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Roger Steinkamp

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Roger Steinkamp
Image of Roger Steinkamp
Elections and appointments
Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

University of Minnesota, 1975

Graduate

University of Minnesota, 1982

Ph.D

University of Minnesota, 1993

Personal
Birthplace
Redwood Falls, Minn.
Profession
Advisor to USAID
Contact

Roger Steinkamp (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Minnesota State Senate to represent District 24. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Steinkamp completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Roger Steinkamp was born in Redwood Falls, MN. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota in 1975, after transferring from Gustavus Adolphus University. He received a master's degree in 1982 and a Ph.D. in 1993, also from the University of Minnesota. His professional experience includes working as an advisor to USAID in education and youth development, teaching about agriculture, and starting a business.[1]

Elections

2020

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Minnesota State Senate District 24

Incumbent John Jasinski defeated Roger Steinkamp in the general election for Minnesota State Senate District 24 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Jasinski
John Jasinski (R)
 
63.7
 
25,943
Image of Roger Steinkamp
Roger Steinkamp (D) Candidate Connection
 
36.2
 
14,756
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
55

Total votes: 40,754
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Roger Steinkamp advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota State Senate District 24.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent John Jasinski advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota State Senate District 24.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

To view Steinkamp's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Roger Steinkamp completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Steinkamp's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Just call me Roger because Steinkamp is too hard to remember. I come from a farm south of Renville. I was ingrained with the values that a country church and the FFA can instill in a kid. My folks taught me to pursue life with integrity, honesty, and passion. I have done that in the service of people and community.

After brief stint in private college I transferred to the University of MN and earned a BS, MA and PhD in vocational education. Subsequently my professional career followed three paths. First I continued on the path started in 9th grade vo ag classes where I became State FFA Treasurer, and went to teach agriculture for over 10 years in Duluth, Little Falls, Austin and Renville. It was a wonderful time working with adolescents, preparing them for careers. The second path lead me overseas where I worked in foreign assistance and eventually for the US government. I've worked and lived in places like Rwanda, Kenya, Senegal, Montenegro, Macedonia, Djibouti, Palestine, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. I met my wife Lucie along this path. Depending on the country, I helped train teachers, form youth organizations, found cooperatives and assist dairy farmers. What an opportunity to grow and learn from other cultures, religions and economies while sharing the best of what we have. Finally, Lucie and I decided to develop an entire value chain of specialty sheep dairy products here in MN.

I've retired now, and wish to serve my community.
  • Serve the people, not the party or elite with money. I live in a diverse community and about a third are left out. Money talks, not people. Power has to originate from well informed people, not money or parities.
  • Focus on long range solutions not the problems. "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" and don't get distracted by propaganda and sensational problem mongers. Act in love.
  • Empower citizens. We have had moments of greatness when decent citizens came together to solve problems. We fall apart when we act in anger, greed and self interest. Purge the cronyism, greed, anger, and stupidity from the government that we own. We are the shareholders in our future with one person one vote.
Health Care ranks at the top. It is a right and should be treated as such. Every other industrialized country and most of those on the road to prosperity guarantee access to health care at about half the cost with better outcomes. It is not a commodity to be run by a monopoly.

Education has been turned upside down by COVID-19. We had underfunded mandates to educate our children before it came along and could keep ourselves distracted with extra-curricular activities, and nickel and diming school districts in the name of low taxes. COVID makes us look the problem right in the eye. How and do we educate our young people? We have a situation that we can use to rethink what we are doing and provide equal opportunities to all children regardless of the zip code.

Climate change is upon us. No serious person can deny that. The question is how can we mitigate the effects? Americans are great in a crisis and have so much intellect and energy to do the right thing. Let's get with the program. I don't want my grand kids looking back on how we plunged headlong into the abyss motivated by greed and self interest.

Injustice needs to be addressed in all its forms. The list is long... policing, child care, paid time off, living wages, affordable housing, immigration reform, regenerative agriculture, voting rights, economic security, food security and on and on. Let's focus on solutions not ideology and get it done.
I look up to you. Everyone has a story to share.

Of course there are people who have set the mileposts that can guide us through troubled times. The principle of love and sacrifice are the inspiring themes . Hatred is the opposite and destroys us.

I look in the mirror each morning and smooth out the lines of anger and anxiety and ask what would __________ do? You can fill in the blank. The important point is that each of us has the ability to choose our path and act accordingly. I find when we put hatred aside and act in love, we do good things. Turn off the propaganda station that deceives us. Turn off the sensational 24 hr news cycle that hypes a constant stream of anxiety. Then, I can turn to you for counsel. I have found that communities acting together in love and compassion find solutions to the miseries that confront us. And celebrate life in the community.

Nobody can solve your problems for you. It is too easy to play the blame game. It is not "their fault". It is our problem and we can find the solution(s).
Citizen power and control is key to democracy. There are three general rungs in the empowerment ladder. At the bottom is manipulation. The powerful use deceit, propaganda, coercion and pure passion to bend citizens to their will.

The middle rung is tokenism, where citizens are made to feel they are participating in some meaningful way but have no real decision making power.

When citizens have control they make decisions, hold their elected officials accountable and demand transparency, integrity and honesty.

When I ask people how they feel, most point toward the bottom. We need to take charge and transform the system. But, that demands people stay engaged, sort out the facts, and then engage with others in the community to develop equitable solutions.

Organizations and communities that succeed in creating a equitable society and economy have to work at it. The calisthenics and discipline needed to get there are not fun and hurt, but if we want to win the game, get with the program. I've never seen a winning team composed of couch potatoes pontificating on Monday morning. So team, let's go.
I have boiled down guiding principles for conduct to integrity, honesty and passion. There is hierarchy with integrity at the top and passion at the bottom. There were times when I had to choose between acting with integrity or for convenience. I chose integrity although there was cost to that. But I sleep well. I do not lie or take credit for things I do not do. I focus on and stick with a task until it is finished. I'm nobody's sycophant.
Lord of the Flies. Seems to relate to our current situation.
We need to focus on solutions to issues identified by our constituents (everyone in the district, including those who didn't vote). To the extent we find common cause to move forward we are partners in that quest. Horse trading is not part of the equation. Transparent action based on the best information available is the cure to pork barrel politics. Our constituents should hold us accountable for our actions in the legislature.

Bipartisanship has been deformed to the point of being undefined. I have read mailers of opponents that claim bipartisanship but when checked out, there was only one party in the sponsors of the bills. When queried, the response was they were sure there were elements of the bill that had been agreed to in previous negotiations.

In short, when we act with integrity and honesty, we find solutions and give credit where it is due.
I believe an independent, transparent non-partisan commission will come closest to addressing demands for reform. There is no perfect answer.
Paul Wellstone comes to mind. Although he had the academic credentials to sequester himself in a college, he chose to get out, understand and serve the average person. He came by my stand at the MN State Fair and started scooping ice cream with me while we chatted. He could empathize with everyone and had the courage to take a stand for those who were disenfranchised. We could use some of that courage today.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 19, 2020


Current members of the Minnesota State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Bobby Champion
Majority Leader:Erin Murphy
Minority Leader:Mark Johnson
Senators
District 1
District 2
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Rob Kupec (D)
District 5
Paul Utke (R)
District 6
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Jeff Howe (R)
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Vacant
District 30
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District 38
Susan Pha (D)
District 39
District 40
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Ann Rest (D)
District 44
Tou Xiong (D)
District 45
District 46
Ron Latz (D)
District 47
Vacant
District 48
District 49
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Democratic Party (33)
Republican Party (32)
Vacancies (2)