Minnesota attorney general candidate talks farmers, civil rights, police
"We have to get a fair economy for folks," he said Wednesday in a visit to the Tribune office. "We have to work for equal opportunity and good opportunity for every community in
To Pelikan, "The concentration of economic and political power in too few hands is the biggest problem facing us."
He said communities have lost leverage with health care providers because of the extensive amount of health care mergers, causing rural areas to lose services.
"We want to make sure that there's enough balance within our economy in these sectors so that communities like
He said though he opposes
A DFLer, Pelikan attended
After law school, Pelikan clerked for
He cited his experience advocating for progressive causes, including leading the College Democrats at St. Olaf, organizing against the Iraq War and working for former Democratic
Pelikan said he recruited and retained 3,000 volunteer lawyers to fight against voter suppression in
"In 2016, I knew I had to join the fight against Trump, so I quit my job, put everything I owned in storage and moved to
As a general practice lawyer, Pelikan focuses on consumer issues, civil cases for
Pelikan said he supports buffer laws instituted by Gov.
"We have to stand with farmers," Pelikan said. "A lot of these issues, there has to be a balance between protecting groundwater, protecting communities -- especially in southern
"You really need to be careful about what can seep in from agriculture, as well as some of the mining and extraction projects."
Pelikan said he is committed to women's reproductive rights and is pro-choice. He said he supports refugees and immigrant communities and expressed support for
Pelikan said changes in police tactics are needed after the shooting of
"There is no crime for which the punishment is summary execution," he said. "It is a very difficult situation for our officers -- I understand that. I respect the service they're doing, but I think we need to shift the balance towards protecting life and the civil rights of Minnesotans."
Pelikan called the issue "a crisis political leaders need to take the lead in solving." He said too many black men are killed by police, and their lives and freedom "are treated too cheaply."
To Pelikan, bias in criminal prosecution and policing needs to be eliminated.
He said he is the only attorney general candidate who has said no to Polymet and the large
"Extraction, fossil fuels are the way of the past, and they will not promote a sustainable economic future for
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