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| Clark makes bid official in Sixth District |
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| Wednesday, 03 February 2010 | |
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T.W. Budig ECM Capitol Reporter Sen. Tarryl Clark officially entered the Sixth Congressional District race on Thursday, Jan. 28, saying she is the candidate that can beat Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. “Washington isn’t working for Minnesota families, and neither is Michele Bachmann,” Clark said. Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, along with Dr. Maureen Reed of Grant, are vying to take on the two-term incumbent in November. Clark depicted Bachmann, a Republican with a national profile, as pursuing a personal agenda — not the agenda of the Sixth District. “She (Bachmann) can go off and be a celebrity, but that’s not what people want,” Clark said. At a Capitol press conference last week, several local officials, including Anoka County Commissioner Dan Erhart, stood before the cameras to endorse Clark. Erhart said working with Clark had been an “absolute joy,” not the least reason why because they’ve been successful. “I heartily endorse her,” Erhart said. Clark, 48, was elected to the Senate in 2005 in a special election and is now serving her second term. An attorney by profession, Clark serves as Senate Assistant Majority Leader and has often been the public face of the Minnesota Senate. In taking questions, Clark, who has voted for tax increases while serving in the Senate, said the voters of the Sixth District want fair tax policies. “Bottom line, regardless what my opponents will say, people are smart enough to know that we need to actually pay for things,” Clark said. Clark views the recent triumph of a Republican in Massachusetts in winning the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy’s old seat as evidence that people are struggling. She spoke of actively campaigning, the race being much less about her than the district. “Frankly, Michele made this a national race — I didn’t choose that, but it’s going to be one,” said Clark. “And that’s OK.” The race will be expensive, Clark said. She wants to raise money to mount a television ad campaign, she said. Republican Party of Minnesota Deputy Chairman Michael Brodkorb criticized Clark as a tax and spender — a “rubber stamp” for U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “It’s just the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Brodkorb of Clark’s candidacy. “I think she’d be better suited based on her legislative career of maybe running in the Fourth or in the Fifth (districts), but certainly not in the Sixth Congressional District,” Brodkorb said. Social Bookmarking ...       |
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