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Jesse Ventura      Response 5

Question 5: Please describe the one issue that is the single most important reason you chose to run for office?

That's easy. Taxes.

I'm not a career politician. I have no need or desire to
spend a lifetime in public office. My property taxes
increased hundreds of dollars in four consecutive years
but I saw no improvement in government services. Then
when the state was choking on a huge budget surplus, our
elected officials did not refund the surplus. They spent
it. Keep in mind, this was a surplus. All the other
budget items had already been paid for. They took more
of my money than they needed and they didn't give it
back.

My entry into politics in Brooklyn Park was prompted by
an unresponsive city government. The "Good Old Boys" in
Brooklyn Park had stopped listening to the people and
were using their offices to serve their network of
friends. Somewhere along the line, the people got left
out of the equation. That motivated me to run for Mayor
and I won by a landslide.

While it was personal frustration over a single item that
motivated me to run (our city council rejected a petition
from the citizens they were elected to serve), I was not
a single-issue Mayor. Brooklyn Park was well served by
Mayor Ventura.

You can be sure that as your Governor, I will do
everything in my power to reduce Minnesota's tax burden
across all income levels. You can also be sure that I
will not be a single-issue Governor.

If you doubt it, check out my public policy positions on
my web site at:
http://www.jesseventura.org/issues/is_main.htm