned an anti-business reputation after lawmakers passed $2.1 billion in tax increases, including taxes on businesses not charged by other states, including neighboring states to where Minnesota businesses easily and quickly could move.This year, a strong anti-mining movement in the DFL should have Iron Rangers and all Northeastern Minnesotans concerned again about our state’s business climate.“It just baffles my mind to see the DFL, some in the DFL, fighting their own party, wanting to add a plank to their platform that’s completely anti-mining. The last time they were in control they had an environmentalist in charge of the board that controls mining policy; and that certainly isn’t going to be good, either, if we see that come into play again,” Eichorn said. “Let’s get PolyMet to work. Let’s get them going. … They’re going to do it in a safe manner.”In fairness, at last month’s forum, incumbent District 5 Sen. Tom Saxhaug voiced similar support for PolyMet and precious-metals mining. A retired insurance agent, Saxhaug was first elected in 2002.“My strengths have always been in jobs and economic development, particularly in forestry and in the forest products - and in education, which I think particularly in the last four years I’ve done quite well,” Saxhaug said.Perhaps, but the achievement gap hasn’t closed, and Eichorn promises to be a champion for education, including expanding job training at the high school level, which would be of particular benefit to the Iron Range.“We need some type of (education) funding that’s dedicated, that we make sure that money goes directly to the classrooms and to the teachers so (they) can run their classrooms the way they best see fit,” Eichorn said. “That’s going to (be) part of closing the achievement gap, giving the teachers control of their classrooms back.”About this: This endorsement was determined by the News Tribune editorial board. Like most of us, Justin Eichorn is frustrated with government.
Unlike most of us, he’s stepping up to do something about it. He’s running for the Minnesota Senate in District 5, which includes the city of Grand Rapids where he grew up and where he’s the third generation working and operating his family’s outdoors store.“I haven’t been a politician. I haven’t been in government. I haven’t been around forever,” Eichorn said at a News Tribune-sponsored candidate forum last month in the St. Louis County Courthouse in Virginia. “I think I can bring some positive change and some positive economic policies to make sure that we continue to grow (this) area, because I would love to be able to see my kids stick around when they grow up and have this same great lifestyle that we all enjoy in this part of the world.”A political outsider with business savvy and sincere passion for the place he calls home, Eichorn is the choice on Nov. 8 for any voter who was left frustrated or even angered by the end of last year’s legislative session. A bonding bill didn’t get done, even though it was a bonding year and, really, the only reason lawmakers were in session. A long-range funding plan for highways and bridges wasn’t hammered together despite years of widespread agreement that such a plan is needed now. And a tax bill was vetoed over a $100 million typo - and then no agreement could be reached to call a special session to fix the typo. The Legislature has gotten that divided, that an agreement can’t be reached to fix a typo.Change clearly is needed in St. Paul, Eichorn said at the forum.VIDEO: Iron Range candidate forums Senate 5 and 6“If I’m blessed enough to go down there, my only lobbyist would be the people of Senate District 5,” he said.He’s a clear alternative to the DFL’s decades-long stronghold on the Iron Range and Northeastern Minnesota. Like other Northland Republican candidates this fall, Eichorn is pushing the message that the DFL isn’t the same party Rangers supported for decades. Rather, they say, the party has been taken over by extreme views in vehement opposition to the mining, forestry and woods-products industries that are the heart of the economy in Senate District 5. “My No. 1 (priority) is going to be jobs, jobs, jobs. If something happens to our mining (or) our timber industries - I see Blandin Paper Co. in Grand Rapids struggling - what do we really have left? I mean, we have a little bit of tourism,” Eichorn said. “We absolutely need to make sure that we have a (business-friendly) economic climate, and the state sets that economic climate, so businesses can come here and businesses that are here can be successful.”In 2013, when the DFL controlled the House, the Senate and the governor’s office, Minnesota earned an anti-business reputation after lawmakers passed $2.1 billion in tax increases, including taxes on businesses not charged by other states, including neighboring states to where Minnesota businesses easily and quickly could move.This year, a strong anti-mining movement in the DFL should have Iron Rangers and all Northeastern Minnesotans concerned again about our state’s business climate.“It just baffles my mind to see the DFL, some in the DFL, fighting their own party, wanting to add a plank to their platform that’s completely anti-mining. The last time they were in control they had an environmentalist in charge of the board that controls mining policy; and that certainly isn’t going to be good, either, if we see that come into play again,” Eichorn said. “Let’s get PolyMet to work. Let’s get them going. … They’re going to do it in a safe manner.”In fairness, at last month’s forum, incumbent District 5 Sen. Tom Saxhaug voiced similar support for PolyMet and precious-metals mining. A retired insurance agent, Saxhaug was first elected in 2002.“My strengths have always been in jobs and economic development, particularly in forestry and in the forest products - and in education, which I think particularly in the last four years I’ve done quite well,” Saxhaug said.Perhaps, but the achievement gap hasn’t closed, and Eichorn promises to be a champion for education, including expanding job training at the high school level, which would be of particular benefit to the Iron Range.“We need some type of (education) funding that’s dedicated, that we make sure that money goes directly to the classrooms and to the teachers so (they) can run their classrooms the way they best see fit,” Eichorn said. “That’s going to (be) part of closing the achievement gap, giving the teachers control of their classrooms back.”
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