Fernandez looking to have unheard voices heard in campaign for house representative

Among the key factors in being a politician is having connections, and Edel Fernandez has them in the southern Minnesota community.

Fernandez, of Owatonna, got the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party’s endorsement for Minnesota’s House of Representatives in District 19B at the upcoming election in November. While he has no political experience, he does have a strong presence within the district’s communities.

Background

As the election and endorsement season got underway, Fernandez was approached by a few people asking him to consider running for office. Fernandez said it was an honor that people considered him a potential candidate for the Minnesota House seat, and he then had some conversations with members in the community on the possibility of him running.

“I always questioned the fact that very little to no persons of color were in positions in government around the area,” Fernandez said. “I thought this is a great opportunity to change that.”

Fernandez was born and raised in Guanajuato, Mexico and has been in the United States for 23 years and counting. After living in Wilmar and working at Ridgewater College, Fernandez took a job at Riverland Community College.

Riverland has campuses in Albert Lea, Austin, and Owatonna. Fernandez asked people where he should move to out of the those three communities, and the answer he got was Owatonna.

Education

Fernandez started at Riverland in 2013 and has lived in Owatonna ever since. For the last six years, he’s been at South Central College and is the director of admissions. He works between the two locations in Faribault and North Mankato.

Living in Owatonna and working at South Central, Fernandez has contacts all over southern Minnesota, including the District 19B communities of Owatonna, Waseca, and Medford, and also the District 19A community of Faribault.

Education is a huge factor in Fernandez’s life, and he hopes to be an advocate for it in his political career.

One of the issues he would like to address is experience in higher education. He wants to make sure youth and people who are unemployed get the right support they need, in order to take their careers to the next level.

“Education can be a great equalizer for people,” said Fernandez.

Health care

Another issue that is important to Fernandez is health care.

“A few years ago, I had an accident, and I had to spend a month in the hospital,” Fernandez said.

The incident involved Fernandez drowning and having a seizure during Fourth of July activities at a lake. The cost of the treatment he received was significant, but fortunately for him, his insurance covered the majority of it.

Fernandez realizes that there are many people that are not so fortunate, unable to get meaningful insurance. Because of that, the cost of health care can be a financial burden.

Fernandez hopes to help make health care more affordable in his run for house representative. He believe everyone should have access. He doesn’t want community members and families to have to go through a situation where they have to worry about finances on top of the treatments someone is getting.

Because Fernandez was able to receive the help he got because of his health care and insurance, he sees advocating for it as a good way to give back.

Representation

Fernandez he thinks he is able to represent people in the community that have not had their voices heard in government, specifically with his Hispanic background. He believes a wider array of residents may feel comfortable going to him with their concerns and requests to take to the Capitol.

The November election will represent the first time Fernandez has ever been on a ballot, and it will also be the first election he will be able to vote in. Fernandez obtained his American citizenship last year and is an advocate for voting rights.

“I think it’s very cool that I will be running in the first election I am able to vote in,” Fernandez said.

While his background is a key factor in him running for office and making his voice heard, Fernandez stated that he will work for everybody if he gets elected.

“At the end of the day, we are all the same,” Fernandez said. “We have to take care of one another.”

He wants to be able to listen to everyone and get to know what the people in the community want or need. He stated that he understands that he will be representing everybody in the district.

Fernandez hopes to be a role model for his community, as he takes the next step in his political journey.

He will face off against a Republican candidate in the District 19B election in November. Tom Sexton (Waseca) is the endorsed Republican candidate in the district, but Mick Ditlevson (Owatonna) also received a significant portion of the vote at the convention and has stated he will vie for the Republican nomination in a primary. There are no other Democratic candidates who have announced a run for the seat.

The winner of the November election will replace Rep. John Petersburg (R-Waseca), who is retiring at the end of his current term.