LETTER: Dille enjoys public service, but avoids politics as usual

From Sen. Steve Dille
District 18, R-Dassel
This letter is to acknowledge and thank the editors of the Hutchinson Leader and Litchfield Independent Review for their complimentary statements about my legislative performance and for their encouragement to run for governor.

My present four-year term in the Minnesota Senate ends next year. I will soon decide if I will run for another term, another office, or retire.

Most experts say you need a lot of campaign money to run for public office, especially for a statewide position. The first problem I would have is that I am a poor fundraiser.

The last fundraising I did was in 1988. It was called “Steve Dille’s Country Cookout” and cost only $5 per person. Since then I’ve depended on voluntary contributions.

I’ve always admired U.S. Sen. William Proxmire, a Democrat from Wisconsin who served over 30 years. He raised no campaign money. His only campaign expenses were the filing fee to get his name on the ballot and postage to send donations back to his contributors.

He regularly presented his Golden Fleece Award to highlight inappropriate government spending. I developed a similar practice called the Silver Fleece Award that I presented to government agencies and private business with unfair spending. I presented the last one to the tobacco industry in 2008 for fleecing the public out of their wealth, health and lives.

Although my campaign costs are not as low as Sen. Proxmire’s, they have almost always been the lowest of any successful Republican candidate for the Legislature. Each year I’ve donated unused campaign funds to various charities in my district.

If I did run for governor, I doubt I would change my fundraising practices which would be viewed negatively by the campaign experts.

Another problem I have is my decision making process. I try to understand each issue from various points-of-view and then cast my vote for what’s best for my district, state and nation. Sometimes for political reasons, the best vote is just the opposite. During every legislative session, political amendments are offered to record bad votes by legislators that could be used against them in elections. During my 23 years in the Legislature, I’ve never offered an amendment for political gain.

Additionally, I have never attacked my opposition with negative campaigning. I will debate the issues and answer the criticisms of my challenger, but I’m not willing to impugn my challenger’s reputation, integrity or motives.

In 1994, I worked with Sen. Bill Luther, DFL, to insert the following change into the Rules of the Senate: “A member shall not publish or distribute written materials if the member knows or has reason to know that the material includes any statement that is false or clearly misleading, concerning a public policy issue or concerning the member’s or another member’s voting record or position on a public policy.”

Another problem I have is the opposition within the local Republican Party to some of the positions I’ve taken over the years. For example, last year I supported the transportation funding bill and the veto override which increased the gas tax 5 cents per gallon. It was supported by 140 organizations including the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota Business Partnership, Farm Bureau, and Minnesota Truckers Association. It was aggressively opposed by only two organizations — the Republican Party and the Taxpayers League.

Other examples include my co-authorship of the anti-smoking bill that passed last year. For my work, Allina named two senators and two representatives as legislators of the year; I was one of them.

I’ve chief-authored or co-authored primary enforcement of seatbelt laws almost every year since 1993. It finally passed this year. Seven-hundred thousand Minnesotans still don’t use their seat belts. This change in state law will get a half million more to buckle up, save another 30 lives a year, and preserve millions in health care costs which we all pay through our taxes and insurance premiums. Pro-seat belt and anti-smoking laws are viewed by some as an infringement in personal freedom — I agree. But it is also part of the solution for controlling health care cost for all Minnesotans.

Serving in the Minnesota Legislature has been an honor and privilege. Thank you for this special opportunity. Running for re-election to the Senate, another office, or retiring is a decision I will make in the near future.