DFL can't wait until September, unifies behind Steve Kelley

(Sauk Rapids, MN) Those who showed up wanting to watch a DFL party endorsement fist fight were very disappointed on Saturday. With very little dissent, the DFL State Central Committee endorsed State Senator Steve Kelley for Attorney General.

Kelley made teamwork, party unity and defeating Republicans the theme of his endorsement speech. Listen to Steve Kelley's speech here (Runs 8:09)

Here is the text of that speech:

I'm Steve Kelley and I'm here to ask for your endorsement to be the next Attorney General of Minnesota.

And I want to thank all of you for driving here today. I thank you for your service to the party and to our state. We appreciate everything that you do.
I'm seeking your endorsement today because I can't wait to get out there and campaign with the DFL team this November.

With your endorsement today we can complete that team and take our party's message to Minnesotans. And that message is clear. We know the right things to do to make Minnesota great again. Invest in public schools. Make college tuition affordable and make sure every Minnesotan has universal access to health care coverage.

Build a transportation system that works and make sure that we're creating good jobs at fair wages. And here's what I'm going to bring to this team. As Attorney General I will work with Governor Mike Hatch and a DFL Legislature to make sure we have universal health care coverage.

Now I'm going to continue the good work that Mike has done -- holding health care companies and their executives accountable. No Minnesotan should worry that her hard earned dollars are going wrongly into the pockets of health care executives instead of into bedside care.

And with your help I'm going to work to improve the health care quality and patient safety. Every Minnesotan deserves the best care available. As Attorney General I'll work to protect individual privacy. As a legislator I've worked hard to protect our privacy. I was the chief author of the first Internet privacy bill in the country. And I'll continue to do that work as your Attorney General.

And I'll work with our county attorneys and our Attorneys General around the country to prosecute and prevent identity theft.

Now we have a new scourge in Minnesota today -- methamphetamine. It is threatening our kids. I'll work with police and sheriffs departments across the state to keep our communities safe -- cracking down on gangs and meth dealers, Internet predators targeting our kids and violent criminals.

I'm asking for your support today because I am ready to take this battle to the Republicans. They've got a State Auditor who thinks that public libraries are not essential services. They've got a Secretary of State who tries to make it harder to vote. They've got an Attorney General Candidate who wants to actually reduce regulations on big corporations. And they've got a Governor who wont' trust a woman to make her own health care decisions.

Mike Hatch and Judi Dutcher will get us to universal health care and affordable college tuition. Mark Ritchie will make sure people can vote and that every vote counts. And Rebecca Otto will strengthen communities and help lower property taxes.

As your Attorney General I promise to strengthen justice in Minnesota by standing up for those without power against those who misuse power.

We'll stand up for our children against the bureaucrats in Washington who think they know more than Minnesota teachers. We'll fight "No Child Left Behind".

We will stand against companies who are trying to victimize our vulnerable seniors. We'll stand up for working families by going after companies that wrongly classify employees as contractors. And we'll stand up against bigotry in all its forms.

Minnesotans and all Americans are looking to Democrats to lead us back to the principles on which our country was founded -- liberty, equality, and opportunity for everybody.

We need courage to stand up for the things we believe in. Now is not the time to let self-doubt and fear guide our actions. To be the leaders our state and country need we have to be united. Only by working together can we unify our nation and lead the way back to our basic values.

Now is the time to unite against the right-wing agenda, unite against divisive politics, unite for a better future for each and every one of us.

Now let's go out and win in November!