Clark seeking to represent Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District
Former Minnesota Sen. Tarryl Clark, a candidate for the 8th Congressional District, met with about a dozen Borderland residents Tuesday at a meet-and-greet session in International Falls.
As a member of Congress representing the 8th District, Clark said she would focus on issues that affect families and communities, which she said she has done throughout much of her life.
Clark announced last week that she will bypass the DFL’s convention endorsement process in May and extend her campaign to unseat Rep. Chip Cravaack to an August primary. Former Congressman Rick Nolan and Jeff Anderson, a Duluth city council member, are also seeking the seat. The 8th District convention will take place May 5-6 in Duluth. A primary vote would take place Aug. 14.
Clark has lived in central Minnesota for more than 24 years with her husband, Doug, a legal aid attorney. They have two grown sons.
She served in the Minnesota Senate from 2006 to 2011, and was the 2010 DFL party nominee for Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, challenging U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.
She has helped form the Central Minnesota chapter of Habitat for Humanity, worked for the Girl Scouts, practiced law with the Senior Citizen’s Law Project, and served as the executive director of the Minnesota Community Action Partnership.
She now serves as the national co-chair of the Jobs21! campaign for the BlueGreen Alliance, a coalition of labor unions and environmental organizations dedicated to expanding the number and quality of jobs in the green economy.
“I personally believe we can change things,” she said. “I am motivated.”
Creating and maintaining jobs and keeping promises the nation has made to its citizens are key to Clark’s campaign.
She said she’s no stranger to hard work, citing her previous experiences. And, she noted, her mom’s family were loggers and her father’s family were mill workers.
The jobs of the future must be sustainable and industries retooled to meet the employment and product needs of the nation. For example, she pointed to the taconite industry, which sends its raw material out of the district to be made into products elsewhere. Clark said those products could be made in northern Minnesota. And she said similar changes can be made in the forestry products industry to keep more jobs local.
“People need to know that we can grow our jobs,” she said.
Key to creating jobs is building infrastructure, said Clark. Roads, rail, air, trails and broadband Internet connect communities and lead to economic development, she said.
“With Ranier being the busiest railroad crossing in North America, how do we build on that?” she asked.
The nation has made promises that it must keep, she said. Among those promises are that Medicare, Social Security and affordable long-term care will be available to seniors; assisting veterans in their unique challenges in seeking care and jobs; and assuring young people they can count on jobs and a bright future.
She said individual rights must be restored and maintained, and pointed to a “right to work” amendment proposal, which she said “it is not.” In addition, she said she supports a Constitutional amendment that would overturn a Supreme Court decision known as Citizens United, which gave corporations the right to spend unlimited money on campaigns.
“The issues we are focused on really do effect our families,” she said.
And changes must start in Washington, D.C., she said.
Clark said she could walk in the door of the U.S. House of Representatives and start working because of her political and work experiences and the connections she has made. Even if she only served for two years, she said she could make a difference.
