The taxes that were raised in the last session have to be brought back, at least in balance to the rest of the county.”

Tom Dippel

To view the full candidate forum, visit Hastings Community TV’s YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@HastingsCommunityTV

In the final stretches of a contentious and by all accounts incredibly close presidential election season, the Hastings Candidate Forum showcased what civil, policy-focused politics can look like in the year 2024.
Hastings Community Television and Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau hosted a candidate forum in Hastings City Hall for candidates running for Minnesota House of Representatives 41B and Hastings City Council Ward 2.
After a social period where residents and community members were allowed to come early to ask questions of each candidate, the forum started with the candidates for Hastings City Council Ward 2, Mya Beck and Wendi Shilts-Johnson.
Moderator Tom Wright laid out the rules of the forum highlighting the fact that this was a “forum, not a debate,” before allowing the candidates to jump into their opening statements. As to why each candidate was running, Johnson cited her “deep love and connection to this community,” while Beck cited her six-month old son Theodore who was diagnosed with Down Syndrome at birth.
PFAS was a hot topic for both sets of candidates. When the question of what the city council’s top priority should be in managing the construction of water treatment plants over the next five years, Beck spoke against the water rate increases that will begin on Jan. 1, 2025 and are currently expected to increase water rates for residents some 400% if other sources of funding are not found. Beck called this process “not sustainable.” Johnson, on the other hand, urged patience with the city’s process of seeking outside funding so as to not burden residents with the costs of construction. “The city is doing what they need to be doing […] It takes times,” said Johnson.
When asked what constituents’ top concerns were across the community, both candidates mentioned water and road quality while Beck brought up supporting the school district and Johnson mentioned the high cost of living.
Next, candidates running for Minnesota House of Representatives district 41B, Jen Fox and Tom Dippel, took the stage. Their six questions ranged from the ever-present PFAS to deficit spending to Minnesota’s onerous environmental review and permitting system. In her opening statement, Fox brought up her ties to the Hastings community as a current city councilor, small business owner and member of the Hastings Chamber of Commerce. Dippel referenced his role as a husband and father, his placement as the board chair of Valor Classical Academy, a Christian private school in Woodbury, and business owner.
The first question posed to the candidates was if they believed Minnesota should have a competitive business climate, and if so, how to improve the state’s competitive business environment. Dippel brought up lowering Minnesota’s corporate income tax which is the highest in the nation.
“The taxes that were raised in the last session have to be brought back, at least in balance to the rest of the county,” said Dippel.
Fox referenced Minnesota’s “many powerhouse companies that have been successful and thriving for hundreds of years. We expect them to pay their fair share,” citing the investment into workers and the tax incentives that benefit small businesses and keep them in the state.
When asked about Hastings’ plans for PFAS, both candidates spoke to the need of bringing state funding for future water treatment plants and the importance of having a local advocate for the project in St. Paul. They also agreed that education on the dangers of opioids should be brought into schools to showcase the dangers of buying illegal pills.
Fox and Dippel disagreed on the wage and benefit mandates enacted on behalf of Minnesota workers in recent years. Fox spoke to the impact on her own business that these new mandates have had, but in the end defended them: “the work the Minnesota legislature has done in the past few years to care for our workers, our middle-class families and our overall well-being is important and bold policy.”
Fox referenced paid family medical leave and paid sick and safe as “broad measures that point us in the right direction.” Dippel referenced the golden rule as his ideology for treating employees: treating employes as he would like to be treated.
“Unfortunately, when the government gets between employers and employees you cannot treat every employee that way,” said Dippel. He brought up that employers should be putting their employees first, and that when it came to these mandates, “ultimately I believe that the market knows better than a bureaucrat at the state.”
Finally, the candidates were asked about a future potential state deficit and how they would address the issue. Fox spoke to the problems of one-time funding: “we need to rely on bigger and better funding than one-time revenue streams,” but highlighted the importance of investments into the high quality of life Minnesotans enjoy. Dippel railed against the spending in recent legislative terms: “I’ll make this really simple: we absolutely have to cut spending.” Dippel referenced the high cost of living that has forced many families to cut spending and that the government should follow suit.
After each forum, the candidates shook hands to an applauding audience. The final stretch of election season has begun with less than five weeks until election day. In-person voting is currently available at the elections office Hastings City Hall and absentee ballots can be requested at the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website.
To view the full candidate forum, visit Hastings Community TV’s YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@HastingsCommunityTV