NORTH MANKATO — Hamburgers, chips, watermelon and a helping of political motivation were on the menu at Wednesday’s picnic at Spring Lake Park for the local unit of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees.

The upcoming election for governor in Minnesota will provide a stark contrast for the state and for state workers, MAPE Executive Director Jim Monroe told the local members. Spending cuts are coming because of the state’s massive projected budget shortfall, but those cuts will be eased if a Democrat wins the governor’s office for the first time in 24 years.

Republican-endorsed candidate Tom Emmer has said he will avoid tax increases and solve the projected $5.8 billion shortfall — $6.8 million if inflation is included — with deep cuts in the state budget.

“Depending on the phases of the moon, it’s a 20 percent cut or a 30 percent cut,” Monroe said, referring to the two figures Emmer has mentioned as feasible reductions.

Monroe said some cuts will be required, but they need to be done skillfully if Minnesota is going to retain its traditional quality of life.

“We hope it’s a scalpel, not a meat ax,” he said, adding that only $2.4 billion would be saved if every state employee was eliminated.

MAPE was the first union to endorse House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher last December, and other unions have followed suit or signed on with former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton and former state Rep. Matt Entenza. The MAPE members were encouraged to vote for Kelliher in the Aug. 10 primary, voting by absentee ballot if they can’t vote in person.

But despite the closely contested DFL race and the presence of Independence Party candidates in the race, Monroe said there’s no doubt the union will be backing whoever wins the Democratic primary.

He encouraged the union members to try to persuade friends and neighbors leaning toward Emmer or Tom Horner, the IP-endorsed candidate, to reconsider.

“I don’t think anybody wants Minnesota to become a cold Louisiana or a cold Mississippi,” he said. “And that’s where we’re headed.”

Many private sector employers have faced layoffs, wage freezes, furloughs and other pain in the current economic recession, and some see state employees as insulated from the hardships. Monroe disputes that, saying MAPE’s last contract had a pay freeze, although employees could earn additional pay through performance-based step increases.

The union will be negotiating its next two-year contract next spring, and the impact of the election will play a role. Monroe, though, said the residents of Minnesota will also feel the  impact if the state payroll is slashed.

MAPE members do the restaurant inspections, certify the safety of meat, provide support services at Minnesota State University, work in the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center, help the unemployed, do scientific work for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and much more. And the state gets that work done with the 10th lowest number of state employees per capita in the nation, Monroe said, citing census data.

“So what Minnesotans have is a highly productive workforce that provides a lot of services,” he said.

Mitch Wallerstedt, a regional director for MAPE and an information technology worker at MSU, said Kelliher understands that and implored members to help her get elected.

“It’s about who understands the importance of the services provided by state employees and who doesn’t,” Wallerstedt said.

Getting members active politically is “certainly harder than I’d like,” Wallerstedt said, adding that they are starting to see the impact of several years of state budget cuts on all aspects of their lives. “I think we’re getting to the point where people are starting to understand the level of the problem we have at the state level.”

Emmer is planning to offer the opposite side of the story — the pain that would come from higher taxes — at an event in Mankato on Friday. A “Tax Rally” featuring the state lawmaker from Delano and other Republicans is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. downtown near Mankato Place.