Janezich makes

campaign stop in NU

By GUY PRIEL

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Pushing to unseat Republican Senator Rod Grams in November, DFL-endorsed Senate candidate Jerry Janezich of Chisholm attended a fund-raiser in New Ulm on Sunday, followed by an appearance at the Heritagefest parade.

"Things are going pretty well," he said. "It has been a busy week. There are only 50 days left (until the primary) and I intend to keep at it. I like where we are. The pieces are beginning to fit together."

Appearances in parades are becoming a routine part of Janezich's campaign.

"People notice when I make these appearances," he said. "I am having fun. This whole thing has been a neat experience for me and my family. I think we can win this thing. It's about beating Rod Grams."

Throughout the state, whenever he has talked to people, he gets the feeling that people want a change. They believe Grams hasn't delivered what people expect, he said.

"The people in Minnesota should get what everybody else gets when it comes to education funding," he said. "Greater Minnesota schools need money."

Janezich also feels that Grams is not addressing the needs of farmers, which is important for people in the Midwest.

One his goals is to get prescription drugs to the people through an existing program rather than trying to privatize Social Security.

"Health care has to be addressed sooner or later," Janezich said. "When premiums go up, that's a big deal. We need to address this issue as a nation. I am a small businessman, and I can't afford health care for my employees." Janezich is co-owner of a bar in northern Minnesota.

Janezich says his campaign is about people and about grass-roots efforts. He knows he has a lot of work to do to get his message out to the people.

"We care about people in rural Minnesota and we'll be back," he said. "I know I don't have a familiar name. I want to know what people think. I know we won't always agree. I just tell people to look at where I'm from and what I've done. I'm close to them."

Average people can't make decisions to run for political office, because there is so much money involved in the entire process. Janezich feels this situation is wrong.

"When I was 10 years old, John Kennedy touched me," he said. "I have always wanted to run for office, ever since I was a kid. People and politics excite me."

In 1983 he ran for the county board in St. Louis County, and won. He has also served four years in the state House of Representatives and eight years in the state Senate. The endorsement process made him credible as a candidate, because it showed that there are more regular people wanting a difference, he said.

"In the U.S. Senate, there are 85 very wealthy people," he said. "That is not the way my government was supposed to look.A candidate has to be someone like the people. We don't need another wealthy person from the metro area in Washington."