The Post-Bulletin, Rochester Minnesota
Friday, May 14, 2010
By Matt Russell
Davis forces Republican primary in Minnesota governor
race
Leslie Davis
Occupation: Founder and president of the Earth Protector environmental
group;
host of cable show "The Leslie Davis Show."
Birth date: 1937.
Home: St. Paul.
Website: LeslieDavis.org.
No current government position.
In his first run for office as a major-party candidate, longtime environmental
activist Leslie Davis says he's offering Minnesota voters for governor
a simple choice: History or misery.
"We'll make history with Davis or misery with
Emmer," said Davis, who plans to force an Aug. 10 Republican
primary by running against state Rep. Tom Emmer, the party-endorsed
candidate for governor. The filing period for offices begins Tuesday.
Davis, 73, said he's made runs for governor and U.S.
senator since 1998 as an independent candidate. The Army veteran and
Minneapolis public-access TV show host has also written a book about
former governor Jesse Ventura titled "Always Cheat." He
has never held elected office.
"I think we used the American Party last time
(during a 2006 bid for governor)," he said Thursday during a
campaign visit to Rochester. "I don't keep track of them (past
political party affiliations) as well as my opponents do."
Davis said his support for the Republican Party goes
back to former Gov. Al Quie and former U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz.
"I've been a Republican supporter a long way
— until they went nuts on me," he said. He defined the
period in which the party went "nuts" as "when they
went into Iraq."
He said he supports gun rights and the protection
of unborn children. He opposes the war on drugs.
"That's a health matter," he said. "That's
not a crime."
Davis said he also opposes nuclear power, favoring
community-based energy development instead.
The cornerstone of his campaign, he says, is the Davis
Money Plan, in which state-regulated banks create new checkbook money
to pay for public road and bridge projects. The banks then electronically
transfer the checkbook money entries to the state's checking account,
and that is the final debt-free payment for the project.
"This is a good plan — don't be afraid
of it," Davis said. "Don't listen to the bankers."
Davis said he decided to run against Emmer in a primary
because he sees the party endorsement system as flawed.
"I told them I wasn't going to go for the endorsement
because they had things skewed a certain way," he said.
