Posted: 9/27/04
It's again Rebecca Otto vs. Matt Dean in House District 52B; this time Otto is incumbent
by T.W. Budig
ECM capitol reporter
Two determined candidates are battling in House District 52B, south of Forest Lake, in a high-profile race the state is watching.
Rep. Rebecca Otto, DFL-Marine on the St. Croix, defeated her Republican challenger Matt Dean in a special election in a snowstorm in 2003, an exercise prompted by the resignation of former state representative Mark Holsten who left for a post in the Department of Natural Resources.
Otto herself was beaten by Holsten by 18 points in the 2002 election.
Her special election win heartened House DFLers whose numbers had been trimmed in 2002 -- several north metro House DFLers fell -- and Otto came to the Capitol a DFL celebrity.
On her first day on the House floor, Otto rose and spoke on the Profile of Learning.
Now Otto faces Dean in a full campaign season in a district in which the Minnesota Supreme Court's political competitiveness report places the DFL index at about 35 percent, the Republican index at 48 percent, according to Politics in Minnesota, The Directory.
"I'll know on Nov. 2 whether people feel I did a good job or not," said Otto.
She believes she's made a positive difference, Otto explained.
Otto
Otto, 41, a teacher by profession with a son and husband who's a screenwriter, is a former member of the Forest Lake School Board.
She portrays herself a moderate voice in a Legislature hamstrung by extremists.
"It doesn't bode well for the future of the state when people can't even begin to understand what compromise means," said Otto.
"We got where we are because of lots of moderates who use to work together from both sides of the aisle," said Otto of the quality of life in Minnesota.
She knows how to find that "wonderful middle ground," she said.
While Dean is signatory to the No New Taxes approach to government, Otto is not.
"This No New Tax stuff is actually a myth," said Otto.
State fees -- taxes, by another name -- have increased by hundreds of millions of dollars, Otto argues.
One estimate puts recent fee increases at about $400 million.
"No New Taxes is really a distraction, because we have plenty of new taxes," said Otto, citing school fees and property tax increases.
"This is so old and stale," she said of the No New Tax debate.
The easy budget-balancing tactics -- the bookkeeping shifts, use of one-time dollars -- are gone, said Otto, echoing a sentiment of her opponent.
The state faces a big projected budget deficit next biennium, Otto points out.
Taxes must be part of the budget debate, she argues. "Taxes have never been stagnant in this state," said Otto.
Although Otto does not commit herself to any tax increase, as a responsible legislator she will remain open to one, she explained.
"The bottom line is you get what you pay for," said Otto.
She would check with district voters before supporting any tax increase, she said.
Otto has voted on scores of bills over the past two years from her desk in the back of the House chamber.
In 2003 she voted against racino -- slot machines at Canterbury Park -- saying at the time gambling didn't fit her family values.
She voted against concealed carry, and also women's right-to-know, or the 24-hour abortion waiting bill.
Medical protocol already fulfilled the stated purposes of the latter legislation, and the bill was needless and its clumsy implementation expensive, said Otto.
Last session, on the social issues front, Otto voted to support a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
That was a tough vote, said Otto, one of two House members in Sen. Michele Bachmann's, R-Stillwater, district.
Bachmann is a driving force behind the proposed amendment.
Otto believes she was reflecting the sentiment of the majority of the district in the vote, she said.
On an arguably less important topic, Otto voted to remove a proposed mourning dove hunting season from the game and fish bill.
The amendment failed, and mourning dove season was reestablished after a closure of about 50 years.
In a sense, the campaign season for Otto has been continuous.
She's been door knocking year around, joking that in subzero temperatures voters' doors don't open as wide.
Otto spent late Wednesday (Sept. 22) afternoon door knocking a subdivision in Stillwater, revisiting homes, and she's good at retail politics.
"I love people," said Otto between stops.
A child appears at at the doorway beside its mother in one home, Otto quickly asks the child's name, and where she went to school.
"I use to teach seventh grade," Otto says pleasantly.
Soon the girl is learning that some of the video games she has, Otto's son has, too.
There's no area of the district she doesn't visit, said Otto. She's has plenty of Republican supporters, she said.
Indeed, Otto praises Gov. Tim Pawlenty for his prescription drug importation plan and support for Northstar Commuter Rail.
Her top priority is education. "And I believe it's why I got elected,' she said.
It's the top priority of the district, said Otto.
"The kids can't wait," she said.
Dean
Clinging to the outside of a SUV, Matt Dean spent part of Friday (Sept. 24) stuffing shopper tubes with campaign literature along gravel roads in a rural part of Hugo.
Inside the vehicle -- with a glowing laptop on the front seat showing the vehicles precise location via GPS -- a campaign volunteer recited signs that indicated Republican leaning households.
Good signs: flagpoles, children, SUVs, hunting or fishing equipment, hunting dogs, tidy yards.
If you see a residence so leafy sunshine can't get through, typically that's an Otto supporter, said the volunteer.
"You can't judge a book by its cover," said Dean slowly, peering in a window.
A 38-year-old architect who sprints down voters' driveways, pamphlet in hand, Dean is literally running hard.
His taste for politics whetted by becoming a father and business owner -- work on Bachmann's and Congressman Kennedy's campaigns -- Dean depicts the race as between a conservative and a liberal.
"If you like the general direction where the governor is leading the state, I would be the candidate who would help him," said Dean.
An adherent to No New Taxes, Dean said a big reason he entered politics was to reform government services -- to make government more efficient.
He commends the Republican handling of the past $4.5 billion budget deficit, saying attempting to remedy it through taxation would have "crippled the state."
In this period of the economic recovery, one of the worst things the state can do is raise taxes, said Dean.
What about the projected deficit? Can it be balanced without raising taxes?
"Yes, I think it's a question of priorities,' said Dean, unfamiliar with the estimated $1 billion projected deficit, adjusted for inflation, reported during the release of the February 2004 forecast for next biennium.
Revving-up the state's economy and holding down healthcare costs are two means of addressing the projected deficit, explained Dean.
The projected deficit for 2006-07, not adjusted for inflation, is projected at $441 million.
Dean believes the House Republican approach to budget balancing -- protecting K-12, nursing homes, the developmentally disabled -- is sound, he explained.
He argues that the success of government services should not be judged by increased cost.
"But whether the service is being performed effectively. Or whether it should be performed at all," he said.
On social issues, Dean supports the proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
"It's not the Legislature trying to dictate some change in law. It's the Legislature trying to say the law is what it is," said Dean, referring to state defense of marriage (DOMA) law.
He would have supported the women's right-to-know, or the 24-hour abortion waiting bill, he said.
"I'm Pro Life," said Dean, saying his wife Laura, a Stillwater obstetrician, has delivered more than 1,000 babies.
Dean would have backed concealed carry, though saying the bill that passed the Legislature was flawed and he would have worked to improve it.
On transportation, Dean's top priority is highways, though adding he would be open to any transportation system that made economic sense.
Minnesota is decades behind in transportation, he said.
He noted with a smile that Jackson, Mississippi -- a city in a state often cited as an example to be avoided -- is constructing a three-lane beltway.
"Give them an Îatta boy' once in a while," he said, laughing.
Dean, of Dellwood, is the father of three children.
He grew up in Democratic household when the party was part of the state's culture, like Bud Grant and Vikings.
But his family changed with the state, he explained.
Final weeks
Dean sees his candidacy as gaining momentum. Back in June when out door knocking, people didn't know who he was, he said.
"Now everybody knows who I am and who I'm running against,' said Dean.
His campaign put out 500 lawn signs in less than a week.
There are requests for more, he said.
Although the district varies politically and geographically, said Dean, he noted the prevalence of Republican lawmakers found in the northeast metro.
"It's a Republican area in reputation, and it's Republican leaning," he said.
Republicans feel they have an excellent chance of winning back the district, said Dean.
"If we work hard, do the things we need to do correctly, we can get this one back," said Dean.
Yet district voters view their legislative seats as belonging to them, not to any one party or politician, he added.
Otto is guarded in talking about the outcome of the race, saying simply the voters will decide.
She listens to all voters and respects their opinions, she said.
Otto views her opponent's position on taxation as inhibiting progress in Minnesota.
"If we continue the No New Tax creed, we're going to allow our future to be determined for us -- we're not doing our planning," she said.
As for Dean's depiction of her as a liberal, Otto shrugs it off.
"The world is not black and white. The world is gray," she said.
The two candidates' Web site addresses are:
www.rebeccaotto.us
www.mattdean.org
Capitol Roundup
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