A candidate forum was held Wednesday, September 30, at Hastings City Hall.
The forum was hosted by the Hastings Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the American Association of University Women. AAUW moderator Alexis Huss led the formal forum.
The evening began with a candidate meet-and-greet at 6 p.m., followed by the formal forum at 7 p.m.
Candidates participating in the meet-and-greet included Dakota County Commissioner for District 1, incumbent Mike Slavik; Hastings mayoral candidates, incumbent Mary Fasbender and Geoffery Norquist; and at-large city council candidates, incumbents Angie Haus and Dave Pemble.
Appearing for the formal forum were Minnesota House District 41B candidates Republican William
Beck and DFLer Jen Fox, along with Minnesota Senate District 41 candidates Republican Tom Dippel and incumbent DFLer Judy Seeberger.
During the formal forum, each candidate was given one minute for an opening statement, one minute to answer each question, and one minute for a closing statement.
The first candidates to take the podiums were Minnesota House District 41B candidates William Beck and Jen Fox.
Questions focused on why they are running for the Legislature, how they would work across party lines,
the state’s role in making post-secondary education and career training more affordable, and what they would do to address the rising cost of living and doing business.
The final question asked candidates to identify a specific policy they would change, eliminate, or introduce to help lower costs for Minnesota residents and businesses.
Fox said Minnesotans need to get more value from their tax dollars. She called for a more responsible tax structure, including shifting more of the tax burden toward large businesses, while supporting programs such as the child tax credit to help working and middle-income families.
Beck said Minnesota is facing an affordability crisis, pointing to the costs of health care, child care,
housing, and taxes compared with neighboring states.
He said he would support tax cuts and credits, property-tax and car-fee caps, and eliminating the state tax on Social Security benefits.
During the forum’s meet-and-greet, KDWA asked Beck and Fox a straightforward question: Why should voters vote for you?
Here’s Republican candidate William Beck.
“Well, look, I’m not a politician. I’m a dad with two kids. I’m a former teacher. I’m running
to make Minnesota a better place. I grew up here. I want my kids to grow up here. Problem is, things have gotten too expensive. People don’t trust where their tax dollars are going anymore. And our schools, as much as we love them, they’re missing the mark. If you want to learn more, you can go to www.beckforhouse.com.”
And DFL candidate Jen Fox.
“I’m excited to be a representative who brings our needs and our cares and our worries and our fears and tries to solve problems around them. As a person with her master’s degree in public policy, and I spent time on City Council, I spent time working for the state of Minnesota. I know how this job works, and I want to do it. I want to. I want to work really hard for our community because I love it so much. I think I could be a very passionate and joyful leader. If you’d like more information, please go to www.jenfoxforhouse.com.”
Next in the forum, Minnesota Senate District 41 candidates Republican Tom Dippel and incumbent
DFLer Judy Seeberger took the podiums.
Their forum questions covered what they believe the state government is not doing enough to address, whether they have taken — or would take — positions unpopular with their own party, affordability, staying accessible to constituents, the state’s responsibility for Hastings’ PFAS-related water infrastructure costs, and Minnesota’s paid family and medical leave program.
The final question focused on the state’s paid family and medical leave mandate and whether the
candidates would support any changes.
Seeberger said she supports the program but believes it needs some changes.
She said she has pushed for modifications in recent legislative sessions, including exemptions for small businesses, agricultural and seasonal workers, and making the program more affordable for employers.
Seeberger said she is willing to continue pushing members of her own party for those changes.
Dippel also called for changes, arguing the state’s paid family and medical leave program was passed as a one-size-fits-all approach.
He criticized Seeberger’s support for the original legislation and said the program has created financial
challenges for schools, counties, employers, and employees.
Dippel also pointed to rising property taxes in Dakota County, saying paid family and medical leave was cited as one contributing factor.
KDWA also asked Dippel and Seeberger during the meet-and-greet why voters should support them.
First, incumbent Judy Seeberger.
“The number one thing I hear up and down the district is people are sick of partisanship,
and over the past four years, I have taken that to heart. I’ve built relationships across the aisle and in the other chamber. I will work with anyone to get work done if it benefits our community and our state, and that’s what I’ve done. I’m one of the most bipartisan legislators out there, and I will work with anybody. If it’s a good idea, we should do it. Go to my website, which is www.judyforsenate.com.”
And Republican Tom Dippel.
“I think Minnesotans are frustrated right now with the state of Minnesota, whether it be fraud or the high price and cost of everything, car tab fees going up, property taxes going up, and so what I hear as I’m out in the communities talking to everybody and door knocking—we’ve been out the whole summer—is, ‘What can we do about the cost in Minnesota?’ And I tell them, look, I think we can turn it back to five years ago, where taxes were five years ago. Minnesota is doing great. If you look at the surrounding states, also they make do with car tab fees that are below $100 per vehicle, and so we shouldn’t be charging people $200, $300, $400, $600 for vehicle registration when we know that surrounding states can get by with less. And that’s one example of how I think we can bring Minnesota back in line with the expectations of Minnesotans, and they can be confident again in the services that we’re delivering. Check out my website at www.Dippelformn.com.”
The forum meet-and-greet also featured the Hastings mayoral and at-large city council races.
In the mayoral race, incumbent Mary Fasbender faces Geoffery Norquist.
KDWA asked Norquist why voters should support him for mayor.
“I think I bring a young, fresh mindset to the job. I’m a project manager by trade, so I’m pretty used to handling large projects. I do global food processing systems, so I’m used to large-scale projects, dealing with people from all over. I just think it’s time for some different changes around here and to make everybody feel like their voices are being heard again.”
And incumbent Mary Fasbender explains why voters should re-elect her.
“Well, I’ve been in this position eight years, and I have worked very hard for this community on multiple levels, and I have a strong voice. I try to help people bridge to become better people, be it agencies or organizations. I want to be that conduit where we can work together and get things done. Futuristically, we have many projects that I have been a spokesperson for at the state capital with MnDot. Futuristically, look. at various things that are coming to our community, and I feel I am the best person to continue those conversations and keep it moving forward. And vote for Mary.”
For the two at-large city council seats, incumbents Angie Haus and Dave Pemble are on the ballot.
KDWA asked Haus why voters should re-elect her.
“My name is Angie Haus. I’m your current incumbent seat right now, and I’m running for Hastings City Council at large again because I really care about our city and town. I ran four years ago because I wanted to make sure that everyone had a voice on our city council, and I was really young when I first started running; I was 22, and so I want to make sure that young people who are trying to buy houses in our town, they have a voice. We make sure, but also making sure that we have clean water for everyone as well. I know that’s going to be a very big battle moving forward with litigation against 3M, and I want to make sure that our families and residents do not have to pay out of their pocket.”
And incumbent Dave Pemble explains why voters should support him for the at-large city council seat.
“Been a long-time member of this community, I am aware of the projects that we’ve done, and we some of them were very successful, some were not, but we have a lot of huge challenges in front of us: the water, Highway 61, County Road 42, the sewer system. All those things are coming into play in our community, and besides that, trying to find growth, and that is a very difficult thing moving forward. Vote Dave Pemble for experience and planning, looking ahead, trying to work through these issues that are right in front of every resident in this community.”
Incumbent Mike Slavik is once again running for Dakota County Commissioner in District 1.
KDWA asked Slavik why voters should cast their ballots in favor of him.
“What I would say is the reason why I’m running and why people should support me in the 2026 election is we have a lot of big issues that are happening at both the state level, the federal level, counties have been just ransacked with very difficult issues. And the experience that I’m able to offer after the last 14 years on the board here is the relationships at the state level, at the county, other county level, the national level. We have some big issues, and we need some people who know what they’re doing to be able to get the job done.”