MANKATO — Four very different candidates — a government policy expert, environmental regulator, insurance business owner and a retired policeman — pinpointed the economy as the county’s biggest problem at a forum Thursday.

The question-and-answer session, hosted by the chamber of commerce and economic development group Greater Mankato Growth, was for primary candidates for Blue Earth County’s 2nd District. The district is entirely located in the city of Mankato, mostly in the central and north parts of the city.

The gathering, attended by about 10 people, got off to a fast start for the four men looking to replace Commissioner Tom McLaughlin, who retired after three terms.

The first question: What’s the county’s single most pressing issue and what steps would you take to address it?

All four cited the economy or the county budget.

Robert Finley, regional manager for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, said partnerships and coordination are the only solutions.

“Blue Earth County, alone, cannot do much about the economic factors that’re affecting people here,” he said.

Steve Meyer, who owns the Mankato franchise of the Corporate 4 insurance agency, said the county’s personnel costs take up 39 percent of the budget and represent the best ways to save money.  

Vance Stuehrenberg, a Mankato City Councilman and retired officer, said “we have to decide how we can continue our services by combining efforts and trying to get the same services for less.”

Reggie Edwards, executive director of the Region Nine Development Commission, said sustainability is the biggest issue.

It will be the county’s role to move people off the benefit rolls and help them be productive citizens, he said.

The next question asked how services could be more efficient.

Meyer said technology investments like the county’s purchase of medical records software will help its employees become more efficient.

Stuehrenberg said there’s no good reason that county and state snowplows cover the same area, or that the city and county both have attorneys offices.

Edwards said collaboration will be necessary, and went a step further.

“There is not enough cutting within the system we can do” to solve budget woes. Added-value efforts like putting solar panels on roofs are the answer, he said.

Finley said cutting will be of limited benefit because you “can’t squeeze blood from a turnip.”

“The answer isn’t in squeezing people, it’s in making them more productive.”

Given the fact that three of the four candidates are government employees, their different answers to a question about the “growing burden” of government pensions and benefits weren’t surprising.

Meyer, the insurance businessman, said the public is “angry and frustrated” about government pay, which he said has risen faster than the private sector. He said he’s worked with companies to help them replace costly health insurance plans with cheaper versions that provide good benefits.

Stuehrenberg said public employees understand the money pressures their employers face.

Edwards said “it’s important to tell America, our communities, that we can’t afford to make these promises.”

Finley took issue with the question’s assertion that public-sector salaries are a problem.

“I’m not an advocate of balancing the budget on the backs of the people who do the work,” he said.



On the Web: To see how the candidates answered 10 questions posed by Greater Mankato Growth, visit www.greatermankato.com/gmg-election2010.php. To find out if you’re a 2nd District voter, visit pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us