(bright music) (light music) - [Presenter] Welcome to "Meet the Candidates," the local election forum from Pioneer PBS.

This season, we asked every candidate the same list of questions to learn more about what type of legislator they will be if elected.

In this episode, we will meet candidates from Senate District 12.

District lines have changed since the 2020 census.

District 12 is made up of Big Stone, Stevens, Swift, and Pope counties, and portions of Douglas and Stearns counties.

Major cities include Alexandria, Sauk Centre, Morris, and Benson.

To find out which district you live in, visit mnvotes.org.

And now, let's meet the candidates.

We'll start with DFL candidate Kari Dorry.

- I'm Kari Dorry.

And I'm running for the Minnesota Senate because I believe rural Minnesota deserves a strong voice at the capital.

I'm not new to this community.

I grew up here.

I raised my family here, and I've spent my career as a special education teacher working with children and families.

I serve as union president, and I've spent years volunteering and being part of the community that I call home.

So when I talk about the challenges people are facing, I'm not talking about things that I've read in the newspaper or seen online.

I'm living many of the same things my neighbors are living.

We're worried about the cost of healthcare, groceries, housing, childcare.

We're worried about our schools and whether our communities will have the resources they need to thrive.

We are worried for our aging loved ones if they'll have access to the support that they need.

But I also know something else.

I know how strong rural Minnesota is.

I've watched neighbors show up for one another.

I've seen people step in when family needs help.

And I've seen our communities come together after a loss, during a crisis, or simply because someone needs a hand.

That's the Minnesota that I believe in.

I believe the government should work the same way.

It should work for people.

It should listen, it should solve problems, and it should make life a little easier, not harder.

I'm running because I want to bring that common sense, that compassion, and that commitment to community to the Minnesota Senate.

This campaign is about keeping our democracy real right here at home.

It's about making sure rural voices are heard.

It's about protecting our public schools, standing up for working people, protecting our freedoms, and making sure every person in our community knows that they belong.

I love this place, and I believe in these people, and I'm ready to get to work.

(light music) - [Presenter] Why do you wanna be the senator for your district?

(light music continues) - I'm running because I love this part of Minnesota, and I believe it deserves someone who understands it and who will fight for it.

I've spent my life here.

I know our communities, I know our schools, and I know the people who keep our towns going.

And I know people are feeling very stretched right now.

You can work hard, play by the rules, and still feel like you're falling behind.

The cost of healthcare is too high, groceries cost more, housing is harder to afford, and families are making difficult choices.

I understand that because I'm making those difficult choices, too.

But I don't wanna run a campaign based on fear of telling people what's wrong with Minnesota.

I think we should be honest about those challenges while also remembering what is good about this place.

There's so much good here.

We have people who care about their neighbors.

We have teachers, farmers, small business owners, healthcare workers, first responders, and working families who show up every day to do the work.

I want to be a senator who shows up for them.

Someone who listens before making decisions, someone who remembers rural Minnesota when important decisions are being made in Saint Paul, someone who's willing to work across differences when it helps our communities.

I'm not running because I think I have all the answers.

I'm running because I know how to listen, I know how to work hard, and I know how to bring people together to solve problems.

And I think those are the exact qualities that we need representing us.

(light music) - [Presenter] What are your priorities for the next legislative session?

(light music continues) - My priorities start with something pretty simple, making life more affordable for everyone.

People should be able to work hard and afford a decent life here.

That means looking at the cost of healthcare, childcare, housing, groceries, and other everyday expenses that are putting pressure on families.

Public education is another priority for me.

Our schools make magic happen every single day, but we're constantly asking them to do more with less.

Our educators need the support, resources, and funding to give every student the opportunity to succeed.

Strong schools build strong communities, and our rural schools deserve nothing less.

We also need to stand up for working people.

I believe unions have played an important role in building Minnesota's middle class and workers deserve fair opportunity to earn a good living and to support their families.

And I believe strongly in protecting the integrity of our elections and making sure people have confidence in our democratic institutions.

These priorities might sound like a long list, but they always come back to one question: Can people build a good life here?

And I want that answer to be yes.

I want young people to be able to stay in the communities where they grew up if they choose.

I want families to feel secure.

I want our schools, family farms, and small towns to thrive.

That's what I'll take with me to Saint Paul.

(light music) - [Presenter] What unique perspective do you bring to the Minnesota Senate?

(light music continues) - I think my biggest strength is that I'm a person who has spent my life serving people.

I'm a teacher.

I work in special education, so I spend my days looking at what a student needs and figuring out how to help them succeed.

It has taught me to listen, to really listen.

It's taught me that two people can experience the same situation very differently.

It has taught me to look for solutions instead of simply identifying the problems.

I also serve as a union president, so I understand what it means to advocate for working people and to sit down with people who don't always agree and find a way forward.

I bring a rural perspective.

I know what it means to live in a community where you probably know the person behind the counter at the grocery store, you know your kid's teacher, you know your neighbors, and you maybe know the person who's responding when you call 911.

That creates a different kind of community.

We rely on each other.

I think too often rural Minnesota gets talked about instead of listened to, and I want to change that.

I want to bring the voices of our communities to Saint Paul, not tell the people here what they should think.

My perspective is being shaped by my experience being a teacher, a parent, a hard worker, a union member, and a lifelong member of this community.

But most importantly, I'm a neighbor, and I think we need more neighbors in politics.

(light music) - [Presenter] What is your vision for the future of Minnesota?

(light music continues) - My vision for Minnesota is pretty simple.

I want Minnesota to be a place where people can build a good life no matter where they live.

I want young people growing up in rural Minnesota to have opportunities without feeling like they have to leave forever to find them.

I want families to be able to afford healthcare and childcare.

I want people to be able to find a home, and I want our schools and our families' farms to be strong.

I want small towns to have thriving businesses, good jobs, and the infrastructure that they need.

And I want Minnesota to remain a place where we take care of one another.

I think sometimes politics makes us forget how much we actually have in common.

Most people want the same basic things.

They want to be able to support their families, they want their kids to be safe and successful, and they want to be treated with dignity.

They wanna have a say in what happens in their communities.

We don't have to agree on everything to work together.

In fact, sometimes I think that our democracy works best when we listen to the people we disagree with and still recognize their humanity.

So my vision of Minnesota is where opportunity isn't determined by your zip code, where rural communities aren't an afterthought, where our government works for regular people, and where we remember that our greatest strength is that we know how to take care of each other.

(light music) - [Presenter] And now, a closing statement.

(light music continues) - At the end of the day, this campaign isn't really about me.

It's about all of us.

It's about our communities, where we live.

It's about the people we love, and it's about the future we want to build here.

I'm running because I believe rural Minnesota deserves a senator who will show up, listen, work hard, and fight for the people who sent them there.

I'm running because I believe in public education, I believe in working people, and I believe in our small towns and our rural communities.

I believe every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

And I believe we are stronger when we take care of one another.

I know politics can feel pretty overwhelming right now, and there's a lot of noise, there's a lot of division, and a lot of people trying to convince us that our neighbors are the problem, I don't believe that.

I believe that our neighbors are our biggest strength.

I've seen it my whole life.

I've seen people show up for each other, I've seen communities rally around a family in crisis, and I've seen teachers pour everything they have into their students.

And I have seen working people stand together and fight for a better future.

That's who we are, and that's the kind of leadership I want to bring to the Minnesota Senate.

I'm asking for your vote, but I'm also asking you to believe in what we can do together.

Because this is our home, these are our communities, and our voices deserve to be heard, and I'm ready to be that voice, and I'd be honored to have you with me.

- [Presenter] You can find more information online about Kari Dorry at her website, kari4mnsenate.com.

(light music) Next, the Republican candidate, Torrey Westrom.

- Good evening.

I'm Senator Torrey Westrom, and it's great to join you tonight.

Thanks to Pioneer television for hosting this debate or this forum, and it's an honor to be able to serve you as your state senator from District 12 at the state capital.

A little background about myself.

I grew up on a dairy farm near Elbow Lake, so I'm a farm kid at heart.

I'm a small business owner.

My wife and I live near Alexandria.

We operate a small business and are the proud parents of three wonderful children.

They're a real blessing in life and bring a lot of joy to us, as many of you have experienced too.

I serve on the Senate Agriculture, Rural, Broadband, and Veterans Committee.

I serve as the Republican minority lead member.

When Republicans held the majority, I was the chair of the Ag Committee.

I also serve on the Judiciary Committee, a very important committee in our state and in the Senate.

And I also have the opportunity to serve on the Lottery Commission, known as the LCCMR Commission, that helps recommend and approve and review projects for the environment with the lottery funds that go across the state.

I'm running for office to serve this district and bring common sense to the capital, which doesn't seem so common anymore.

(light music) - [Presenter] Why do you wanna be the senator for your district?

(light music continues) - I wanna be the senator from our district, again, to bring common sense to the capital, which is severely lacking with today's DFL party.

Common sense doesn't seem to be so common anymore with the DFL members that I work with at the capital.

There is a one vote majority in the Senate.

The DFL has 34, the Republicans have 33, so every vote matters.

And we can find ways to get things done.

We need to lower taxes, end the tax increases that the DFL trifecta, just in the last four years, pushed through when they had full control of Congress.

We need to lower car tab fees because part of their tax increases on you was the car tab fees that you have contacted me a lot about in the last year, that increase is directly because of DFL leadership.

We can't afford that anymore.

We need to bring common sense back to the capital.

And we need to end fraud.

Stop the DFL pipeline of fraud.

Governor Walz, Attorney General Ellison, and many DFL leaders at the top seem to be complicit, as President Trump says, and are turning a blind eye, not seeming to wanna do anything to stop the fraud or hold people accountable.

We have a governor, a DFL governor, Walz, who has yet to fire anybody in his agencies that are responsible for this fraud.

We need accountability, and that's one of the reasons I am running for this office: to bring rural values, rural common sense to the capital, and hopefully a Republican majority so we can stop this fraud pipeline that's been created by the DFL and exposed this past year.

We need to treat taxpayers, like every one of you, with gratefulness and respect rather than disregard your hard-earned money and allow fraudsters to run away with it like the Somali daycare we've heard over and over that's made Minnesota a laughingstock in our nation.

We need to stop sending suitcase of cash out our airports, which I voted for.

Every DFL senator voted against stopping suitcases of cash flowing through our airport to go to Somalia.

That's not common sense to me.

And a few other issues.

Our schools, we need to end the unfunded mandates that the DFL trifecta imposed on our local schools.

We need to make girls' sports fair and competitive with only girls playing in them, not like the DFL who's voted against keeping boys out of girls' sports.

Every DFL senator, again, voted to not exclude boys from girls' sports in Minnesota.

Those are some key differences we can do better in our state.

We need to return to common sense.

And those are some of the reasons why I am running for this office.

(light music) - [Presenter] What are your priorities for the next legislative session?

(light music continues) - Some of my priorities are, first of all, lower taxes and lower car tab fees for all of Minnesotans.

Lisa Demuth running for governor, our Speaker of the House, is pledging for a 99 cent, or $99 car tab maximum.

Imagine if everybody could renew their car tabs fees for under $100, that is possible with a Republican governor and a Republican Senate and House instead of the high tab fees that you're all experiencing now that were raised by the DFL just four years ago.

We can lower taxes and make our state a more job-friendly state.

Respect our small businesses and job creators so families throughout our area can have good-paying jobs, good-paying jobs like we are going to see in Appleton with the prison reopening, which I have worked hard for, for years, to find a use and a good use of this building, the big, beautiful building in Appleton that stood vacant too long, the Appleton prison.

We are now getting that reopened with the federal government, recent announcement of buying it and reopening it, meaning over 500 jobs for this area of Appleton and West Central Minnesota.

One of my priorities is gonna be to continue to help support West Central communities with these new jobs and some of the growing pains that will come along with it, housing, infrastructure.

We're able to pass bonding dollars this past year in the bonding bill.

Fortunately, Appleton was one of the communities that's going to benefit from that for wastewater and water infrastructure needed in their community that will help support these jobs.

These are priorities that I will continue to fight for.

Job creation in our area is possible when you never give up.

Another quick couple issues I will push for is to return back to the old Minnesota flag and get rid of the new Minnesota flag that so many people do not like and the DFL shoved through without asking your opinion.

We can also do better by making sure girls are respected in girls' sports and we keep them for biological girls, not letting biological boys play in girls' sports in Minnesota.

(light music) - [Presenter] What unique perspective do you bring to the Minnesota Senate?

(light music continues) - Well, the unique perspective I bring to the Minnesota Senate is, I didn't mention it in the beginning, but I grew up on a dairy farm, and I lost my eyesight at the age of 14 in a farm-related car accident.

I serve as the first and the only blind state legislator in the State of Minnesota.

I take that job very serious.

It's an honor to be able to do, but I can bring a perspective to our state capital that nobody else has.

I look for opportunities to work for people with disabilities and help find ways to make employment a better reality for people with disabilities as well as everyone across the state.

That is a unique perspective I have brought to the capital.

I have good working relationships with many across the aisle, and I can work to get things done.

I have served as the agriculture chair in the Senate when we were in the majority as Republicans.

For six years, I was the chair.

I now am the minority lead because we are in the minority.

I have served in the majority, I have served in the minority, and that is another unique perspective I bring to the job because I know how hard it is to work across the aisle, to find common ground, to get things done.

I have chief authored the LCCMR bill multiple times.

And when other bills weren't passing, I was able to find bipartisan support and get the LCCMR bill passed.

The same with the agriculture and rural broadband bill, which made the largest investment in rural broadband in our rural area here four years ago.

I can bring that unique perspective of minority experience and majority experience and continue to get things done for our district here in West Central Minnesota.

(light music) - [Presenter] What is your vision for the future of Minnesota?

(light music continues) - My vision for the future of Minnesota is let's return to our roots.

Let's return to common sense.

This year, we celebrate America250, our country's independence from England and the king structure system that was top-down approach, giving individuals the liberty and freedom and responsibility to live free in our country.

And it's my vision that we return to those roots.

Let's make sure our country stays a free country and not subscribe to so many of the communist or socialist ideologies that we are seeing this extreme DFL party today push and promote.

As I've said, common sense isn't so common anymore with today's DFL party.

This is not your parents' or grandparents' Democrat party, sad to say.

I've experienced it at the capital.

And it's my vision we can return back to common sense with both political parties, right now absent from the DFL party in their extreme positions against life, passing policies four years ago under the DFL trifecta that doesn't respect life and promotes or enhances or allows abortions to the moment of birth.

As I've talked about girls' sports, this should be common sense.

We all know the difference between a boy and a girl.

I have twin daughters that had a great volleyball career, their last year making it to state.

The last thing they needed was a biological boy trying to cheat and get in and play for the opponent that they would be playing against.

We have families all over this district and state that want fair competition for girls, and it's my vision we return to those traditional rural values that we have here in Western Minnesota, and I'll bring them to the capital.

(light music) - [Presenter] And now, a closing statement.

(light music continues) - I'm Senator Torrey Westrom.

Again, I wanna thank you for tuning in tonight and being a part of your democracy, the democracy that I talked about in our country as we celebrate America250 this year.

It is a great milestone, but we need to keep her strong for the next 250 years, and that's not going to be easy.

We have lots of forces that are extreme and radical trying to take away our freedoms, our liberties, raise taxes, control our businesses, control our jobs, and make Minnesota a more difficult place to run a business and raise your family.

There's some core values we all have here in West Central Minnesota, and mostly across the state, we need to return to them.

The idea of individual liberty, faith, family, and freedom, as you've probably seen in my parade unit that we've been traversing all across Senate District 12 this summer and fall, that's what I stand for.

And on that parade unit, at the top is the United States flag, showing our patriotism and allegiance to our country and the freedom and the Declaration of Independence, we're celebrating 250 years of freedom, and a birthday of our country with our forefathers giving their life and fortune to give us what we have today.

Below that flag is the old American, or old Minnesota flag.

Let's bring the old Minnesota flag back.

And below that is an America250 flag celebrating our great country.

And so I am asking for your vote.

Again, Senator Torrey Westrom.

I would ask for your vote to represent you in this constitutional republic that we are wanting to preserve and continue for our children and our future.

And we can do it, but we need strong voices, like I have been, for our area of the state, down at the state capital, because common sense isn't so common anymore.

And it's time we reprioritize our funding of programs and make sure we fund them for the needy, not the greedy, and not turn a blind eye to stopping the fraud like the DFL has continued to do and will do if we don't put Republicans in the state capital in control.

I'm asking for your vote.

Thanks again for tuning in tonight.

It's an honor to serve Senate District 12.

Torrey Westrom for Senate.

(light music) - [Presenter] You can find more information about Torrey Westrom at torreywestrom.com.

(light music continues) Learn more about voting, how to register, and what district you live in by visiting the Minnesota Secretary of State website at mnvotes.org.

Remember, Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd.

Thank you for watching "Meet the Candidates" on Pioneer PBS.

(light music continues)