Cliff Buchan
News Editor

In three out of four area contests for legislative seats, newcomers dominated the scene to gain election to the Minnesota House and Minnesota Senate on Nov. 7.

And no where was the dominance more clear than in House District 52A where Bob Dettmer, a first-time candidate for office, easily defeated Rob Rapheal. When the final tally was counted last week, Dettmer, the Republican, defeated Rapheal, the DFL candidate, by more than 10 percent of the vote.

Dettmer picked up 10,791 votes or 55.04 percent of the total. Rapheal received 8794 votes or 44.85 percent. It was Raphealís second consecutive defeat in the 52A race after a 2004 loss to Rep. Ray Vandeveer, R-Forest Lake.

Vandeveer was the only local lawmaker to buck the newcomer trend. In vacating his House 52A seat, Vandeveer faced the uncertainty of a bid for Senate to fill the seat left open by District 52 Sen. Michele Bachmann who was elected to the U.S. Congress from the Sixth District last week.

Vandeveer fought off newcomer David Francis, a Naval veteran and former Stillwater Town Board member, to win the seat, 52.4 percent to 47.4 percent. Vandeveer had 21,472 votes while Francis had 19,455.

The win will mean political business as usual for Vandeveer who moves from the House to the Senate.

For Dettmer, however, his election on Nov. 7 will mean a major career change. He is a 34-year teacher and coach at Forest Lake High School and a Gulf War Army veteran.

ìOur victory illustrates that we have the ability to cross party-lines and work together to make Minnesota an even better state to live and raise a family in,î Dettmer said in a release on Nov. 8.

Dettmer plans to continue teaching through the end of the year and take a leave of absence in January in order to begin his legislative duties in St. Paul.

District 17

Newcomers were also successful in the two District 17 races that impact the Forest Lake area.

Jeremy Kalin of Lindstrom and Rick Olseen of North Branch both pulled off stunners, defeating incumbent Republicans, Rep. Pete Nelson of Lindstrom and Sen. Sean Nienow of Cambridge.

Kalin, making his second run for House 17B as the DFL banner carrier, topped Nelson by a 50.47 percent to 49.40 percent margin.

Kalin collected 9629 votes to 9425 for Nelson, a former Lindstrom mayor. The win came on the strength of just 204 votes.

Kalin secured the win with strong showings in Lindstrom and Wyoming Township. Kalin carried Lindstrom, 971 to 910 and won big in Wyoming Township, 954 to 804.

Olseen, who is serving the final year of a four-year term on the Chisago County Board, knocked off Nienow, a first-term Republican who was seeking reelection in District 17 in a three-way race.

DFLer Olseen garnered 47.45 percent of the vote total compared to Nienowís 46.26 percent. Independence Party candidate Bill Neuman, a former Democrat, picked up 6.23 percent of the vote.

Olseen won it with 17,355 votes. Nienow collected 16,919 votes while Neuman received 2278 votes to finish third.

The victories by Olseen and Kalin helped push the DFL Party to maintain control of the Minnesota State Senate and take control of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

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Forest Lake Times
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