Copyright 1994 Star Tribune.

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Joanell Dyrstad: Independent Republican U.S. Senate Candidate

Date published: August 24, 1994

By Patricia Lopez Baden
Staff Writer

Joanell Dyrstad has an image problem. She's an ambitious, driven woman locked into a smiling, dimpled, motherly persona - someone who comes off as so nice that even friends question whether she's tough enough to be a U.S. senator.

The two images have existed within Dyrstad all her life, at times serving her well, and at times holding her back.

As a youngster, she sought out responsibility and the authority that comes with it. She ran a Bible school at age 15. In college, she was the resident adviser who kicked boys out of the girls' dorm at midnight. When she graduated, undaunted by her youth and inexperience, she applied to be dean at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.

As a young mother in Red Wing, she joined a group trying to found a preschool and became its leader. Later, she would go on to lead many of the organizations she joined, whether it was the local United Way or the Minnesota League of Cities. By the mid-1980s, Dyrstad, an Independent-Republican, was mayor of Red Wing, a position she would hold for six years. She helped change the face of the historic river town.

In 1990, the onetime tomboy who spent summers beating the boys at softball and facing her grandfather down in math quizzes became lieutenant governor. Through it all, she has maintained an affable demeanor and perpetual smile that holds enemies at bay. But now she's in a grim political battle against IR-endorsed U.S. Rep. Rod Grams, who sits on a 40-plus point lead in the polls and a bankroll that grows fatter by the day. Suddenly, nice doesn't count.

So Dyrstad, determined to make headway, has launched some of the most caustic ads of the primary season against Grams, comparing the former TV anchor to Mary Tyler Moore's bumbling Ted Baxter - dubbed ``Ted Crackster'' in the ad.

But her image is so entrenched that many who saw the ads simply shook their heads and quietly wondered who could have talked sweet Joanell into such a thing.

The truth, Dyrstad said, is that she competes to win and always has.

Indeed, when told that some colleagues think she is too nice for Washington's dagger-style politics, Dyrstad bristles, although faintly. Her eyes narrow a bit and she leans forward for the first time in a long interview, flashing that protective smile.

``I don't think you have to be nasty to accomplish something,'' she says very quietly. ``You can work cooperatively, but you can also put your foot down and say, `This is it. We're going to do this now.' But still nice. I don't feel I have to change my basic personality to get things done.''

That, friends say, has been the key to Dyrstad's success: sweet but determined. Smiling through anger and waiting to make another attempt at persuasion.

``She upholds the Scandinavian tradition very well,'' said state Senate Minority Leader Dean Johnson, IR-Willmar. ``When you're ready to let someone have it, you get very quiet and grit your teeth. In 10 years, I've never seen her lose her temper or explode at someone. But I have seen her get quiet.''

Dyrstad is also battling another image problem that has bedeviled many a lieutenant governor and vice president: that because she holds a largely ceremonial job, she is a lightweight.

The perception is compounded by the fact that Gov. Arne Carlson, when he chose her, said she would play a major part in his administration, raising expectations that she would wield far more clout than her predecessors.

At the beginning, it appeared she would do just that. She delivered part of his first State of the State address - the first time a lieutenant governor had ever done so. The governor's daily schedule became their schedule, with Dyrstad's name and daily appointments given equal prominence.

Her office was moved from the far end of the Capitol into the governor's suite of rooms, and she was showcased with special projects and task forces.

But whether it was because Carlson turned out to be a dominant presence or because Dyrstad did not meet expectations, distance between the two appeared to grow after the first year. Shortly before Dyrstad announced her Senate candidacy, speculation was widespread that Carlson had not asked her to be on the ticket a second time.

Dyrstad calls such rumors ``absolutely inaccurate.'' Her decision to run for the Senate, she said, may stem more from the fact that No. 2 is not a position that comes naturally to her.

``I've always been the point person,'' she said. ``Maybe that's more reflective of my personality.''

Johnson, who is neutral in the Senate race, said Dyrstad had more to offer than was utilized by Carlson.

``Governors have not always used lieutenant governors to their best advantage, and the lieutenants become frustrated,'' he said. ``Joanell fit into that category.''

Dyrstad also maintains that she plays an integral part in the Carlson administration, but that much of what she does is not visible.

House Minority Leader Steve Sviggum, IR-Kenyon, said she handled projects ably, with a nonconfrontational, consensus style that served the administration well.

``She allows the group to make the decision,'' said Sviggum, who calls Dyrstad ``a very dear friend'' but who is supporting Grams. ``She can say no in a very congenial and friendly way. But that's not necessarily strong leadership.

``There has to be some in-your-face politics at the Washington level. Is she strong enough to do that? I don't think so.''

Ironically, it is some on the DFL side who disagree with that characterization.

``Her biggest sin is that she's a mainstream Republican in a party that's going to the right,'' said House Majority Leader Phil Carruthers, DFL-Brooklyn Center. ``She is a pleasant person. But I've also seen a steely determination in her. She has always struck me as quiet but firm.''

It is her skill at consensus, he said, that would be valuable in the U.S. Senate. ``She can work with the other side,'' he said. ``She's pragmatic, not intensely ideological. She'd rather get things done.''

And Carruthers admits that it is a small thing, but he likes the fact that Dyrstad reaches out to DFLers socially.

``At gatherings, she'll go and shake everybody's hand,'' he said, ``not just the IRs. She talks to us. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but Carlson doesn't do it. When it comes time to negotiate, things like that get remembered.''

Judy Christianson, a lifelong friend who has lived across the street from Dyrstad for 25 years, said that Dyrstad is often underestimated.

She remembers when Dyrstad, as mayor, fought to put sidewalks on busy Red Wing streets, because hundreds of children were being forced to walk in the gutters alongside morning traffic. The issue divided the community, with many homeowners resisting the additional cost.

``She sent people to count the number of children walking along the curbs on busy streets,'' Christianson said. ``She took pictures of kids walking in the snow, close to the cars. She got statistics. She just brought in so much evidence that she won people over. That's how she gets things done. She's not loud, but she's tenacious.''

It's tenacity that keeps her going in a race that some say she is likely to lose.

Grams is better-funded and has greater name recognition, thanks to years on the nightly news. He also carries an agenda - opposing abortion and expanded gun control - that makes him attractive to the kind of IR voters who will turn out at the primary.

Dyrstad, by contrast, is an abortion rights supporter, favors ``prudent'' gun control, including a ban on assault weapons, and opposes school vouchers for people who want to send their children to private schools.

She supports aggressive family planning and places a special emphasis on women's health issues. It is an agenda that might appeal to many middle-of-the road voters, but in a party where cachet comes with an endorsement by the National Rifle Association, Dyrstad is considered too liberal.

She will, however, change neither her party nor her platform.

``I was part of the Young Republicans in college,'' she said. ``And I think there's room in this party for moderate Republicans.

``I have watched the base of the party narrow over the years, but that doesn't mean I'm going to change who I am.''

Throughout Dyrstad's 51 years, life has been full of hard work, although remarkably free of adversity.

Joanell Sletta grew up in a supportive extended family in St. James, Minn., with a stay-at-home mom and a carpenter dad.

She married the fellow she met one summer working at her uncle's drugstore and has stayed with him nearly 30 years.

The drugstore that she and Marvin Dyrstad, a pharmacist, started in downtown Red Wing as a young couple continues to thrive. They have two grown children, Troy and Anika.

Free time? There hasn't been much, but when Dyrstad gets some, she and Marvin go boating on the Mississippi or strolling through Red Wing. Occasionally, there's time to sneak out on the deck and read a Tom Clancy thriller.

And, oh, yes, she's still chipping away at a master's degree in public administration from Hamline University in St. Paul.

``I think I've had a very interesting journey,'' said Dyrstad, sitting in her wood-paneled lieutenant governor's office, surrounded by pictures of herself with family and Republican luminaries. ``There's not a whole lot I would have done differently.''

She doesn't plan to lose in September, but should that happen, don't expect Joanell Dyrstad to retire quietly to Red Wing with a bag of detective novels.

``I'll see what my options might be out there,'' she said, smiling almost to herself. ``There's still a lot I can do.''

Q & A: Where Dyrstad Stands

Health care: Would you support a Clinton-style managed competition reform, a Canadian style single-payer plan or some other version of health care reform?

Supports managed competition and is opposed to a single-payer plan. ``I do not favor employer mandates - I believe they would have an adverse affect on job creation. I favor universal access, not universal coverage. Cost containment and improved accessibility are the keys to significant health care... I will not support legislation which seeks to achieve universal coverage through job-killing mandates on small businesses, price controls or the creation of a massive new government bureaucracy.''

U.S. military: What role should the military play in Bosnia, Rwanda and other countries torn by civil strife? In general, what role should the U.S. play in the post-Cold War era?

``Our actions should be pursued multilaterally - through the U.N., NATO, etc - when possible; unilaterally when necessary. We cannot be reluctant to use our power when vital interests are at state (In Bosnia, Haiti and Rwanda, I believe the U.S. should work through multinational forums because humanitarian interests, not strategic interests, are at stake.)''

Welfare: What changes in the welfare system, if any, would you support?

Would limit welfare payments to two years. Advocates larger increase in Earned Income Tax Credit. Would require states to establish paternity at birth, with more vigorous pursuit of ``deadbeat dads'' to pay child support. Would not reduce AFDC payments to families whose father is at home; would require minors with children to live at home.

Economy: What should the federal government do to spur the U.S. economy, both in the short term and long term?

Advcocates six steps: reduce the federal deficit, remove unnecessary regulation of small business, enact tax policies that reward savings and investment, contain health care costs and advocate free trade agreements.

Agriculture: The 5-year Farm Bill will be on Congress' worklist next year. What changes, if any, would you make in the amount of money spent on farm support? Are there any farm programs that should be eliminated?

``The 1995 Farm Bill must support a greater role for ethanol, extend the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), allocate more money to the wetlands reserve program, and reform the federal milk marketing order system... Ethanol is cleaner, renewable fuel and - as a growth industry in Minnesota - it will help rural development. The CRP will keep the most erodible land out of production, while increased funding for the wetland reserve program will add to the 75,000 acres that are now in the program. The federal milk marketing order system must be reformed because Minnesota dairy farmers are being grossly underpaid.''

Urban issues: What role should the federal government play in the revitalization of cities? Specifically, what should Congress do about the increasing need for housing for the poor.

``The federal government can help invigorate cities by giving real control and incentives those who now live in urban areas. I support these specific urban policies: Enterprise zones to ``jump start'' economic growth; Removal of burdensome and unnecessary regulatory barriers to affordable housing (i.e. restrictive zoning ordinances, costly ``impact'' fees, unneeded safety features, etc); Tenant management/ownership of all housing.''

Federal deficit: How would you cut the deficit? Would you be willing to cut entitlements like Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare?

Supports balanced budget amendment and line-item veto; would review all entitlements, except Social Security. Would cut budgets of government agencies by 5 percent and gradually increase the retirement age for Social Security. ``I believe we must also look at limiting the home interest mortgage deduction at some reasonable level. Further prudent cuts in defense are also appropriate.''

Crime: Should repeat, violent offenders be locked up for life? What policies would you pursue regarding the increasing availability of guns?

Supports the Brady Bill and ban on assault weapons. Supports ``three strikes-you're-out'' legislation for repeat, violent offenders. Would increase economic opportunities for the poor so crime is less attractive. ``Older criminals who have demonstrated a willingness to better themselves through education and job training, and who have served a fair portion of their sentence, should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for release.''

Family: How do you define family values and how far should the federal government go in its attempts to strengthen those values?

``I do not believe there can be one definition of ``family values.'' Values are a combination of moral, cultural and spiritual beliefs and are therefore extremely personal. I do, however, believe that we as a society, share common beliefs and that public policies must reflect these beliefs in our legislative agenda. Government can help reinforce the lessons of civility, responsibility and respect - both for oneself and for others. There are also a set number of policies the federal government can enact to help the family especially in terms of tax policies that reward and encourage work and allow parents to spend more time with their children. There are also welfare reforms, which I have outlined, that can help strengthen the family unit.''

Nuclear: Minnesota just emerged from a struggle over the storage of nuclear waste, a struggle engendered by the federal government's foot-dragging on its promise to develop a national waste storage site. What would you do to speed this process?

Would use the $4 billion collected from utility users (to be used to fund disposal of nuclear waste) to identity and begin building a permanent storage site. ``The long-term solution is to accelerate the development of alternative energy sources. To facilitate this, the government should increase energy efficiency requirements, provide greater tax credits for solar and renewable energy, and enhance tax relief for alternative energy producers.''

Leadership: What special qualities of leadership do you bring to the office you are seeking?

``I have proven record of responsiveness, responsibility and leadership. As major of Red Wing, I was chair of the Minnesota Mayors Conference and was active in the National Municipal League. I was also instrumental in getting Red Wing 2000 established. As lieutenant governor, I helped erase a $1.8 billion deficit; led the fight for passage of a tough anti stalking law; pushed for strict sentencing guidelines; and led a Midwestern states' delegation to Washington to obtain flood assistance for our region. I was also elected by my peers to chair the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors... Congress urgently needs leadership that focuses on solving problems, not narrow political agendas. I am running for the Senate at the urging of people who have observed me in action as a successful small business owner, a city and state official and leader... They know me as someone of integrity and action, working in the `vital center' with all factions, getting things done - on crime, health care and the state deficit.