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Education, Faith, Health, Law & Order, Opinion, Politics, SD 66

Senate District 66 LWV Candidate Forum October 1, 2026

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This post has all the questions asked, and when the responses are have timestamps on them starting from the start of the video.

For the sake of fairness, to start off we will not list the incumbent’s title, just what party endorsed both of them.

Kathleen Bart Endorsed Republican

Clare Verbeten Endorsed DFL

There are 21 questions asked plus opening & closing statements by each candidate. So click the “More” when you come to it below question 4 to see all the questions asked.

Time Stamps from the start of the video above

0:00-6:23 Debbie Magnusson who is a member of the LWV of St Paul does an introduction and explains the rules and where the restrooms are at. She asks that members of the audience to not video the forum, even though SPNN is open to the public. So none of this video is edited on our end (the sound quality of the video is of a very low volume so you might have to turn on the closed captioning, put on headphones or turn up the volume).

The Rules she states are that each candidate can have an opening and closing statement that is 2 minutes long each, and can only have 1 minute to respond to a question. Both candidates have agreed to it. If quoted by another candidate, the candidate can have a 30 second rebuttal.

She talks about questions submitted prior to the forum and questions can be asked from the audience using note cards, then they review them.  Questions have to apply to both candidates.

6:27 – 7:59  Kathleen Bart Opening Statement

8:07 – 9:46  Clare Verbeten Opening Statement

10:20 Question 1: If you are elected, what strengths will you bring as a political leader in the Legislature? Where might you learn some new skills? Please answer both parts to the question.

10:40 Kathleen Bart

11:28 Clare Verbeten

12:30 Question 2: Is regarding gun violence. Gun Violence is consistently a top issue for voters. What specific policies do you support to reduce gun violence in our community?

12:47  Clare Verbeten

13:43  Kathleen Bart

14:48 Question 3: Due to the cuts to the Affordable Care Act subsidies for purchasing insurance, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 7 million Americans may lose health coverage over the next decade. The effect of these Federal cuts could drive up health care costs across the country. In this context, will you work as a State Legislator to achieve affordable healthcare for all Minnesotans? If so, what will you do?

15:20  Clare Verbeten

16:40  Kathleen Bart

17:44 Question 4: In regards to the recent “Metro Surge,” and ICE impact on our state in the past year. Do you believe that ICE’s action in the past year crossed moral or legal lines? If Minnesota were to face another major ICE operation how do you believe the state government should respond?

18:13  Kathleen Bart

19:03  Clare Verbeten

Continue reading Senate District 66 LWV Candidate Forum October 1, 2026 →

HD66B, Politics, St Paul

LWV Forum for HD 66A & 66B Candidates October 11th, 7pm at SPNN

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What:  League of Women Voters Forum for HD 66A & 66B Candidates

When:  Friday October 11th, 7pm (Live); rebroadcast on the MySPNN YouTube Channel. We will repost the video here.

Where:  St Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN) Studios, 550 Vandalia St #170, St Paul MN, 55114 Map

Submit Questions; To submit questions for consideration to be asked of all the candidates, they can’t be one candidate specific, uncivil in any manner (LWVSP Candidate Event Rules 2024). Send to lwvstpaul@lwvmn.org

This Forum was Originally scheduled for September 27th, but the League of Women Voters postponed it for no real reason. They did reschedule it for Friday October 11th live at SPNN Studios at 7 pm. We will post the video here after it is posted on the MySPNN YouTube Channel.

The Candidates in HD 66A

Fadil Jama,  website: FadilJama.com

HD 66A Republican Fadil Jama

Rep Leigh Finke

Known for:

  • The Tampons in Boys Bathrooms in Public Schools bill. Governor Tim Walz unfairly gets blamed and teased for this bill, but he signed it into law.
  • Making Minnesota into a Sanctuary State for Gender Affirming Care (aka Child Sterilization) without the consent of a parent, nor any informed consent. This is not “Reproductive Freedom” for these poor victims who will never have children of their own.
  • Ban on counseling for LGBTQ people who want to become “Straight” (It violates Religious Freedom as often Pastors are on the front lines of this issue). It is a confusing title as it’s a ban on Conversion Therapy. The conversion is not related to becoming transgender.
  • Ban on Assault Weapons
  • Changing Pedophilia into a sexual orientation
  • Was the USA Today’s 2022 Woman of the Year. Leigh Finke is really a man named Chris Zumski Finke.
  • He has written a few books aimed at children, “Queerfully & Wonderfully Made,” and “Welcoming & Affirming.”
  • If you want more information there’s a video by the Truth Hurts Rumble Channel click here

HD 66B Candidates

Greg Copeland, Website: GregCopeland911.wordpress.com

HD 66B Republican Greg Copeland

Rep Athena Hollins

Known for:

  • Author of the Conversion Therapy Ban. This is a First Amendment violation of the Religious Establishment Law as noted above in Rep Finke’s list, pastors tend to be targeted by laws like this.
  • Tells people she is a Pansexual, as if she thinks people care more about her sexuality than representing the people of the District.
  • Was for Rep Dave Pinto’s Universal Background Check on private sales and admits it won’t stop gun violence, and she owns a gun
  • Was for the Red Flag Gun Law. She’s a lawyer and knows that this law would circumvent due process.
  • Author of the Universal Basic Income legislation that failed to pass. It would give those that qualify for it from $500 to $1200 per month. The money would not be counted as income, yet the title of it indicates it is an income.  Everywhere it has been tried it usually increases taxes on income earners and produces a lot of resentment, and in some European Countries it is canceled quickly.
  • Advocates Ranked Choice Voting, Automatic voter registration, Felons Voting (without getting their other rights back)

If you watch any of these League of Liberal Women Voters Forums you’ll see what not to do if you run a debate.

  • They mash together 2 Districts in one Debate which makes 4 candidates with 2 views. Often times the weaker candidate in the other district will get talking points from their colleague in the other district
  • They don’t have great sound quality to their forums. It’s laughable being they are in a building with the equipment to have good sound quality: The SPNN Studios. Sometimes the LLWV will have no microphones for the candidates to use like the Special Election in 2011 for Ward 1, and in Ward 3 in 2023.
  • They don’t use questions from Conservatives in any of their forums. They use questions that don’t allow their Liberal pals to be either accountable for their actions in office, or be uncomfortable in answering them.  They ask questions that prop up Liberal talking points like the legitimacy of Climate Change, Achievement Gap, Equity & Inclusion. None of these ideas can be tested with science and can be proved to true, nor be anything other than issues that no one cares about.
  • They will also cancel forums without warning to Republican Candidates, but will run them when they can’t attend.

There needs to be standards at the State Level that must be met in order for a host of a Debate to run them.  The LWV is not nonpartisan as they claim. They get away with a lot of their schtick because there’s no competition. Look at our Public Schools, there is no competition to teach kids and therefore they can be slack in their efforts, same goes for having forums/debates.