Denis Timm: Tea-Bag Bona Fides

To the Editor:

If anyone in our state is wondering who they should be voting for this coming November for Public Service Commissioner, the answer is quite clear.
Brad Crabtree.

The current Commissioner, Brad’s opponent, is Kevin Cramer, and he is not the best choice for North Dakota.

The state of North Dakota needs forward thinking leaders to take our state into the future. Mr. Cramer questions the legitimacy of global warming, and considers the EPA at best an annoyance. He calls it the “intrusive EPA.” He is against marriage equality and women’s reproductive rights.

Cramer talks the same talking points against the passed health care legislation that will benefit thousands of North Dakotans, against “big government”, against “government takeovers”, “bailouts”, all the buzz words of the conservative tea baggers who want to continue to make it easy for big business and the wealthy to keep things the same for their own welfare.

But, he is seeking a position as one of our three top regulators of energy, telecommunications, grain elevators, railroads and pipelines. Strutting teabag bona fides hardly speaks to the issues of the PSC.  Perhaps the office he wants is not that which he is seeking.

Brad Crabtree has more than 20 years of bipartisan work on energy policy throughout our region. From Midwestern Governors to utility executives, farm organizations, scientists and, yes, environmental organizations. Brad has gained respect for molding diverse interests into common goals. He brings a forward-looking agenda to the PSC that includes energy diversification and technology, with a watchful eye on environmental stewardship. He is a North Dakota native fighting for the good of all in the State. He can work to make our state more efficient, more productive, and more inclusive.

I urge you to get out and vote on November 2nd for Brad Crabtree for Public Service Commissioner.

-Denis Timm
Fargo