October 9, 2012 
I am pleased to announce the endorsement of Keith Pickering for State House in District 47A. Anyone who reads this blog will not find this to be much of a surprise, given the numerous things we know about his opponent, State Rep. Ernie Leidiger. And, in fact, one could construct an argument to support Pickering based solely on the disastrous record Leidiger has put up in his single term in the state legislature.
But there’s also a positive case to be made for Keith Pickering. So let me tell you a few things about him. Pickering does not have the usual background of a state legislator. He recently retired after a long career in the information technology field. He’s a historian — an accomplished and recognized expert of the journeys of Christopher Columbus principally — but has also written about Minnesota explorer Ralph Plaisted.
Pickering is a long-time Watertown resident. He knows this area inside and out. His background as a systems analyst means he loves data and facts. We need more folks in the state legislature who can take problems apart and apply logic to them as opposed to shooting from the hip and having only a talking-point deep understanding of the issues our state faces.
Pickering is a moderate, who is committed to working together to solve the problems that face out state instead of engaging in all-out partisan warfare. Regardless of which party ends up holding the legislative majorities after November’s election, it seems likely that both houses are going to be closely divided. If we expect the people’s work to get done, we need pragmatic and principled leaders willing to do the hard work required to reach compromise. Keith Pickering will be one of those leaders. We have had enough of backbenchers who don’t contribute to solving our state’s problems.
Carver County, you have a choice in this election. I encourage you to find out more about Keith Pickering, and his vision for honest and balanced leadership. Visit his website — www.keithpickering.com — to learn about his views. And then, I urge you to vote for him on November 6.
I really wish Mr. Pickering had answered the Herald Journal questionnaire. It doesn’t look good for a candidate to not respond to requests. It seems to me that there’s a chance for a change, with all of Rep. Leidiger’s problems, and I don’t think Pickering is taking advantage. I have heard nothing and seen nothing from his campaign, and his participation in the newspaper’s campaign section would helped. I’m sure there a lot of people unaware of him or his campaign. I hope he’ll respond to the Carver County News/Patriot, or any other local news outlets.
Can’t explain the H-J issue. I see Pickering’s responses were in the ECM papers this week:
http://waconiapatriot.com/2012/10/11/state-house-district-47a-q-and-a/
He also had responses in the Chaska and Chanhassen papers this week, but they are not yet posted online.