Goodhue Township resident Roger Kittelson announced his candidacy as an independent for the Minnesota House of Representatives 20A legislative seat.
The Goodhue County Elections Officer notified Kittelson on June 1 that his petition with over 500 eligible voters in Goodhue, Wabasha, and Douglas Township in Dakota County was accepted for his candidacy.
Kittelson and volunteers gathered over 500 signatures in the first seven days.
“The main comment from voters about this nominating petition, after it was explained to our eligible voters, was; we need more independents. That statement is now our campaign slogan, as one of the main reasons for this independent candidacy is due to the factional fighting within our State political parties and we believe it needs to stop,” Kittelson said in a news release.
He continued, “We Need More Independents in order to improve Minnesota so we can have a responsible legislative and executive branch of government working for us in Minnesota.”
Kittelson is running with the intent to focus on issues within education, public safety and healthcare.
He said, “First a state funded four-year-old preschool program for every school in Minnesota, increased funding for police safety and public safety in the communities that need help fighting crime, and supporting current healthcare legislation referred to as Minnesota – Healthcare for All.”
Kittelson has been a substitute teacher for Goodhue, Red Wing, Zumbrota and Mazeppa schools for the past four years.
“I have seen the advantages that a 4 year old preschool program provides our schools from kindergarten through high school. Furthermore, as a businessperson I know that a more educated workforce means our Minnesota economy will do better relative to other states” Kittelson said.
Kittelson’s professional background includes over 30 years as a Dairy Ingredients Marketing Manager with sales into the food, feed, and pharmaceutical industries domestically and internationally.
Now Kittelson splits his time between operating a small business marketing dairy ingredients to the food and feed industries and substitute teaching in the Red Wing and Goodhue School Districts.
Aside from his professional career, Kittelson was an eight year school board member and within those eight years he served for two years as Chairperson. He served on several ad hoc committees hiring two principals and one superintendent.
He graduated from Goodhue High School and went on to receive undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota.
“We are excited that gathering the signatures and receiving such a strong approval will be helpful in the goal of being elected this fall,” Kittelson said.
The general election for the District 20A seat is November 8, 2022.
