Rukavina officially announces his candidacy for Governor of Minnesota

Duluth MN (Sept 7, 2009)—Minnesota’s working families need a Governor who will be honest and stand up for them, according to State Representative Tom Rukavina (D-5A), who announced his candidacy for Governor today at the annual Labor Day Picnic at Bayfront Park in Duluth.

Rukavina, a Virginia native who is serving his twelfth term in the Minnesota House, was first elected to the legislature in 1986. He is one of the most popular political figures in Minnesota, consistently getting 75 to 80 percent of the vote in his home district.

Rukavina believes his “working person’s ethic” and refreshingly honest approach will have strong appeal to voters across the state. He describes himself as a passionate progressive, true to the original spirit of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) party.

“For 24 years, I’ve stood up in the Minnesota House for working families—
fighting for causes like increasing the minimum age and opposing tuition hikes for college kids,” he said. “Whatever the issue is, I don’t pull any punches. No one defends their constituents better than I do.”

Fulda farmer and former House Majority Leader Ted Winter agrees. He and Duluthian Mary Finnegan are Rukavina’s campaign co-chairs.

“Tom is just the kind of candidate that Minnesotans are looking for,” Winter said. “He’s a down-to-earth guy. His parents taught him the value of family, hard work and a good education. He knows how to make a living from the land. We can relate to Tom.”

Rukavina said that jobs and education are central issues in his campaign. On the job front, he has been one of the legislature’s most effective voices for fair wages, limitations on job exports and protections against the permanent closure of mining and manufacturing facilities in the state.

Rukavina chairs the House higher education committee, where his leadership has produced impressive results, including limits on tuition increases, permanent funding for biotechnology programs, and scholarships for middle-income students who don’t qualify for other grant programs. As a result of these efforts, he enjoys exceptionally strong support among college students across Minnesota, who are organizing actively on his behalf.

The growing field of DFL candidates is an advantage, said Rukavina, because it means that no one candidate will have a significant lead going into the 2010 convention. Although there are several millionaire candidates on the DFL side, he is confident he’ll have enough money to compete aggressively for the party endorsement.

“I’m not a millionaire, but my constituents and supporters are worth millions,” Rukavina concluded. “This is a wide open race, and I think I can win it.”