Quick update: doors; parades

There has been some very nice response at doors lately.  I have many people interested in holding down taxes and wanting government to live within its means.  With an expected revenue flow of about $33 billion for the next biennium, we have enough to meet our priorities.

What a happy bunch at parades!  We had a nice group for the St. Joseph Lions Parade on the 4th and saw many friends and neighbors there.  When I knocked a door earlier this evening the resident replied that she had seen our parade float in Sauk Rapids and remembered the K9s for King.  They are former neighbors of ours now living in a neighboring precinct.  They will end up with one of our yard signs.  ("When are they going up, King?" you ask.  Soon enough.)

If you want to see pictures of the parades, you can either visit our Facebook page for the campaign, or stop by the K9s for King page on Facebook.  (If that link fails, just search us.)  Just because parade season is over for us doesn't mean your dog won't have an event -- the K9 crew has plans for more.

If you can doorknock for us, that would be great, just drop a line to us. Would you consider hosting a coffee for me to visit with your neighbors?  We'll bring the coffee, you bring the neighbors.  (And if you don't want people to see your messy house, get them to a coffee shop and we'll see you there.)

What you learn in front of a door

We swung into doorknocking last Friday with a gang of eight (two of whom are my wife and daughter.)  Great to see the enthusiasm from them, and the impetus to make doorknocking a daily ritual.  And so it is now.

Tonight I was by St. Cloud Technical and Community College along one of the roads perpendicular to 15th St.  This neighborhood has been there for probably 30-40 years and a mix of old and new homes, old and new families.  I met one family who had just arrived in St. Cloud from out of state; their neighbor, another young family, joined in.  The new residents are here for jobs at our hospital (one has the job, the other hopeful.)  We talked a bit about the area and how the health care industry has grown so dramatically here.  I was lifted by that scene, a neighbor greeting a new family to town.

That is really what door knocking is about.  I'm not just a guy looking for a job, though that is what I am asking you for.  I'm a neighbor, I'm someone who calls St. Cloud home, and I am given the opportunity in this race to meet all my neighbors, new residents and old ones.

Also met a younger man tonight, perhaps 30, who has been told his job running a kitchen is in jeopardy because the restaurant needs to balance its books.  I told him that I wanted to balance the state's books with without* increasing the costs at his restaurant.  It turns out his family has other restaurants, one of whom my son cooks at!  I asked him to thank his family for me, because I know they treat my son well there.

But it is hard for restaurants to keep treating their workers well when government decides to disallow a young person from working for a restaurant for less than the minimum wage.  It is hard for a restaurant to keep treating its workers well when we raise taxes on liquor (already the highest-taxed good in Minnesota and taxed 20-80% higher than in surrounding states.)  It is hard to treat your workers well when the government decides your sole proprietorship making $300,000 in net revenue should pay higher taxes out of 'fairness'.

All that out of a 3-minute meeting with a voter in north St. Cloud.  And I get to do that every day between now and November.  I look forward to visiting more of you and hearing more about the lives and concerns of my neighbors.

* -- corrected for typo; thanks to Fred for catching it!