As voters showed up to the League of Women Voters St. Cloud Forum Thursday night to hear from Minnesota House of Representatives District 14A and 14B candidates, they were met with three empty chairs and one candidate.
The lone candidate who showed up at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Whitney Senior Center was DFLer and business owner Abdi Daisane from District 14A, who is going up against incumbent Rep. Bernie Perryman, R-St. Augusta. There were roughly 35 event attendees.
Perryman and both District 14B candidates, Republican Sue Ek and incumbent Rep. Dan Wolgamott, DFL-St. Cloud, were not in attendance.
The three absent candidates supplied a statement that was read off by the League of Women Voters’ moderator Ann Fleming, who afterward told the St. Cloud Times she found their absence to be "disappointing."
"They were invited, and they could not attend," Fleming said.
Perryman and Ek’s statements touched on sentiments about wanting to bolster education initiatives and fix the economy, saying those are issues they hear about when door-knocking. Wolgamott’s statement discussed his bipartisan approach. A Majority in the Middle report stated 43% of bills introduced by Wolgamott had a member of another party involved, compared to Perryman’s 23%.
What did Daisane have to say?
Daisane started off by introducing himself to voters as someone who holds multiple degrees from St. Cloud State University, something he was able to accomplish after immigrating to the United States after living at the Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya as his family fled Somalia when the country's civil war began.
From there, he told attendees he was able to open his own daycare center, and he considers himself to be an educator, which is why education is such an important policy area for him.
"I care about issues that impact (everyone, such as) affordable housing (and) education," Daisane said. "Policies that work for all, (including) economic development and supporting our small businesses to make sure that we continue to support our local economy."
More on Daisane: St. Cloud Minnesota House candidate talks daycare violations, housing
Daisane also spoke about the value of bipartisanship, saying when he gets to St. Paul, his party affiliation isn't going to be at the top of his mind. He said he wants to deliver legislation that will help Minnesotans, and in order to that collaboration is necessary.
"Officials should use party as a vehicle to get (to office), not to just vote blankly (along party lines) on everything," Daisane said. "We should still work together so we can accomplish things for people. We can deliver meaningful legislation and important things to Minnesotans, rather than doing things that are not really serving everyone."
The day care center owner also said he wants to help bring additional funding to St. Cloud Area School District 742, and acknowledged all the work that goes into providing a well-rounded education. Daisane, who was a part of the Local Education and Activities Foundation for six years, said more funding is needed to support the entire education system, both in and outside the classroom.
"We really need to support our educators, the people who are driving our kids every day to school, our janitors, our counselors, our teachers and administrators," Daisane said. "They deserve the support, so they can continue to do the wonderful job that they do."
When asked why he's fit for the role, the Democratic candidate said the event highlighted something important when representing others — showing up.
"It speaks for itself ... I'm here tonight," Daisane said.
Where were the other candidates?
Perryman said she was at the Quiet Oaks Hospice House's fundraiser to help raise funds for the hospice care facility, and thank the caretakers. She said her business, Batteries Plus Bulbs in St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids, helped sponsor the event.
"I regret I was unable to attend the League of Women (Voters) forum last night," Perryman said. "This is an exceptionally busy time of year with the November election just weeks away...I promptly communicated this scheduling conflict with the League representatives when I received my invitation to the forum."
A strange arrest: St. Cloud police: 43-year-old man bites officer upon arrest
Wolgamott said he was fulfilling his commitment as a football coach. The District 14B DFL candidate coaches football at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School, and the ninth-grade team had a game. The DFL candidate said Sauk Rapids tied Elk River 28-28 "in one of the most intense and exciting games (he's) ever coached."
"Prior to the forum, I shared a statement with the League regarding my football game, my positions on key issues and my direct contact information," Wolgamott said. "Hearing directly from my constituents is a top priority for me, which is why I have personally knocked on more than 8,000 doors in the district and held several 'Donuts with Dan' community conversations events since the start of my third term. "
Ek, the Republican candidate in 14B, said she "had another commitment and was not able to be at the forum." Her statement emailed to the St. Cloud Times did not say what the other commitment was.
Corey Schmidt covers politics and courts for the St. Cloud Times. He can be reached at cschmidt@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Election 2024: Daisane was only candidate to attend District 14 voter forum
Local News
