Joe Perske: Democrat for the Sixth District - In the Words of His Wife, Jan

The first time I ever set eyes on Joe Perske, I was in high school.  He was tall and thin and looked like a really nice guy.  He was involved with the cross country and track teams and loved long distance running.  He loved hanging out in the woodshop and the photo lab at school and was pretty shy around girls.  Little did I know at the time how much this man would change my life.  

 

Joe and I were in the same graduating class, but didn't officially meet until the end of our senior year when he asked me to go to prom with him.   We started out our relationship as good friends, deepened our relationship over a five year span of time and were married in July of 1979.

 

One of the qualities that attracted me to Joe all those years ago, and continues to amaze me, is his willingness and openness to help others.  Whether it it fixing the wheels on a student's bike, checking out someone's flooded backyard,  doing taxes for his mother, or being called at the last minute to referee a  soccer game, Joe always says yes. A few years ago, he took it upon himself to be the "chauffeur" for a young lady in high school who wanted to go to prom with her boyfriend.  This young lady and her boyfriend both had disabilities and could not drive.  Joe looked past the disability and saw a young lady who wanted to go to prom just like everyone else.  Joe arranged the evening for this sweet high school couple, and they were able to attend their senior prom and had the time of their lives. His genuine care and concern for his fellow human beings has always been an inspiration to me and countless others.  

 

Another quality of Joe's that has influenced me is his positive attitude.  No matter the situation, Joe always looks at the positive side of things.  Whether the situation involves his job as a teacher, his role as dad to our three daughters, or as mayor of the city of Sartell, his positive attitude always shines through.  When our youngest daughter was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of fifteen, he continually strengthened me with his positive outlook that she was going to survive.  Joe held up our family during that difficult time, and our daughter is now a seven year cancer survivor.  He believes in working hard and finding solutions through positive thinking and an optimistic frame of mind.  

 

I support Joe's run for Congress because I know that he will work hard for the people of the Sixth District. I know that he has a passion for people - to help them, uplift them, and do what he can to improve lives.    His tireless energy, his willingness to help others, and his positive attitude will benefit so many people.  If elected, I know that Joe's genuine and heartfelt concern for the people of Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District will make this a better world for all of us.

 Jan Perske

http://joeperske.com/main/

 

In my new role as Chair of the SD 35 DFL (Andover, Anoka, Ramsey, part of Coon Rapids), I have been busy with conventions, meetings, fundraisers, candidate searching, and writing letters to the editor.  Here's a piece I've written for the ABC Newspapers, particularly the Anoka Union-Herald, that I hope runs later this month...

To the Editor –

As we move into the community parade and county fair season, many of you will begin meeting the candidates for office this fall.  In our Anoka area, I hope you take notice of two endorsed DFL candidates:  Joe Perske for Congress and Peter Perovich for State Representative, District 35A.

We were blessed in this area, in my younger days, by some really good representation – Jim Oberstar and Bill Luther in the US House, and in St. Paul by Republicans like Chuck, John and Charlie Weaver and Democrats like Gene Merriam, Darby Nelson and Leo Foley.  These were thoughtful, prudent leaders, who were elected to govern, to make government better, and to find solutions with their fellow legislators – on both sides of the aisle – to fix problems, take care of our environment, and care for the citizenry, within the State’s fiscal means.  We’ve seen this type of approach to government from Republican Jim Abeler for many years, and from our neighboring Democrats Jerry Newton and John Hoffman.

This is not the way Republicans Mark Kennedy and Michele Bachmann represented us in Congress the past dozen years.  It is not the way that Republicans Tom Emmer or Rhonda Sivarajah plan to represent us in Washington if elected this fall.  It is not the way that Republicans Abigail Whelan or Justin Boals plan to represent us in St. Paul if elected this fall.

My party has endorsed two thoughtful, prudent leaders to represent the Anoka/Ramsey area in Washington and St. Paul next year.  Elect Joe Perske to Congress this fall, whether he faces Emmer or Sivarajah.  Joe Perske has been the non-partisan, but bi-partisan Mayor of Sartell, and before that was a City Council member.  A long time Phy Ed teacher, coach and competitive marathoner, Joe has led his teacher’s union, has been a leader in his church, and has been a community leader in the St. Cloud-Sartell area.  This outdoorsman is a warm, genuine, thoughtful man, who is a fixer – a problem-solver.  Sartell faced economic ruin when its paper mill burned a few years ago.  Mayor Perske and his Council worked to keep Sartell economically viable, and today, as a “bedroom suburb” of St. Cloud – similar in many ways to Ramsey and Andover and Coon Rapids- Sartell is booming and growing quickly.  This is a man who will represent the traditional, conservative values he grew up with, but who has demonstrated purposefulness in using government to better his community, not to tear down the fabric of government.

Elect Peter Perovich to the State House for District 35A (Anoka and Ramsey), whether he faces Whelan or Boals.  Peter Perovich grew up here, the son of a District 11 High School Principal and Mayor of Anoka.  His family’s roots are in making our schools work better.  His own vocational interests lie in protecting the outdoor quality of life that we have grown to love – and depend on economically – over the past half century.  This is a Democrat in keeping with a Merriam or a Nelson or a Foley – moderates who find a positive way for government to work on behalf of all of us – not just the few.  Peter Perovich will not bring a hidden agenda, designed to eliminate the government, to St. Paul.  He will not use the State Capitol as a forum to advocate one’s own religious beliefs.  He will not use the State Capitol as a forum to take away your Constitutional rights – whether that’s your right to vote, your right to marry, your right to bear arms, your right to free speech, or your right to privacy.  He will not use the State Capitol to leverage the state budget against your schools, against programs to fix our infrastructure, or against the evolving health care system in order to score points for a social agenda or their anti-government, libertarian friends.

Joe Perske and Peter Perovich – these are good people who will make great representatives for our area!

 

Wes Volkenant

Chair, Senate District 35 DFL

Merry Christmas, 2013 - and Happy Holidays!

It's been awhile since posting here, and even longer to use it as a forum to share Christmas greetings with Facebook friends, but let's give it a try in 2013.

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings,

 

Christmas season kind of snuck up on us this year, and we’re tending to these things late in the days before the holiday.  We’ll plead busyness, even though the holiday doesn’t change dates on the calendar.  Both of us are generally well, but work takes up more of our time and energy.  More on that later...  So, before we digress into a quick review of our past year, may we wish you all a Merry Christmas!

                                       

As we end 2013, it was clear that our 15^th year of marriage gave us some very special memories and some nice reminders of our love for each other.  We realize it’s not fun getting older, and each of us has some nagging aches and pains.  It was time to say good bye to a loved uncle.  And it was time to deal with being crime victims for the first time.  We – and Sasha – are ready to move on to 2014.

 

This past year was when our Princess Sasha “grew up.”  She discovered there is an outside world, and the two of us have learned both to follow her on “Sasha walks,” and the pleasure of sitting outside with her, while she is in her giant cage on the front stoop or is investigating the bushes around the sidewalk.

 

Growing up, the Lindes spent a lot of time with Cheryl’s Aunt Eulah and Uncle Bob Kingsbury.  Cheryl has stayed close to Eulah through the years. Sadly this year, we all lost Bob, who passed away in June at age 85.  As we approach this first Christmas since, we recall the legacy Bob Kingsbury left, perhaps best seen through his three sons, their many grandchildren, and the great-grandchildren, too.

 

Shortly after Thanksgiving, we were victimized by someone who broke a side car window, and stole Wes’s rolling briefcase off the back seat.  It’s amazing how quickly everything important can be fixed or replaced; we found the window broken on a cold Friday night, and by Monday afternoon, the window was replaced, and by the Thursday after, the County provided Wes with a new rolling briefcase.

 

The Hennepin County training unit has been very busy – and has been short-handed for a few months;  Wes helps train new Human Service Representatives (workers who deal with public assistance cases), and there have been large, new groups all year long, especially this fall when four groups (about 90 people) all got started.  Word is that in both January and March, the County plans to hire up to 75-80 more, which will be like having eight groups being trained at the same time next spring.  Know anyone looking for entry-level work in the Twin Cities?  Cheryl knows about things being short-handed, too – with two of her co-workers having left recently, and the work piling up.  We both know this makes for stressful days and tired nights.

 

Still, Wes has kept involved in area politics, continuing to meet monthly with other Democrats in the Andover-Anoka-Ramsey area (SD 35).  In February, he’ll be coordinating the DFL precinct caucuses at Andover High School for our District 35B precincts in this area. 

 

Wes joined a neighborhood book club through Facebook this year, with the group reading “Gone Girl” (interesting), “Molokai” (good), “Still Alice” (probably the best of the six read), “The Man in My Basement” (Wes’s pick - unusual), “Little Bee” (quirky), and “A Spot of Bother” (subject of our widest difference of opinion).  The group – Wes is the token guy - had good discussions of the books and chatted about what was going on in our lives.  Wes (and Cheryl) hosted the group in July, which usually finds four or five of us meeting.  Thirteen years in, this remains a lovely neighborhood – festive lights this time of year, a neighbor who creates a wonderful Halloween experience each fall, folks who help each other with clearing driveways and mowing lawns, and people at all stages of life, from young families to empty nesters to those with kids involved in area sports or away at college.

 

Wes also continues his union activities, although he chose to resign from his AFSCME Council 5 position as of the end of this month.  Responsibilities to the increased work at the County made it difficult to give his proper time to his statewide AFSCME members.  And this April, Wes will be stepping down after eight years as a Vice President of Local 34.  He is going to continue putting out the Local’s monthly newsletter for the foreseeable future, but it’s time for some new blood at the Council and the Local.  In 2013, Wes participated in another contract negotiation, and the result was more successful than in recent years – members are getting raises, “pay steps” will be paid for the first time in four years, we’ll have a good health insurance plan, and a revised job classification he worked toward for the past two years is being put in place in January.

 

We got away this year to three destinations.  We visited Milwaukee for the first time, flying there in February, to watch nephew Ben Linde compete in a multi-state gymnastics meet against other seven/eight/nine-year olds.  Ben did great, and we enjoyed a beautiful spring-like weekend, supping at a Wisconsin Friday night fish fry, touring the Harley-Davidson Museum and Miller Brewery, taking in a concert at the Milwaukee Symphony, and joining the gymnasts at ‘Safe House’, a spy-themed restaurant on the river.  This summer, we returned to the Iron Range, after visiting Ely, MN for the first time.  We went far below the surface at the state’s Soudan Underground Mine, which we highly recommend a visit to next year!  We also stopped at the Judy Garland Museum along Highway 169, in her hometown of Grand Rapids. 

 

Our big 4^th of July trip this year was to the East Coast, focusing on the 150^th Anniversary of Gettysburg.  We toured the Gettysburg battlefield and spent two days watching re-enactors relive the important moments of this three-day turning point of the Civil War. We based ourselves in Baltimore, where yes, Wes ‘dragged’ Cheryl to an Orioles’ baseball game at Camden Yards – a win over Texas. 

 

Not only did we drive to Gettysburg from our Baltimore hotel, but we spent two days in Washington DC, seeing the Fourth of July fireworks and joining the crowd of nearly a million on the Mall.  We walked the perimeter of the White House, stood in a longgggg line to visit the National Archives (anyone agree with Wes that the Archives staff are way too ‘militaristic’ in how they usher visitors past the Declaration, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?), visited the National Art Gallery and Smithsonian History Museum, enjoyed the International Spy Museum, and took a nighttime tour of the City – seeing the U.S. Capitol, and visiting the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and the new Martin Luther King Jr. monument. 

 

We also drove to Annapolis and Dover, visiting the capitols of Maryland and Delaware, and trying some great Maryland crab cake at Chicky & Ruth’s Delly, a block from the capitol in Annapolis.  We took in a different capitol at Harrisburg, PA, which was part of a visit to the President James Buchanan House at Lancaster, a drive through Amish country, and a fun evening in Hershey, at Hershey Chocolate World and a most unusually laid-out movie theater (where we saw the very appropriate “White House Down” the night before the “4^th”).

 

We finished our “Star Spangled trip” with a day in Philadelphia, where we walked Ben Franklin’s streets, paid our respects to the Liberty Bell (it is impressive, even if you feel rushed seeing it), took a trolley trip around the city, and visited Independence Hall on the day (July 8^th) that re-enactors re-created the first reading of the Declaration of Independence, a mere 237 years ago!  This was a “Wes-type” trip to celebrate our 15^th Anniversary, and it was memorable, so we’ll need to keep finding interesting places to celebrate our nation’s birthday – maybe Seattle this next year!

 

Our best wishes for the coming year!

Wes and Cheryl Volkenant 

 

-   visit us on Facebook, if you haven’t yet, or e-mail at cwvolkenant@msn.com