17 March 2008

Undecided Voters to Determine 2008 Election, Minnesotans Say

Rochester representatives share views of current voter climate

Rochester's skyline is dominated by the Mayo Clinic's historic Plummer Building. (Rochester City Council)

By Kathryn McConnell
Staff Writer

Washington -- The 2008 American presidential election will be decided by “undecideds," voters likely to make their choices on or close to Election Day in November.

That is the shared view of a group of representatives of Rochester, Minnesota, a midsize city in the heart of the state’s southern 1st Congressional District. They were in Washington in March to attend an annual meeting of the National League of Cities, an association that serves as an advocate for cities before Congress and federal agencies for issues that concern them.

The Minnesotans -- three members of Rochester’s elected City Council and one spouse -- talked to America.gov about the current presidential candidates and issues facing the country. The Rochester City Council is nonpartisan.

Lew Means, whose wife, Sandra, represents a section of Rochester on the City Council, said he favors Democrat Barack Obama because the candidate is “fresh, new and reminds me of John Kennedy,” who was elected the country’s 35th president in 1960.

City Council member Bob Nowicki said that while he is a political independent, in the past he has supported President Bush. Yet, he said, in this election he also is favoring Obama because of the candidate's "fresh" approach to the issues.

In February caucuses -- community meetings of people from the same party -- Minnesota Democrats "fairly handily" selected Obama, Minneapolis Star Tribune Washington correspondent Kevin Diaz told America.gov. Republicans also selected former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who since has ended his pursuit of the presidential nomination.

City Council member Marcia Marcoux is one of the undecideds. "I haven’t found a candidate yet. I’m still listening … and am concerned about how we’re meshing into the global economy," she said.

Council member Sandra Means, who is leaning toward Democrat Hillary Clinton, said she is concerned about what she sees as the "exporting" of American jobs to other countries.

"If we keep exporting jobs, we can’t be prosperous," Means said.

Marcoux, who serves on the National League of Cities’ Transportation Committee, said the combined issue of road and bridge maintenance and traffic management could have an effect on elections in Minnesota in 2008.

Road and bridge maintenance is a particularly sensitive issue in the state, following a deadly major bridge collapse in Minneapolis in August 2007. Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty recently vetoed a state gasoline tax bill that would have provided money for maintenance because it would have increased taxes. The state legislature overrode his veto in early March.

The Rochester representatives agreed that immigration is becoming a "divisive" issue nationally because of the lack of "a unified federal approach." Yet in Rochester, considered a "sanctuary city" for immigrants because of its long-standing acceptance of people from other countries, the issue is seen more liberally. Up to 60 languages now are spoken in the city, Nowicki said.

Nowicki, whose Polish grandparents came to America during World War I, said that "we’re all immigrants." He serves on the board of Rochester’s International Mutual Assistance Association, which helps immigrants assimilate into the Rochester community.

In addition to coming out on top in the state's Democratic caucuses, Obama has been endorsed by the majority of Minnesota’s "super delegates." Those are the state's current members of Congress and party officials, as well as former Vice President Walter Mondale, Diaz said.

Voters are less certain about whom they want to fill the Senate seat currently held by Republican Norm Coleman, Diaz said. Coleman is running again for his seat and and is expected to be opposed by Al Franken, an entertainer and author. Marcoux said Coleman has been "slipping" in public opinion.

The state Democratic Party, called the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, will host its state convention in Rochester in June. (See “Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.”)

Coleman, endorsed by President Bush when he sought the Senate in 2004, has begun to distance himself from the White House in recent months, questioning how the war in Iraq is being implemented, Diaz said. Coleman also has taken views opposite of the president’s on such issues as whether to drill for oil in the Arctic, which Bush favors, the reporter said.