MNLG to sponsor a Republican Party of Minnesota State Secretary/Treasurer Debate

On Thursday, May 14, 2009 Minnesotans for Limited Government sponsored a debate for the Minnesota GOP State Executive Secretary/Treasurer race. Five candidates running for the position were on hand to answer questions submitted by the public. The State Central Committee will elect a new Republican Party of Minnesota State Secretary/Treasurer at the next State Central Committee meeting on Saturday, June 13.

Current Minnesota GOP State Executive Secretary/Treasurer candidates include:
Glen Menze
Ed Matthews
Mark Swanson
David Sturrock
Jane Stewart

Listen to an archive of the debate here:

Having trouble listening? Try downloading the mp3 from here.


GLEN MENZE
Glen Menze is a candidate for Secretary Treasurer of the Minnesota Republican Party. Glen went to elementary and high school in New York Mills, MN and college in Moorhead, MN for sociology and business administration at Moorhead State University.

Glen moved to Lakeville, MN where he worked for Pitney Bowes Corporation as a postal equipment inspector. The 80s farm crises brought Glen back to New York Mills were he worked with the family's trucking business and later owning this own transportation company.

Glen also is an Accountant and did accounting and business consulting. He worked as a Corporate Trainer and Sales Manager for Telnet Inc, a sales and marketing company with over 500 employees. Glen moved to a farm in Starbuck, MN with his five children were he has continued as an Accountant, Business Consultant and Commercial Author for his own firm GR Menze Services.

Glen ran for congress in 2000 and 2008 in the Seventh District of MN. He won the primaries then lost the general election. Raising 5 children alone gives Glen a unique perspective on the cost and struggles of raising a family in today’s economy. Glen is proud of his children with three college graduates, one attending college, one an honor student in high school and most importantly proud and contributing citizens of our great country.

Mr. Menze can be reached at glenmenze@hotmail.com.


ED MATTHEWS, CPA, ATTORNEY
EDUCATION
J.D., William Mitchell College of Law, summa cum laude, 2003; Executive Editor of the Law Review, 2002 – 2003
B.S. in Business Administration, Miami University, cum laude, University Honors, 1995; Accountancy major, Political Science minor; Honors Thesis, “Americans Deserve Better: An Alternative to the Current System of Federal Taxation”

WORK EXPERIENCE
Attorney, Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., 2004 – present
Adjunct Professor, William Mitchell College of Law, 2006 – present
Law Clerk, Minnesota Supreme Court, 2003-2004
Financial Analyst, Imation Corporation, Oakdale, MN, 1999-2000

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Republican Candidate for U.S. Congress, Minnesota’s Fourth Congressional District, 2008
Highland District Council Community Development Committee, 2007 – 2008

Mr. Matthews can be reached at ed@edmatthewsforcongress.com.


DAVID STURROCK
STATE PARTY LEADERSHIP
Republican Nominee for Congress, 7th District, 2004
Alternate Delegate, National Convention, 2000
Delegate, State Central Committee, 1997-present
Co-Chairman, Local Elections Task Force, 2007
RPM Reapportionment Committee, 1999 and 2009

DISTRICT AND BPOU
Treasurer, 7th CD, five years
CD Executive Committee member, ten years
Lyon County Executive Committee, nine years
Faculty Advisor, Southwest Minnesota State U. College Republicans

PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Marshall City Councilman, 2000-2004
Academic Standards Committee (helped developed replacement for Profile of Learning)
Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee
Church Stewardship and Mission Committees

PERSONAL
Professor of Political Science, Southwest Minnesota State University
Married to Gwen; father of Augie and Alex

Mr. Sturrock can be reached at desturrock@charter.net.


MARK SWANSON
I am Mark Swanson from Becker, MN. My wife Helen and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary on March 20th. We have 3 daughters that keep us running around (Noelle (11), Melody(8) and Isabelle(6)).

I have an Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and spent 5 years as a Naval Officer stationed in San Diego, CA. I currently work as a Principal Engineer for Medtronic in the CardioVascular Business unit and am enrolled in an MBA program through Argosy University.

In politics, I started as an alternate delegate to the BPOU convention just 9 years ago (2000). From there I worked on former Representative Mark Olson’s campaign and became his campaign manager. In 2003, I ran unopposed for the chair position of House District 16B and held that position until 2007. I was elected as Chair of CD6 in 2007 and served there until this year. I chaired the Rules Committee for the 2007 State Convention and the Platform Task Force in 2008. I believe in the conservative cause and will continue to work to restore this Party to the majority status regardless of the outcome of this election.

Mr. Swanson can be reached at swanny@izoom.net.


JANE STEWART
EDUCATION
Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin BA
United States International University, San Diego, California MA
Northern Arizona University, Ed.D. Administration

EMPLOYMENT
Teacher, Administrator, School Board Member
Developed / maintained multimillion dollar budgets for State /Federal fund regulations.

VOLUNTEER WORK
Secretary / Vice-Chair, SD 56
Secretary / Deputy-Chair, 6th District
Attended State Executive Meetings
Secretary / Vice-Chair WCRW
Hosted George Bush as Charter School principal
Hosted Laura Bush, John Kline, Republican Candidates as principal 2002.
Minnesota Volunteer Coordinator: President, Senator, Congresswoman/men. 2008
Recruited volunteers who made 100,000 calls for candidates.
State Judiciary Committee /State Platform Committee
Delegate Republican State, National Conventions, State Central Committee.

PERSONAL QUALITIES
Honesty, integrity, strong leadership/communication skills. Good listener, perseverance.

Dr. Stewart can be reached at drjanestewart@comcast.net.


Be sure to check back to this website before, during, and after the debate. An online poll will be available, as well as an opportunity to submit follow-up questions to any of the candidates. Responses from the candidates will be posted within days of the debate. To submit a follow up question, please phrase your question in the comment section of this post.

For more information about the MNLG sponsored Republican Party of Minnesota State Secretary/Treasurer debate, please contact MNLG Vice Chair Jeff Hagen at jeffreyroberthagen@yahoo.com or by phone at 651-341-9448.