Wergin announces bid for new state senate District 16
Posted 4/11/02

Longtime Princeton area resident Betsy Wergin, a Sherburne County commissioner, announced Friday she will run for the Minnesota Senate in the new District 16 that takes effect Jan. 1. She will be running on the Republican ticket.

She made the announcement at Princeton City Hall, flanked by state senators Dan Stevens, R-Mora, Dick Day, R-Owatonna and Mark Ourada, R-Buffalo. Behind her was a map of the new district in which she will be running.

The new District 16 that was formed in state redistricting last month takes in all of Mille Lacs County, the eastern third of Morrison County, the east half of Benton County and all of Sherburne County except for the part in St. Cloud and in Haven Township, and only part of the city of Elk River. The part of Elk River in District 16 will be west of Highway 169 and north of County Road 32.

Day said he loves when county commissioners run for the Legislature because they know the people and issues in their area.

Stevens called Werginís decision a "crossroads" in her life and said that if there is one attribute that stands out about Wergin it is "honesty."

Ourada said he got to know Wergin during her time as county commissioner and said, "She knows how to work with people."

Werginís speech

Wergin noted that she served six years on the Baldwin Township Board south of Princeton and has been on the Sherburne County Board eight years.

"I love being a mediator, trying to find solutions for people," she said.

She admitted she doesnít know all the answers to problems but said that as a state senator she would work until she thinks she has the best answer possible.

Wergin talked about the history of her family in politics. Her late father, Jake Koppendrayer, was a Mille Lacs County commissioner and her brother, LeRoy Koppendrayer, was a state legislator for several years before leaving to take an appointment to the state Public Utilities Commission, where he still serves. (Koppendrayer was in the audience.)

Then Wergin talked about the stateís problems. The state has gone from record surpluses in recent time to state deficits, she said. "It behooves the state House and Senate to look at all the programs to decide what needs to be gotten rid of," she continued, vowing that she would be able to make the "tough votes."

She called education "still a top priority" for her, adding, "Itís not about education. Itís not about institutions. Itís about the kids."

Wergin talked about a wide disparity between the amount of funding per pupil among the stateís districts, going from a high of about $17,000 to a low of about $4,320. She noted Princeton being near $6,600.

She elaborated when interviewed Monday. She said she would advocate "more equalized spending" and the maintenance of local school board control over the money the state gives the districts.

Wergin listed transportation as a priority and talked about a report of someoneís normal 10-minute commute turning into 70 minutes.

Minnesota spends a relatively small amount on transportation compared to other states, she said, calling for a reshuffling of state spending.

Asked Monday if she supports the proposed Northstar Corridor rail line between St. Cloud and the Twin Cities, Wergin answered that it isnít needed now but because of the time it would take to get it implemented, she is in favor of the process getting started.

Wergin said she is pro life and said a "child is a child through every stage of development," and the state "needs to protect life."

She called it tragic when there isnít informed consent and a 48-hour waiting period before an abortion can be performed, explaining that it would give the pregnant mother a chance to reevaluate.

"Iíll do my best to dig into the issues and serve as best as I can," she vowed.

Wergin was born and raised on a dairy farm near Princeton and graduated from Princeton High School. She and her husband, Richard, live in Baldwin Township where she has owned and operated Betsyís KnitñNñStitch, a machine-knitting business, for about 20 years. She has decided to retire from that business.