Is Tom Horner the Guy?

Like many policy junkies, I've been doing my best keeping up with the twists and turns of the 2010 Governor's race. I read a lot in the papers, check out the blogs (both good and bad), and went to some of the gubernatorial forums. But with each passing day I find myself more drawn to the campaign of Tom Horner than I ever would have expected. In general I have always thought of myself as a slightly left-of-center independent voter with a greater propensity to vote for the democratic candidate; but have had no regrets voting for Arne Carlson, Dave Durrenberger, or G.H.W. Bush.

My greatest concern is with the state of our state budget. However, unlike others I am not concerned with the state of the Minnesota economy, which seems to be in a reasonable recovery mode, although it's not recovering as fast as people may like. Besides, there is little that government can do to significantly accelerate the economy ... So why worry about it?

On the other hand, our state budget is an area where we do have a bit more control, so I have been looking at the candidates, with an ear open to learn what their thinking actually is in this regard. To be honest, the bar I set is not very high! I am not looking for a candidate's grand plan for balancing the budget, for I know that they don't really have one. But I want to have a sense of their direction and understand why.

And it is in that context that I find myself drawn to Tom Horner. Maybe it's because he doesn't have a political machine to censor him, or maybe it's just his way of communicating, but I find him to be both thoughtful and refreshingly candid. And it's not just that he's not a Democrat or not a Republican. Let's be honest ... The Independence Party is not much of a party, nor do I understand what they stand for. But in his campaign to date, he has not only shared what direction he wishes to take the State ... But WHY!! And for me, I see his logic and it makes sense.

As The Rural Guy, I didn't really see myself embracing a politician from Edina. But I think this guy gets it. He gets it with his pick of Jim Mulder as a running mate; he gets it with his thinking on LGA; and he gets it with his ideas on tax reform.

Finally, I read the results of a recent survey of Twin Cities business people who were asked which candidate would be best equipped to handle the state budget situation and Mr. Horner was ranked first. Then these same business people were asked who was likely to win the Governor's race and Mr. Horner ranked fourth. I'm not sure what exactly to make of that, other than Mr. Horner has a lot of work to do.

But I think I want to help this guy.