April Knight: PAUL THISSEN MEET AND GREET

Paul Thissen at Stillwater Meet and Greet

Paul Thissen at The Daily Grind for Meet and Greet

Tonight I went to a Meet and Greet for Paul Thissen at The Daily Grind, 317 Main Street, in Stillwater, MN. This was a well attended event with over twenty people showing up to hear what Paul had to say.

Paul Thissen has been a Minnesota Representative for eight years. He chairs the Health and Human Service Committee. He is running for governor because he wants to work with everyone to rebuild Minnesota. He wants to prepare Minnesotans for demographic changes and for the future. Paul's leadership will focus on the future so that it will be better for all of us.

The campaign is climbing upward fast. He's gaining delegates and gaining in popularity. He's got excellent ideas and brings a freshness to Minnesota politics. One reason is because Thissen accepts the reality of where people are. He knows how to turn the negatives (fear and scarcity) into a positive.

Paul told us tonight that he wants to make reforms sustainable. "You can't starve yourself into reform," he said profoundly.

He then gave kudos to Matt Entenza for standing up to Governor Pawlenty in 2005. It shows a kindness of spirit when one candidate gives credit and praise to another for a job well done.

Paul knows that the budget needs to be cut in places, but he will do it in such a way that it will not undermine the future of our state. He's got an excellent record in the legislature. He knows how to get an abundance of work done for constituents becaues he can work across the table. He's also willing to forego taking credit for it in order to get the work done.

Paul Thissen is aware that many Minnesotans feel anger and frustration that it's so hard to move forward. If he were governor, we would definitely move forward. Paul has a plan for changing things. He feels that the problem is not poor government, but poor leadership. He wants to run Minnesota with mutual accountability between the governor, the legislators and the people. He's a firm believer in personal responsibility and in what we owe to each other as Minnesotans.

Paul will back the Republicans down. He will make them answer such questions as "What agencies are you going to close?" "Which schools will you close?" Which police and fire departments will you close?"

He also has a list of tasks for Minnesota to accomplish. This list includes:

Research and development

Embrace science

Make Minnesota a destination state

Promote arts and culture

Assure marriage equality

Establish immigration reform

Compete in the global economy

Paul Thissen came across to the audience tonight, as he always does, as a very intelligent person with a lot of common sense. As one participant pointed out, he also has the quality of humbleness. He's willing to listen and learn.

Paul Thissen would make an excellent governor.