Candidate Profiles Choose one ------------------- ALL CANDIDATES Charles Aldrich David Allen Douglas Aitken Warren Anderson Joe Atkins Brian Balfanz Colin Berg Connie Bernardy David Bly Lynda Boudreau Jim Carlson Michael Corbin Ray Cox Lloyd Cybart Chris DeLaForest Keith Ellison Tom Emmer Sondra Erickson Paul Gardner John Gibeau Barb Goodwin Mindy Greiling Tom Gromacki Mike Jaros Brian Hanf Wade Hannon Bud Heidgerken Bill Hilty Paul Holmgren Melissa Hortman Jim Huhtala Sigrid Hutcheson Gail Kulick Jackson Patrick Kirby Lonn Kiel Lyle Koenen Glenn Kuehne Tina Liebling Bernie Lieder Shelley Madore Paul Marquart Jay Mastrud Pat Mellenthin Frank Moe John Muenich Kent Nelson Kathryn Ness Anne Nolan Bud Nornes Lynne Osterman Dennis Ozment Maxine Penas Sandra Peterson Jim Pithan Greg Prest Len Price Rob Rapheal Tom Rukavina Carl Samuelson Lori Schmidt Aaron Schweiger Dan Severson Bruce Shuck Steve Simon Nora Slawik Becki Smith Loren Solberg Valerie Solem Mike Starr Adam Steele Timothy Sycks Tom Taylor Paul Thissen Ben Thome Lynn Wardlow Andy Welti Roger Westall Maryjane Westra Bonnie Wilhelm Lauri Winterfeldt-Shanks Pam Wolf News Headlines

David Bly

District:		25B
Party:		DFL
Residence:		Northfield, MN
Web site:		www.davidbly.com

Statement from the campaign:
I am running for the Minnesota House of Representatives in District 25B because I am disturbed by the dangerous shift away from commitment to community and investment in our future, pulling away from the things I value about Minnesota and what has made it such a great state to grow up in, those values and priorities that we must preserve. Specifically, I mean:
1. A belief in a mixed economy that pools the resources of private, public and nonprofit enterprise that creates a positive climate for growth and investment.
2. A commitment to a progressive tax system that puts the burden of taxes on those who are the most able to pay and those who have benefited the most from the system.
3. A belief in strong support for and investment in public education including early childhood, k12 and higher education that creates the work force and the environment we need to maintain our high quality labor resource.
4. A belief in support for labor and the notion that 'we all prosper when we all prosper'.
5. The realization that sometimes people need a hand up in order to realize their dreams and participate in community, and commitment to provide that needed assistance.
6. Welcoming of immigrants as our families received, and a shared belief in working together for a common good with the benefits of integrating perspectives from other cultures.
7. The belief that when we pool our resources we make a better world than when we all build separately, in other words 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts'.
8. A strong sense of the importance of our stewardship of wilderness and the environment in general. Minnesotans have benefited from our natural environment as a source for recreation, contemplation, renewal and a ready food source. Early settlers were attracted to clear streams and fertile soil and used them to make Minnesota the state it is today.
9. Commitment to provision of essential services as a public service, providing economical access and using sustainable means.

As former Minneapolis School Supt. David Jennings said,We are underinvesting in education, roads and bridges, parks and beaches and other public amenities that will attract and keep "knowledge workers. Financially, we are woefully behind in terms of our ability to maintain the infrastructure we already have."

Minnesota has been ranked 4th in per capita income, and we have the ability to invest in our communities. We need to reverse the trend of the widening income gap that divides our country and find ways to bring everyone along. If we don't heed the mounting warning signs, we put our democracy at greater risk.

Biography:

I grew up and still live in Northfield, MN, attended local public schools and graduated from St. Olaf College here in Northfield. I'm the third generation to live in the home my parents moved into after my grandmother passed away, my children are the fourth generation. My mother was a neighborhood welcomer. When new families moved into the neighborhood, which was fairly frequently in this college town, she would bring them warm apricot bread and fill them in on what she felt they would need to know to become part of the community. She was a nurturer and a helper. My father, a newspaper man by day, was a scout leader and an organizer of neighborhood softball games. He took a particular interest in the kids we played and grew up with, taking time to get to know his children's friends. My father suffered all his life with severe diabetes and succumbed to it in 1968 at the age of 43.

I have been a teacher for 28 years, and in those years I have been drawn to those students in my classes who struggled because of learning difficulties or because of the detrimental effects of a troubled home life. Whereever possible, I did what I could to show them a more likely path to success, to help them have goals and reach them. This has lead me to my current position as Lead Teacher at the Northfield Alternative Learning Center, where we work with students who need a different approach to succeed in school. I have learned a great deal from my students about overcoming obstacles and the courage it takes to move forward in life.

On the Issues:

Should increased taxes be considered as part of a solution to a projected budget deficit?		Yes
Should gambling be expanded in Minnesota to generate new revenue for the state?		No
Should state funds — directly or indirectly — be used to build new sports facilities for the Twins and Vikings?		Undecided
Do you support Gov Pawlenty's JOBZ zones program?		No
Should K-12 spending in Minnesota be curtailed in order to balance a projected budget deficit?		No
Should a constitutional amendment be presented to voters that would ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota?		No
Should the state spend money for expanding mass transit options in Minnesota?		Yes
Should there be additional restrictions on abortion in Minnesota?		No
Should the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, which seeks to protect wildlife habitat and wetlands by paying farmers for taking marginal lands out of agriculture production, be supported?		Yes
Should the state's subsidized health care program be trimmed in order to reduce a projected budget deficit?		No