The Constitution Party of Minnesota tested the political wits of three area candidates– New Brighton Mayor Dave Jacobsen, New Brighton City Council member Gina Bauman, and Mounds View School Board candidate John Hakes– in an early October forum held at the Mirage Bar & Grill, with former News Talk AM1130 Host Bob Davis moderating.

Billed as a long format Q & A, event organizers attempted to side step the sound bites to provide an in depth look at the issues relevant to the mayoral, city council, and school board races affecting the residents in the New Brighton area.

With topics ranging from development of the Northwest Quadrant in New Brighton to Common Core standards to relations between federal, state, and local levels of government to sensitive social issues– there was plenty on the political plates of the audience members and the 3 candidates attempting to serve them up.

After the initial introductions, Davis kicked off discussion with a question on the relevance of the US Constitution to the posts candidates were respectively seeking.   I responded by telling folks the word “education” is not to be found anywhere in the founding document, making it a matter that is left to the states.  After referencing the existence of Special Education law and NCLB testing, I attempted to dispel the idea that common core standards are a federal initiative by reminding people Secretary of Education Arne Duncan supports Common Core, but that it’s standards are not being handed down by the federal government.

In attempt to flesh out a richer discussion on Common Core standards, Davis later wrapped them into a question about Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate curricular offerings.  I then offered my perspective of Common Core being a ground up, state-led initiative, that Minnesota had adopted the English standards but not the math, and there should be no concern about Common Core dumbing down the curriculum in Minnesota.

Healthy push back from the decidedly anti-government audience commenced, with host Davis asserting that Common Core was not a “grassroots” effort, and a repeated questioning of the candidate (John) on where they came from.  I held that while the formation of the movement was a bit mysterious, it still was not a top-down initiative of the federal government.

New Brighton City Council candidate Bauman then offered the example of her daughter who graduated Irondale High School under the PSEO program with great success.  Bauman followed with the suggestion that I, as a supporter of Common Core, was effectively saying her story was one that couldn’t have happened under the social engineering plan I was advancing.

Put on the defensive with the feeling that I was being cast as part of the education establishment, I responded: “I’m all about options & choices that fit the (family) situation” before referencing the quality work of homeschooling families I had met while door knocking in New Brighton.

A second topic that spritzed up the discussion was the operating levy renewal currently being sought by the Mounds View School District this November.  Needless to say, being the only school board candidate in attendance to publicly express support for it was not a pleasant experience.  In my explanation, I broke it into an emotional and rational decision, with the second of these supported by due diligence I applied to the matter using my background as a CPA.

My acceptance of the levy renewal was based on an assurance from the Association of Metropolitan School Districts, the fact that Ramsey County residents main property tax components are likely to remain flat for the first time in 20 years, and that the District has remained relatively conservative with its operations and facilities compared to other metro districts.

Additional topics I weighed in on from a school board candidate perspective included questions on keeping New Brighton attractive to young families, things I might bring to the table because of  my advocacy degree, and how the district might improve its 12 Habits of Mind soft skill curriculum for students.

If you would like to watch the 1 hour, 38 minute event in its entirety, here are the remaining playback times on channel CTV15:

Tuesday, October 22 @ 11 pm
Wednesday, October 23 @ 7 am
Monday, October 28 @ 3 pm and 11 pm
Tuesday, October 29 @ 7 am

(Note: The entire slate of candidates for the City of New Brighton and Mounds View School Board were invited, but just one from each opted to attend.)