I have helped with campaigns in the past.  My dad made me work on his campaigns for school board in Columbia Heights.  I must admit, I hate door knocking. 

So, my wife Jodi and I packed up our two golden retrievers Buddy and Gemma and headed off to Marketfest.  Marketfest is one of those things that advances the charm and character of White Bear Lake.  It is super family oriented.  Very kid friendly.  It is unlike many festivals in that there is no alcohol served outside the few bars that are within the Marketfest zone.

Bringing the dogs was Jodi’s idea.  We often get dragged into political conversations.  One of her favorite techniques is to say, “Do you like chocolate cake?”  Everyone does and we instantly divert the conversation to common ground.

All we did at Marketfest was walk the dogs.  We did not get 10 feet from the gate when we were stopped by kids wanting to pet the dogs.  I would have a conversation with mom and dad and ask if they lived in White Bear Lake.  I just told them I was running for Mayor.  They smiled, took my card, and we moved on.

We turned off Washington Ave and were tracked down by a woman who worked at the information booth.  She said she overheard that I was running for Mayor.  I said yes and I began to learn about how many people volunteer to run Marketfest.

Then I ran into Dale Grambush who also volunteers at Marketfest.  I know Dale from Rotary and I also see him once a year at a City Council Meeting.  Dale presents the tax levy budget for the Marketfest group every fall.  I present the tax levy for the Birch Lake Improvement district.

Dale has been working Marketfest for years.  He really serves our city.

As we made the circle we ended up at the police and fire department area.  We really got a crowd.  I learned that our fire chief is a golden retriever lover.  I showed him my “Ask Buddy” AI videos and he laughed his head off.

Then a pack of high school kids asked if they could pet the dogs.  I tried to engage them in conversation, but they seemed afraid to talk.  I pushed a bit harder.  What are you doing this summer?  One said, “summer school”.  What did you screw up?  “Math”.  I then told him about one of my son David’s roofing sales guys.  He is 29 years old, and he made over $100,000 last year and only worked 6 months.  You don’t even need that much math, just arithmetic.

Suddenly, he engaged.  Then I needed to move on because he was too young to vote.  Then I asked when he turned 18.  He said “October”.  I said are you going to vote?  I got deer in the headlights.  “Why would I?”

I told him the story about when I was 17.  You see at that time the drinking age in Minnesota was 21.  The drinking age in Wisconsin was 18.  Every Friday and Saturday night 50,000 kids from the Twin Cities crossed the border.  At that time, you could get drafted and be forced to kill someone but you could not drink.  We all voted.  Then I said, if a mayor could change the drinking age to 18 would you vote?  I got him thinking and hopefully he will register and vote.