Do you speak Russian?

Do you speak Russian?

  In a previous post I talked a bit about growing up blue collar, patching potholes, and selling hotdogs at the Metrodome, in an effort to work my way through school. I even lived off campus, figuring it would help me stay focused on studying and working if I wasn’t around a lot of partying students. I was very disciplined and strategic then, and pride myself in still being a very focused person.

So perhaps your reaction is, so what? Many people can boast similar upbringings and work ethic, and don’t make good city councilors. Fair enough.

On top of all that though, I had a real passion for getting into foreign service, in hopes of perhaps one day being a diplomat in Russia. So I scrimped financially, and managed to save enough money to take part in a couple student exchange programs, and ended up studying for a semester in Denmark and Norway.

In order to save some cash and have an awesome cultural experience, I even managed to stay with relatives in a Norwegian community, while working on an independent study project detaling the history of a little known WWII concentration camps in Norway.

I also got to spend some time in Russia, both before and after the fall of the Iron Curtain. During this time I also managed to learn Russian as well. And still speak it fluently. After graduating with a minor in Russian language and literature, and a major in International Studies with a focus on Soviet Studies, I managed to get a job working for former U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz.

So after a lot of great overseas experience, including a stretch in Japan while my husband Pat was in the Navy, we returned to Minnesota. In the meantime though, along came my five kids, who are now between ages 8 and 16.

What does all this have to do with the city council? A lot, I feel. I believe I’m well rounded, both professionally in my own career and work experience, and as a mother, I know what it’s like to run a household full of little ones. To be honest, I’m not exactly sure how much more I could have experienced at my age to prepare me for sitting on the city council. Not that other candidates aren’t good people, but I think my experiences and accomplishments really make me seem like an intellectual and political heavyweight, compared with my competitors.

Perhaps that’s what scares these unions so much. They know that I am not simply going to keep awarding them great contracts full of goodies the city can’t afford. As long as they continually keep stacking the council with campaigns they bankroll, there’s no real chance of Duluth progressing past our image as a difficult place to do business.  Sad, but true.