Minnesota Senate District 6 Candidate Forum

The Brainerd Lakes Chamber of Commerce in association with the League of Women Voters hosted a senate candidate forum Tuesday night for the district 6 senate seat with that election less than a week away.  Republican Keri Heintzman opted out of the debate, telling Lakeland PBS "I participated in a Republican forum on April 8th, where I believe the organizers mistakenly excluded the Democratic candidate."  She also cited the prior forum devolving into disorder, leaving DFL candidate Denise Slipy the sole participant in Tuesday night's event.  Lasting just under 30 minutes, the moderator stuck to traditional debate rules and format to keep the conversation flowing and informational as a plethora of questions was asked.  Similar to the republican forum, the debate was split into two parts, one with moderator questions and the other with questions from the audience.  Unlike the republican forum with only two audience questions, with just one candidate, that left significantly more time for additional questions.  Slipy answered questions on public officials holding more town halls, childcare costs, how she'd handle the homeless population, cuts from the federal government and more just from the audience.  When asked about balancing economic development like logging and mining with environmental protections, Slipy spoke passionately as an environmental health and safety professional, but understands that mining is a way of life for a lot of people and cited Minnesota having one of the best EPA standards in the nation.  In her closing statements, Slipy emphasized that she would be a voice for the voters and that she was disappointed her opponent wasn't there so the people could hear both sides in an honest debate.

Both the Republican Forum from April 8th and the candidate forum featuring Denise Slipy are available to be viewed on the The Brainerd Lakes Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page.

Early and absentee voting started Wednesday, April 23rd, with the election for the Minnesota Senate seat for district six being Tuesday, April 29th.  With the constricted timeline, voters are encouraged to drop off their ballots in person and vote early.