Letter to Constituents
Letter
Letter to Constituents
With three weeks left, I am as busy on the trail as ever. Before coming back to Fargo last week I visited folks in Washburn, Lisbon and Enderlin. One of the things I enjoy the most as a statewide candidate is having the opportunity to meet so many great people from all over the state.
Last week I was to debate Governor Hoeven at KFYR television in Bismarck; however it was cancelled due to Hoeven declining to participate. The debate was to be broadcast statewide. Hoeven must feel the same way I dothat when voters have the opportunity to hear both of us put forth our ideas and values, they will agree with me more than they agree with him. The three debates Governor Hoeven and I have had as well as a Prairie Public Radio segment that was on the air today are on my Web site.
Last Friday was a special day for me as the Human Rights Coalition presented me with their first Arc
Of Justice award at their annual conference in Fargo. What an honor to receive an award named for Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, "the arc of a moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." In accepting the award I reflected on the two strongest influences on my own moral developmentmy family and the church.
My parents did not talk about human rights or even use those words. But over the course of my childhood they took in other children who needed the support of a family outside their communities. I remember Native American and then inner city African American kids being welcomed into my family and joining in all that my 12 brothers and sisters and I did.
The other major influence on me was the church. My life has been motivated by the teaching that every person is made in the image and likeness of God, or put another way, that every person is important. Translated, that means that every person has a right to food, education, shelter, health care and a decent paying job. Those are the values that have guided me as a social worker, as a state senator and now as a candidate for governor.
Thank you, and I'll see you on the trail.
Sen. Tim Mathern
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