HuttCast
Tune in to the HuttCast Podcast where we explore an expansive array of topics—from life lessons and business insights to the latest in automotive trends and current events. As a seasoned leader in the business community, I bring practical perspectives to the table, breaking down complex issues with common sense that seems all too rare these days. Join us on HuttCast, where no topic is off limits and every conversation is an opportunity to learn something new.
HuttCast
Navigating Local Politics: Insights from Representative Danny Nadeau on Bipartisanship and Effective Leadership
What does it take to navigate the intricate maze of local politics and legislative processes? Representative Danny Nadeau from District 34A joins us to share his journey through the challenges of redistricting and the complexities of his re-election campaign. Learn how he balances power in Minnesota by focusing on common sense policies and bipartisan cooperation. This episode promises to offer valuable insights into the nuances of political strategy and the importance of collaboration in a divided landscape.
We explore the profound impact of urban and rural perspectives on governance, diving into the necessity of compromise and authentic engagement. Danny and I discuss the rising polarization in politics and how it affects trust-building and effective representation. Hear firsthand accounts of how listening and engaging with constituents beyond party lines can lead to more informed decisions that benefit the broader community.
Our conversation also delves into the critical importance of upholding one's oath of office and representing constituents effectively. Danny shares candid moments from his campaign trail, emphasizing the role of political donations, community engagement, and the importance of open communication channels. With fascinating stories and practical advice, this episode highlights the essence of democratic integrity and the shared values that unite us beyond political affiliations. Tune in to gain a comprehensive understanding of the democratic process and the qualities of effective political leadership.
Oh Eddies Sweet Whiskey Bourbon Sauce is guaranteed to step up your next barbeque. Made in Minnesota
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Thank you for listening to this episode of HuttCast, the American Podcast. We hope you enjoyed today's discussion and gained valuable insights. To stay updated on our latest episodes, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your preferred listening platform. Don't forget to leave us a rating and review, as it helps others discover our show. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for future topics, please reach out to us through our website or social media channels. Until next time, keep on learning and exploring the diverse voices that make America great.
Secretly recorded from deep inside the bowels of a decommissioned missile silo. We bring you the man, one single man, who wants to bring light to the darkness and dark to the lightness Although he's not always right, he is always certain. And dark to the lightness Although he's not always right, he is always certain. So now, with security protocols in place, the protesters have been forced back behind the barricades and the blast doors are now sealed. Without further delay, let me introduce you to the host of HuttCast, mr Tim Huttner.
HuttCast:Thank you, sergeant-at-arms. You can now take your post. The views and opinions expressed in this program are solely those of the individual and participants. These views and opinions expressed do not represent those of the host or the show. The opinions in this broadcast are not to replace your legal, medical or spiritual professionals. Welcome to HUTCAST 9-29-2024. And I have in my studio, in real flesh and blood, representative Danny Nadeau. Danny Nadeau represents District 34A and he is here. Are you here, danny? I am Well. Thanks for taking your Sunday afternoon and coming out and visiting HuttCast. I'm going to have some comments after pre-roll here. We're going to have some Q&A. You okay with that? Yeah, it's going to be great. Thanks for having me. Okay For HuttCast. We'll be right back.
Speaker 4:This grilling season, take your taste buds to the next level. The sauce that'll change your barbecue forever. O'eddy's Whiskey Bourbon Sauce is going to be at the Anoka County Fair. O'eddy's Whiskey Bourbon Sauce is all about that split second when the tender meat and delectable sauce touches your taste buds. Don't believe me, Chef Richard Cooper is bringing O'Eddy's Whiskey Bourbon Sauce to the Anoka County Fair so you can taste it and become a believer yourself. O'eddy's Whiskey Bourbon Sauce the sauce that's worth the wait.
HuttCast:Welcome back to the podcast. So Danny's in the studio today with us and if you listened to last week's episode, we had Paul Gazelka on showing his new book. And I'll tell you what we're getting more and more into these guys and the more we listen, the more we learn. And Danny teach us something tonight. How are you doing?
DAnny:I am so good. I'm so good. I'm just running for re-election for the first time. I was elected first back in 2022. And it's a brand new district. You know, it was right after redistricting. Rogers and Dayton used to be combined with the city of Maple Grove, and that was represented by Kristen Robbins, and Champlin was part of Coon Rapids and Brooklyn Park, and it was represented by Zach Stevenson. And after redistricting, neither of those incumbents lived in the district, and so I decided to run, and it's been a whirlwind ever since.
HuttCast:I bet it has, especially after redistricting. That was kind of a crap show, wasn't it it?
DAnny:was. You know redistricting is one of those issues that a lot of people have strong feelings about, and you know the legislature is involved in all redistricting and it happens every 10 years after the census. So you know, the important thing for people to know is that each district needs to have equal population so that you don't have one representative representing 60,000 people and another one representing 30,000. It wants to be balanced, and so every 10 years redistricting comes along and whoever's in power in the legislature has the ability to set those maps.
DAnny:Minnesota has not been very successful in doing that. For the last number of years I can't remember how long it's got to be at least the last two or three cycles, so 20 or 30 years it goes to the Minnesota Supreme Court because we can't agree the Democrats and the Republicans can't agree on what the map should look like, and so it goes to the Supreme Court and then the Supreme Court does the maps and ultimately what we have today is we've got a lot of very safe seats. We've got safe seats in greater Minnesota that benefit Republicans. We've got a lot of safe seats that benefit Democrats in the metro, and then we've got some very, very competitive seats in the suburbs that go all the way around, and I happen to be in one of those.
HuttCast:Wow, there's a lot going on and you out there listening. That's more of a local matter. So, the guys across the pond, the guys in Africa and all of my long-term listeners and way out there, this is going to be more of a local show. So if you don't want to engage, this is how it works for us, and if you don't want to engage, I get it. But, danny, this is a heck of a thing we got going on in our world today, don't?
DAnny:we. There's so much going on at so many different levels. There's so much at stake and you can't write this.
HuttCast:This is stuff that happens.
DAnny:Yeah, absolutely.
HuttCast:I don't want to make this a show of hey, this is Danny. I want to lower the taxes. I want to do this, I want to know what people.
HuttCast:I want people to know you. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of how you know. If they get to know you, then they're going to say, hey, like this makes sense. I mean the guy's making sense. You got your policies. Everybody can find your money record. It's not an issue there. Yeah, you're conservative. You have common sense. You want to work both sides of the aisle because you know that's how you get stuff done. Like every good politician, regardless of your designated letter, I would agree.
DAnny:Tell me when I'm wrong.
HuttCast:No.
DAnny:I would agree. You know, politics today is really driven by, you know, the extremes of each side and it's growing worse. And it doesn't matter if it's at the national level or, you know, at the state level, and sometimes even it it has a tendency to transcend into local gov and and into school board races. Um, it's, but it's hard, you know it's. It's really hard to be graceful today. Um, it's hard to. It's really hard to be graceful today. It's hard to compromise, because people aren't rewarded for compromise in politics where we used to. I mean and a lot of it has to do with, you know, campaign finance laws, I mean some of the changes that were made years ago where you know, you hear about those stories where you know people in Congress or in the US Senate would, you know, argue all day but at night they would get together and they'd have dinner and they would go to these common fundraisers and that you know campaign finance laws have changed and that's far less.
DAnny:we're far less able to do that today.
HuttCast:For the new listeners, my young listeners, brief summary on what does the House do, because you're in the House. What do they do to get ready for the Senate? I see HF bills all the time. You write bills. Work through that for them.
DAnny:So when you craft a bill, in order to get it for the governor to sign it, there has to be a House bill and there has to be a corresponding Senate bill. And let's just say that you're going to have a bill and you want to increase health care for a particular population, and so the House you know the author in the House is going to draft that bill. It's going to go to the committees and they're going to mark that bill up. There's going to be amendments, they're going to change it. It's going to go to the House floor, it's going to be further amended. The same thing has to happen in the Senate. And so at the end of the day, if those two bills don't match, then it's going to go to a conference committee where the Speaker in the Minnesota House will appoint members from the House to conference that bill, and the president of the Senate does the same thing, and then those people get together and they hammer out those differences, and then that becomes a conference committee report, and then it goes back to the respective bodies as now a unified single bill, and then it has to be passed once and yet again and then it can be sent to the governor's desk.
DAnny:So there's a lot, especially when you talk about split government. When you have Republicans, theoretically that would hold let's just say, the Senate and Democrats hold the House. It's really different. It's really difficult to, you know, get everyone together and that's where the compromise is so important. In Minnesota, the last two years, the Democrats have run all levels. They've had the House majority, they've had the Senate majority and they have the governor's office. So, being a Republican, it was even more difficult to be able to contribute to the process.
HuttCast:But when you say Democrat, I think we can agree that there is more than one Democrat party. We have the JFK old school Democrats which today are new Republicans, but they just don't know the party left them. I mean, I feel that way, yeah, and you get the socialist Democrats that are communist socialists and they just want to be this so far extreme. They want to jump up and down, they want to. You know, just like we have on the right side. Everybody's got their people but, like you said, they scream the loudest. We have to listen to that.
DAnny:Yeah, yeah. And you've got those. Extremes are kind of pushing really hard. They're loud, they push hard. No-transcript me, but we're a minority. Yes, absolutely.
HuttCast:And how do you find more of?
DAnny:you. I think you have to create space for it. I think we have to live that life. We have to have that, that authenticity. You have to build that trust. You know that's part of the problem today is that politicians don't trust each other. We're, you know we come. We come to office with, with bias, we come to office with history and you know, oftentimes it's you know, it's lived and we think it's the most important thing. And I'll just use the forget about Republican versus Democrat. Just look at the differences between living in a Metro versus greater Minnesota. Not that people people aren't that that different, except they're. They're how they look at life is a little bit different and what they think government, the role of government, should be, is a little bit different. And getting people in greater Minnesota to think about those more urban-centric ideologies they oftentimes look at this and go what is going on?
Speaker 4:And vice versa.
DAnny:We expect more in the metro, we expect more from government to ensure that suffering, for example, is eliminated or at least reduced. So it's finding that balance, having that grace, extending that platform. I used to say we used to talk about inviting people to our table. And it's not that, it's. How do you get invited to other people's table? Know, and it's not that it's, it's how do you, how do you get invited to other people's table? Right, you know, it's, it's that. How do you become that, that ingrained in the system where you say you know where they invite you? Um, so that you can learn and that's.
HuttCast:That's a pretty big thing. It's, it's really hard. So it's like when Trump constantly pounds his chest to his voter group and it's not like, dude, you don't get it, you don't need to sell your group, you need to sell their group. Right, and even if it doesn't align with you, sometimes they can make sense of it and say, okay, maybe I should just pay attention this time. But he's got everybody so polarized Well, everybody's so polarized and they're at that hate level.
DAnny:Yeah, and that's I mean, that's, that's the worst thing that I think we have, that's that's the most challenging thing. And I hear that I, I, I knock on thousands of doors. I bet you do. You're everywhere, man, I am, and you know, to the, I want to engage. I, I, I've I've had the honor of working with a lot of leaders in my career. Good leaders these are people that they listen, they engage, they show up without, yeah, they have an agenda, but they don't have a. You know, they're not going to push their solution. They're going to listen to industry, they're going to listen to nonprofits, they're going to listen to those people that are experts in their field and then they're going to make that hard decision that keeps the world moving forward. And we need more of those people. We need more people that don't care about getting credit.
HuttCast:No glory months.
DAnny:You know, egos are a big thing. When you run for office, you have to have an ego, because it's hard, it's really really hard. People will identify you based on your party, based on what they perceive your party to be good or bad. Most of us aren't exactly what our party, what that perception may be.
HuttCast:Yeah, isn't that crazy.
DAnny:It really is, so go ahead. No, I was yeah, no it just it is crazy. I mean, people aren't. You know. People are busy today, busier than I think they've ever been, oh for sure. And we have a very you know, we have a very informed electorate. I would say we need to increase the education for the electorate Right. And how do we do that?
DAnny:And you know, I have 44,000 people that I try to represent. Half of them are Democrats, half of them are Republicans roughly, and it's how do you? But all of them are people. All of them are people. Yeah, and that's maybe what the parties need to start with. I mean, I say this all the time to my own caucus, and it's you know. First, I'm a human being. That's number one.
DAnny:Second, I'm a son, I'm a father, I have a strong faith. That's second. And number three, I represent a district that has very, very differing, you know. It's equally separate between Democrats and Republicans. And number four, I'm a Republican. The parties want us to be Republican, democrat first and support that system. But that's the system that I think is making it difficult for us to find that common ground and build relationships and trust with one another.
HuttCast:Then you become jaded, you do and you become again that polarized and if you think about it, all of Minnesota, no matter how many reds or whatever you want to think, you're going to vote if you don't have District 5, you're going nowhere. The 5th Congressional District, yeah yeah, ilhan's District. You'll never change this state if you don't flip that center.
DAnny:Yeah, I mean it doesn't need to be flipped, but you know, if you can't lose it, you know you can't lose it with 70% of the vote. I mean if you could pick up 5% in that district, you know now you could start making some changes. But yeah, I mean it's the value system in the, in the, in the Metro, is different from the suburbs, you know, and which is different from greater Minnesota. So how do you find that person that has the ability to transcend, you know, across those things?
HuttCast:I would think our current candidate doesn't have that ability. Which one District, five state or federal level? Ilhan?
DAnny:No, um, no, I mean it's it's easy to rest on your laurels and I'm not District five, state or federal level, ilhan, no, no, I mean it's easy to rest on your laurels, and I mean no disrespect to the congresswoman. But when you believe that the minority in your district is only 20 or 27 percent or whatever it is, it's easy not to represent that. And the same thing is true if you're in greater Minnesota and 80% of your voters are Republican and you're Republican, it's easy to dismiss the 20%. But I think it's incumbent upon all of us that, especially if you're elected, to do your very best to represent all of the people in your district. And we can use Governor Walz, for example.
DAnny:I was on NewsHour not too long ago and the governor ran on a big, wide, very inspirational message of one Minnesota. Well, if you look at what happened over the past two years, if you're 48% of the Republican Party the 48% that doesn't believe in the expansion of government at a rate that we've expanded it, you don't feel like you're part of one Minnesota. I think the governor's got some work to do to rebuild trust here.
HuttCast:Absolutely. And after the last session I was just in recording Paul Gazoka I absolutely have been opened my eyes to a couple of things and he did that. So, yeah, I'm on that page with you. Yeah, all right. So let's switch up to a little bit of national. Yeah, camilla's in the spotlight, tim Waltz is in the spotlight.
HuttCast:We have a democratic process and everybody who is in this game, whether you're at local or federal or anything, state the process is your oath to office. That would be kind of the holy grail, would you not agree with that? Absolutely. That's why we're there. And if you had that office and you held that and you said, hey, I'm going to, with my oath, you're going to raise that right hand, I think that we got kind of shortchanged here. What do you mean? I don't think Mr Waltz, waltz, waltz has come to his you know what would you say? His fruition of representing everybody. Yeah, absolutely, he's all one side, he's all one party. Yeah, and I don't get it. I mean, so where I'm going with this is no matter what you do. Your oath is what you say, it's what you do, it's what you do, it's what you raise your right hand to correct. Yes, and nobody should be able to change that. I mean, that's the point of being this.
DAnny:Yeah, yeah, I mean the governor. It's interesting. You know he represented the first congressional district for a number of years in Congress, southern, the first congressional district for a number of years in Congress. And you know, and maybe, if we can give the governor some, you know, some latitude, and you know, he was endorsed by the NRA. He was, you know, he was all about small businesses. He was about, you know, making sure that, you know, people down there had the ability to excel and thrive. And you know, then all of a sudden he decides to run for governor and he really didn't spend a lot of time outside of the of the metro area and, and I think it's important for people to, you know, recognize that, you know 50% of Minnesota's population is in the five County metro, with a little finger down into Goodhue County.
DAnny:You know so if you know, if you're going to run statewide, you need to do well in that area. But I also think that part of being an elected official is educating. Yes, our job is to represent the people that are in our district, be it statewide, and that's obviously more difficult than it is for me to try to represent Rogers, dayton and Champlin. But the values and the differences are similar and I think it's incumbent upon us not only to try to represent those interests but also go back to our districts, to go back to the state and say I did this for this reason. You might disagree, and that's fine, and we need to disagree respectfully and we need to stop this battering of one another because of who we voted for in the last election for president, for example. That is not serving us at all. And you know, just because we don't agree on one issue doesn't necessarily, you know, mean that we're not going to find other issues to work on together. And but if we burn the bridge, Yep, it doesn't matter, it's automatically burned.
HuttCast:Yeah, right.
DAnny:You can't cross it, and so it doesn't matter if you're the governor or you're a Minnesota state rep, like I am, it doesn't matter. We still have to have those hard conversations and demand that we respectfully disagree where we do, but also where we can find compromise, we work together, and that's what's not really happening today. That I see as much as it should. It happens in some cases not as much as it should. It happens in some cases not as much as it should now that I brought you down this rabbit hole.
HuttCast:Yeah, here's where I'm going with this. You so you're. You agree that the democratic process is the process. So that's what you hold everything to your body yep camilla comes in last, 11th yeah but you know where I'm going with this now, right I do and do. And she's automatically magic trick. Here we're going to say the worst candidate is now your pick of choice. Yeah, circumventing the complete process in which their DNC had in their primaries, right Zero votes in a primary and she's thrust into the position. That should upset everybody it should.
DAnny:I mean, look at our friend Dean Phillips. You know that guy, six months ago, was running for president, yes, and he was saying exactly what occurred ultimately and he got canceled. He got canceled by the Democrat Party. He got you know, and he's a. I think he's a good, I think he is a good person and that guy should have had a chance to be to run for president. He should have had that chance. He earned it, like everyone does. But no, just having an automatic coronation Right.
HuttCast:Because, all of a sudden, you know joe is tired right, you can't compose a sentence and all of a sudden oh well, I guess you're next whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, right hold on here. Trump had to go through it right. And what's the automatic pass here? Because you're sleepy? Joe's second command no, ever Ever, should that have ever happened. And everybody just kind of goes oh yeah, she's the pick.
DAnny:Right, and everyone should be upset about that, especially if you're you know, if you happen to be on the left side of the aisle, any side of this aisle. I can't imagine how this would happen if, all of a sudden, it was Republican. I mean, we would go ballistic.
HuttCast:Yeah, special accounts, special this. We're going to call God up himself and say you need to fix this. Oh, dude, right, next level stupidness. And that's what makes me mad, because we had some pretty good talent on the DNC side. One thing I have learned over the years and I've interviewed a lot of people is that we're all saying the same thing. Is that we're all saying the same thing? We just say it different? Yeah, until it comes to the way left and way right.
DAnny:I mean I agree, I think you know, I mean I think literally I don't know what the number is, but I always say you know it's 80 to 85% of the issues that you know that we're facing as a state, as a country, as a nation. You know most people agree on it the speed in which we get there. We might disagree on the. You know how much it's going to cost, how much we're willing to modify our economy to get there, but I mean truly we. There's far, far more that we agree on than we disagree on, but the focus is always on the disagreements and I think that just I mean that feeds politics but it hurts people. Yeah, how do we fix it? Those people that I believe are trustworthy and you try to build relationships with them. They're not just one issue people and there's a lot of those that get elected to office today, be it at local gov or even at the state level. There's people that the only thing they care about is climate resilience Great, but there's so much more that we do. There's so many more votes that we take than just climate resilience, for example, but identifying those people that are thoughtful, that are willing to listen and we have to listen harder. I mean, I don't remember who somebody just mentioned this to me the other day. I mean, it's the reason God gave us two ears and one mouth we're supposed to listen twice as much as we do speak. Wasn't that me and you? Maybe it could have been Two of these, one of these, yeah, and so it's.
DAnny:But that's where we're and our egos have a tendency to get in the way. It's interesting being, you know, being an elected official. You know people will sometimes recognize you and I'm always taken aback by it. But, um, you know it's, it's it, it feeds, it feeds our ego and it's that's fun. But you have to manage it. And because we're not, we're not that important, we're not any more important than anyone else, and but we have to find those people that are willing to set those things aside and say what is our focus, what's the purpose?
DAnny:We very seldom fight about the purpose of something. We fight about the provision, be it education. We want them to be in sports, we want them to ride the bus, we don't want them to be hungry. But how much are we willing to spend? How much time are we willing to invest? How much out of the way are we willing to be when it comes to what school districts are putting in their curriculum and how involved should we be in those things as well. But it's finding those people that are willing to work on the purpose of what it is that we're shooting for, and then we can. You know, when you build that trust and you build that relationship, it's a lot easier to you know, move down the road. Are we going to solve the problem immediately? No, but are we going to move the ball in the right direction? And I think the answer is yes.
HuttCast:Okay, best thing you like about hitting the street and talking to people. What do you like? Oh, my gosh, just meeting people.
DAnny:You know, some people are funny. You know, I have to be honest, most people don't want me. They don't want to see me knocking on their door. You know it's uncomfortable. I always put people on their door, um, you know it's uncomfortable, I always put people on the spot, um, but I it's those times when you you get to connect with people, um, and they really start talking to you.
DAnny:I had a. I'm not I'm going to try to make this story short, but there's one guy that that really sticks out this, you know, this year he was a younger, younger guy and and, uh, he was, and he was actually running a plate compactor in his driveway out of gravel. He had a little gravel extension. And I walk up and he shuts it off and he's sweating, it's hot. And he says what do you want? And I handed him this little brochure and I introduced myself and we just started talking a little bit and he said you know, I'm an engineer. He said my wife works in healthcare. He said we make $206,000 a year. And he said you know, one day I just couldn't figure out why I didn't have more money. And he said I'm an engineer, so I decided to make spreadsheet, I decided to figure out. You know what it was. Where am I spending my money? Why don't I have more of this? And ultimately he got to the.
DAnny:And this guy, he was a self-proclaimed Democrat and again I didn't see the spreadsheet, so it's hearsay. But he said I'm spending 52% of all of our net income goes to taxes, taxes and fees. And he said that seems to be too much. And we had this long conversation about what do we do to try to make life more affordable. And it's not just about one thing. It's never about one thing when it comes to government, but it's two people coming together saying you know what? There's a problem when we're paying 52% of our income or 40, whatever.
DAnny:It's going to be different for different people, but government right now is taking a lot from people and our job, I think, at the legislature is to try to find that balance between safeguarding taxpayers and making sure that people suffer less. Are we serving people in a good way? Are the interventions that we're spending money on, are they actually changing people's lives? And far too often we're not evaluating those things because once again, it's the extremes of the parties are driving these agendas and they don't care whether or not, people are served or not. They care about power, they care about winning elections, and that's where we have to find the relationships with people. To set those aside, okay, fine, we can do that during a campaign cycle, but once that campaign cycle's over, we need to put our shoulders together and we need to keep our legs moving, we need to keep our heads in and we need to work together, and that's where I think that we can start solving some of these problems today.
HuttCast:All right. What's the worst interaction that you've been on yet?
DAnny:Oh, I don't know if there's. You know, I think the worst for me and it's not one it's this ideology that I'll knock on a door and somebody will ask, are you a Democrat or Republican? And I'll say I'm a Republican and they'll say, get off my porch or they'll throw the card back. And that's just disheartening. You know, just because there's people that align with one part and it would be the same if I were a Democrat and I heard that from a Republican People can be mean and there's no reason for that and I don't care what side of the aisle that you're on and you're out there knocking on doors. You know, I may disagree with what some of my friends on the other side do, but you know what? I honor the fact that they're out there. They're trying to serve the public, they're trying to do it the best they can and they shouldn't. You know, no one should have to be kicked off their front porch because, you know, simply because they have an R or a D behind their name.
DAnny:That's just unfortunate on both sides.
HuttCast:That is disheartening. Yeah, I ran into that when I ran for mayor.
HuttCast:You're an R or D. I says how about I'm an R or D? They look at you like what? Yeah, I know what you stand for. Okay, then we're going to have a conversation. Or you want me to move along, right, and sometimes it gets naughty and sometimes they'll say move, you know whatever. But Sometimes it gets naughty and sometimes they'll say you know whatever, but you're there and you got to remind them that I'm there to do your work, right, not my work. This has nothing to do with me, it's to do with you. So if you want to kick me up, I get it Right. But remember you know you're not going to have a voice if you do that, right. You need that voice, no matter what side of the fence Right and people.
DAnny:I mean, I had one particular instance where I walked up to a door and it was a lady that answered.
DAnny:And she looked at me and she said I know you and I know your politics. And she started kind of yelling at me a little bit. She was it doesn't matter what she was and you know. And I looked at her. I said you know, you don't know my politics, because if you did know my politics you would never treat me in this way. And it was fine. You know you don't have to vote for me and I tell people that all the time but you also don't have to be mean, right, but you also don't have to be mean Right, so that's Be a little human here, right, right, I mean.
DAnny:Everybody's out there is doing the best they can. Is it all perfect? No, but it's not bad.
HuttCast:Yeah, now I understand. Brian Raines is your opponent. Yes, how do you feel he's doing? Do you think he's?
DAnny:got some traction. You know, I don't really I don't really pay attention to what. You know, what he's doing. I don't run into him. Um, you know, I don't, I don't really know. I, I, I and I'm being honest, I, I, I've met him a couple of times I, I, I think he's a very, I think he's a nice guy.
HuttCast:Um, I just think I'm better.
DAnny:And um, yeah, I just he's. Yeah, I don't really pay attention to what he's doing. This is the third time he's run. He ran against Kristen Robbins prior to redistricting and then I ran against. We ran against each other in the open seat two years ago and now he's he's filed run against me again.
HuttCast:Yeah, I spent a little bit of time talking to him, but I didn't really engage him too much, because you know I. I understand his politics, yeah. So okay now, what did we miss here? I'm gonna check my list. And what do you want people to know? What's their takeaway? Because you're gonna have one shot at these guys. You can use this link anywhere you want to. You're hoping they're going to listen to the whole thing. We're at 32.3 minutes. And you want that to say. This is who I am to you.
DAnny:Yeah, well, hopefully that's been integrated in this conversation. You know, I grew up in Medina. My dad was a lineman, my mom was a stay-at-home mom. I learned a lot about character from both my parents. And first half of my career, until I was 35, I ran a construction company.
DAnny:I started it when I was in high school and I wanted to go to college. That's that's why I did it. I didn't, I didn't know any other way. Um, and then, you know, then I got into, then I kind of got into government because I was frustrated with the system and I wanted to make change. Um, so I I was a city, I was a township administrator for a few years.
DAnny:I went to the department of commerce. I worked on the in the state, in the state energy office, for a few years. I went to the Department of Commerce. I worked in the state energy office for a while, and I've been at Hennepin County for the past, well, since 2010. And I was chief of staff to a Hennepin County commissioner for 10 of those years and since that time I've negotiated contracts and so, part of the reason that I ran in an open seat, I've had the opportunity to run for office numerous times and I've never said yes, it's not something that I, in an open seat.
DAnny:I've had the opportunity to run for office numerous times and I've never said yes, it's not something that I.
DAnny:You know it wasn't not my bucket list thing. You know I can be just as effective, you know, outside of having an election certificate as I can with it, and you know I decided to run because I'm a Republican and I've spent my career working with and alongside people who don't vote for the same president that I do, for example, and we can get along again as we, you know, as we. I'm a critical thinker and I bring that. I bring that to the work that I do and I challenge people to be better and I build those platforms for people to build trust and have relationships. And it doesn't matter what our political leanings are. What matters in government is that we work together to ensure that we're serving people. And we're going to fight about how much we should spend, how quick we should raise it, who should pay Absolutely, and those are good fights to have. But at the end of the day, most people want that pragmatic, centrist person who is reasonable, who is not an extremist, who focuses on those common sense solutions.
Speaker 4:And sense there you go.
DAnny:And that's what people want. I mean, you can be a common sense Republican, you can be a common sense Democrat, absolutely but the parties will drive you towards the edges, and that's what we all need to push back on. I think that that's my takeaway Know who you're voting for, get to know them. It doesn't matter what side of the aisle people are on, you know. Reach out away, know who you're voting for, get to know them. It doesn't matter what side of the aisle people are on. Reach out to them, send them an email, call them, open the door when they knock. Just get to know them a little bit. You don't have to vote for them, but just get to know them.
DAnny:Spend five minutes with them, spend three minutes, with them Three minutes Okay. We're good at getting right to the heart of of it and ask them questions. Tell them what's important to you. If you don't, you know who does is the activists.
DAnny:So, that's what they're going to be focused on. So you know, we all want a stable business community. We want, you know, we want to live a have a nice work-life balance. We want to trust the fact that we're going to when we drop our kids off at school, they're going to be safe and they're going to learn, and those are the things that you should be talking about to your representatives, regardless of where you're from.
HuttCast:Excellent statement. Let's shift to gear here Donations. You got a great donation on the way to this episode. Yeah, I did. That's incredible. People are so good to me. That's incredible. I'm just like how awesome is that? And if someone wanted to donate, how would you do that? What does that?
DAnny:look like. You know there's a lot of different ways we can do it. In Minnesota, we have what's called a PCR program. It's a political contribution refund. It's actually it will refund if you donate. If you're an individual, you can donate $75 to a candidate and that candidate will send you a receipt and a form and you fill it out, you send it into the Department of Revenue and within four to six weeks you actually get that $75 back, and it's $75 per person, $150 per couple.
DAnny:The limit that you can ever contribute to a candidate doesn't matter. Well, a host candidate, different races have different caps, but the max I can take is $1,000 per person. So that means that I've got to reach out to a lot of people and get a lot of people to donate to my campaign and, honestly, people are so good to me. My signs are all over and people are standing up and saying we really appreciate your honesty, you're an authentic person and we may not agree politically, but I still believe in you and I still believe that you want to represent the interests of this district. So then, the way to do it, of course, either send me an email or go to my website. There's donate buttons on there, candidates are always looking for money, and if it's not me and you have another favorite candidate, you know go look for them. You know, send them a note, tell them you're going to send them a few bucks and just encourage them to keep going, regardless of the site, which side of the aisle you're on.
HuttCast:How to contact. All right. So if they want to get a hold of you, how do we get a hold of you? Website, Facebook, email.
DAnny:Yep Twitter DannyNadeaucom. It's D-A-N-N-Y-N-A-D-E-A-Ucom.
HuttCast:And that is your direct website. Yeah, do you have a Facebook?
DAnny:I do, yeah, I do yeah. It's just Danny Nadeau, I think. And do you have a Twitter? I think that one's Nadeau Danny.
HuttCast:Okay, yeah, okay. So we got Facebook. So all your social medias are kind of like name-based.
DAnny:Yep, it's all me. My brand is me, okay.
HuttCast:What am I missing? I got all my boxes checked on my list.
DAnny:Well, why don't you tell me what's important to you? I mean, that's my job. I'm supposed to be listening to people in my district. So you tell me, in 30 seconds or less, the most important thing that you want your representatives to know and work on.
HuttCast:You've done a Kaiser Soze. I think the most important thing is to be heard, to be heard and have actions on my words. In a nutshell, because I can sit upstairs in my undisclosed bunker location and watch Star Trek all day. I don't need to be working at busting my behind to not be listened and heard. Bunker location and watch Star Trek all day. I don't need to be working at busting my behind to not be listened and heard. I think that's my biggest thing and again I get it. You're, when we're in the minority of a situation, the majority rules, but man being heard is taxation with representation.
DAnny:Yeah, and I think you hit. I mean I think you hit the nail on the head. I mean I think you hit the nail on the head. I mean I I hear this at I mean I've knocked down five, over 5,000 doors this, this cycle.
DAnny:And that's people, people, the people that are willing to engage. They do want to be heard, and my job is to listen and try to, you know, try to move forward, move forward, um, and I think that we're, I think that our system today is failing people in that regard. We're not, we're not representing, I don't think that we're we're doing as good a job as we could in representing the interests of our communities, because the parties are pushing too far on the, on the edges, um, and I, I think, if we can, can, if we can continue, as elected officials, to push back on that as, and we as a community can come together, I think we will be able to, I'll be able to be a better listener and you'll hopefully be better heard over the pond listeners.
HuttCast:It might not mean nothing to you over there, but this is kind of a thing here in my home state. If you can apply this to what you do in your elections or your cycles or whatever it is you do in your country slash, city, slash whatever it is maybe you can apply some of it. And if you can learn from this, good for you. Let's see. Last week my biggest listeners were in Madagascar. Shout out to you, guys. You were 22% of my downloads last week. I hope we're making a bell. I don't know exactly what language you're speaking in Madagascar, but hey, if it's getting translated and it works for you. Thanks for listening.
HuttCast:Australia's kind of dropped off. Come on, guys, you've got to make sure and spin that up a little bit more for me. I'm watching all the downloads and Ukraine's been actually been picking up too, so I think they're just kind of bored with what they're doing. I mean, they're in a crap show. So, danny, I appreciate you coming in and volunteering your Sunday time and in this undisclosed, I and in this undisclosed, remember you're sworn to secrecy where the bunker is. That's how we do this.
DAnny:I don't even know where I am.
HuttCast:We can take the blindfold off now. I hope so. Have our secret service take you back to the surface.
DAnny:Yes, hey, we could do that. I mean, I don't even know how many floors down I am, how many fathoms. It's a long way. Yeah, your ears pop like twice, right Twice. So that's like three fathoms.
HuttCast:It is. It's every three. Yeah, it's got to be, but for HuttCast, I appreciate everybody tuning in and we'll catch you next time. Danny, good luck in your election. I think you've got a good head on your shoulders, and anybody who wouldn't vote for you, no matter what side, should really evaluate why they're voting.
DAnny:Thank you, I appreciate it. I appreciate the time. I appreciate the effort and the investment in time that you've made in me as well. So thank you, okay.
HuttCast:Hot gas is going to pull up and we are 43 minutes on the button, so be well, people, and we'll catch you next time. Premiumbeatcom. And that's a wrap for HuttCast. Huttcast is again a pragmatic approach to seeing things how some people see them. If you like our show, give us a thumbs up on the Facebook site Again for HuttCast. Thank you again. Have a wonderful evening.
