Kossack friends,
After coming close in 2004 [54%-46% head-to-head], I'm running for the Minnesota House for the second time. I want to share why I've committed another 18 months for this campaign.
I'm Jeremy Kalin - a 4th generation Minnesotan, and the son and grandson of schoolteachers and small-businessmen. I've made Chisago County [NE of Saint Paul] my home for ten years.
Folks like you and me, we spend hours, weeks, and years working for greater civic engagement - to crash the gates, so to speak. We talk often about the power of a single vote.
For two years the Minnesota House of Representatives has been divided by just one vote. This one vote has meant the difference between dividing the state with partisan wedge issues, and bringing people together around a shared vision for a brighter future.
Please contribute whatever you can and volunteer your time, skills and energy on the campaign that Congressman Jim Oberstar has called "the most organized campaign in Minnesota" to help me help take back the MN House.
Thanks!
[more on the flip...]
With his one vote in the Minnesota House,
my opponent consistently voted the party line, against the needs of our community and our state.
He voted against the bipartisan Transportation Bill that would have provided $10 million to fix our Chisago County roads.
He voted to cut health insurance for 27,200 working Minnesotans. He even
voted to cut 46% of the state aid for his own city, Lindstrom.
Two years ago, I ran as a virtual unknown in a district written off as a safe Republican seat. But with the help of hundreds of people like you, we came just 995 voters short of winning. We came very close to putting a Democrat in the Speaker's chair. What a difference that would have made for Minnesota's families!
This year, I am still the underdog in my race. But I've won the unanimous DFL endorsement and I've earned the support of many community leaders: County Commissioners, City Councilors, schoolteachers, parents, and a local Chamber of Commerce president. I've earned the support and respect of my 16-term Congressman, Jim Oberstar, shown here. I've even won the endorsement of the two lifelong Republicans who succeeded my opponent as Mayors of Lindstrom.
My opponent and his supporters have already launched several vicious and personal attacks against me. I refuse to stoop to their level. My constituents want me to focus on the issues that will make a real difference in their lives: Universal Health Care, Stronger Schools, Safer Roads and Transit, and restoring the Minnesota tradition of bipartisan investment in a brighter future.
Two years ago, I wore through four pairs of shoes on the campaign trail. This year, I'm already wearing through yet another pair of shoes, knocking on doors and winning votes from Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike. Now I need your help.
Please contribute whatever you can: $10, $20, $50 or $100 to help me win this November, and take back the MN House.
Please sign onto our email list.
Over the next few months, I'll lay out three of the win-win solutions that can move Minnesota forward: on Schools; on Health Care; and on fixing our Roads, Bridges and Energy Dependance, together. I look forward to the conversation then, and I will stick around now for an hour before heading out to knock on my 100 doors for the day.
Thank you for helping me show the difference one vote can make in the Minnesota House of Representatives next year!