Acceptance Speech

Aw Gee Roger!

 I  directed my criticism at Doug because I was running against him not the entire DFL legislative delegation.

The population loss is undeniable. So, which came first the population loss or the anti-growth, anti-business attitudes of our local leaders? 

Politicians pass the laws that determine who gets what. Some places are friendlier to development than others. If I was an investor I'd be extremely reluctant to put money into a business in northeastern Minnesota. Our area has a reflexive distrust of business. Two recent examples are the living wage and the union card check which would effectively hobble local business. 

The use of taconite funds as pork barrel to be parceled out by local legislators is unconscionable. Even Roger, admitted to me that some of the IRRRB spending is hard to justify.

Steel has been the goose that laid the golden egg in our area. Our local legislators kept steeling the eggs and helped strangle the goose. Doug's message to business people was simple. He told them that it was Labor that brought him to the dance and he would vote accordingly. 

Big steel's woes go far beyond the borders of Minnesota and so Doug efforts were just a small part of the industry's demise. For his part, however, Doug delighted in teaching the big corporations that he could bully them. With the DFL legislature on his side he could back up his threats. 

As one of the three or four most powerful politicians in the state Doug must take part of the blame for the sorry state of the Arrowhead's economy and population decline. May he retire to Lake Vermilion with peace of mind.

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This Web page is prepared and paid for by Harry Welty, Welty Volunteer Committee, PO Box 3613, Duluth, MN  55803