I like Andrea and Ted as persons, but I believe that it is wrong headed to stand by an ideology which supports billionaires, big oil, and businesses that ship American job overseas over the hard working folks which are our neighbors and friends here in Woodbury and Minnesota.
Growing up in Woodbury in the 1970’s and seeing broadcasts on the TV of our veterans coming home is a powerful image of my philosophy in my decision to run for the State legislature.
My uncle became a commander at the South Saint Paul VFW after serving our country proudly. My other uncle wasn’t so lucky to make it back from the “conflict”, Being shot down as a pilot rescuing soldiers “from the bush” in Vietnam, and my father who served in the Air Force in Washington state.
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My fundamental ideological differences with the other major party revolve around the idea that we are stronger together than we are on our own and that everybody deserves an opportunity to succeed, that is the America I grew up in.
So, to give others an unfair advantage in taxes, income and prosperity at the expense of hard working folks in our community is just wrong. Why should a plumber, teacher, or middle manager suffer for the mistakes made by Wall Street, company CEO’s, and other influential executives? The answer is that they shouldn’t.
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Some folks classify this as some kind of warfare when really it is about being fair and just for everybody without the prerequisite of having enough money and influence to “buy your way out” of trouble.
In the coming months I am going to introduce the folks to something I have nicknamed the RICE act which stands for Reinvest In our Communities Engagement act. This legislation if enacted will help put Woodbury and Minnesota on a pathway towards prosperity for all of the hard working folks in our community. I look forward to presenting the aspects of this in the future.
One issue, as an example of a wrongheaded philosophy, is this “basic skills test" for teachers. One already exists. I passed the teacher basic skills test “with flying colors” and challenge our current state legislators to take a equivalent “basic skills test” to demonstrate their viability to govern us. Also, I will be happy to fax a copy of my test results to anyone interested. Shouldn’t the people that make the rules and ordinances that govern us all be held to the same standards as those they dictate testing requirements to?
I have lived a life of struggles and rewards along with many folks in Woodbury and Minnesota. That’s why I feel strongly about giving everybody a fair shot at success. Not only does this help the individual but it also helps our businesses, our local government, and our state.
I graduated from Woodbury Senior High School a couple of years after the school was built and thank educators like Marsha Swails and Mark Porter for their contributions in our cities educational growth. I am proud to be a longtime resident of Woodbury seeing our community grow from a farming community to the vibrant city it is today.
I am for everybody that believes America’s best days are ahead of us and not behind us. I hope that you will go to www.markwackerfuss.com and support my candidacy for the state legislature.
Mark A. Wackerfuss
Candidate for the state legislature.
