Patricia Torres Ray: 2018 Election Guide
Welcome to WCCO.com's 2018 political guide!
We reached out to all Minnesota candidates running for U.S Senate, Governor, U.S Congress, Attorney General, Secretary of State and State Auditor this fall. Candidates were asked to provide a two-minute video discussing their platform as well as answer a set of our viewer's questions.
Above is the video and below the answers they provided. This is not a paid advertisement nor does WCCO endorse any candidate.
Responses from Patricia Torres Ray, DFL candidate for the 5th District:
Do you support changing the law to release non-violent drug offenders currently serving federal prison terms?
Yes. Mass incarceration and the war on drugs are failed policies and among the worst social and racial injustices in our country. Releasing non-violent drug offenders is one of many necessary steps toward ending the prison pipeline that is disproportionately devastating to people, families, and communities of color. Additionally, releasing non-violent drug offenders would save billions of taxpayer dollars annually that could be invested in education, healthcare, employment, housing, and other programs that are more effective at reducing all crimes, including those involving drugs.
Should Congress appropriate $25 billion to build a security wall along the U.S.-Mexico border?
No. Congress should appropriate $25 billion to fund public education, infrastructure and clean energy projects, and economic development that will create and grow opportunities for the prosperity of all who live in the United States already and all who seek to live here. Furthermore, we should not allow a myopic fixation on a border wall to distract us from working on real, durable immigration policies including protection for DACA recipients.
Should children brought to the United States with their parents illegally be given a path to U.S. citizenship, or should they be deported to their native countries?
They should be given a path to U.S. citizenship.
Do you think North Korea will "denuclearize," as President Trump says it will?
If it does, it will take decades. Trump has actually made North Korean denuclearization more of a challenge by dismantling the nuclear inspection framework that was operating under the Iran Nuclear Deal. North Korea has made empty promises to denuclearize many times yet never follows through because denuclearization is its only leverage in negotiations. Furthermore, North Korea's extreme isolation forecloses the kind of international inspections that would be required to verify denuclearization.
Do you believe in climate change, and should the U.S. rejoin the Paris climate accords?
Climate change is real, and it is the social, economic, and environmental crisis of our
time. The U.S. must rejoin the Paris climate accords and commit to fully transitioning
away from fossil fuels to a system of renewable energy and vehicle electrification.
Canada is retaliating for the U.S. tariffs by imposing tariffs of its own on Minnesota products. Among the Minnesota products: grain, aluminum, boats and boat accessories, packaged dairy products, ATVs, and much more. China imposed retaliatory tariffs on Minnesota soybeans and pork products. Do you believe it will hurt Minnesota producers?
Trump's tariffs are and will continue to hurt Minnesota producers, as well as Minnesota consumers who will inevitably begin seeing higher prices for the products they purchase.
