Several hundred LGBT Minnesotans arrived for food and live music at the VFW hall at Voyageur Park in the north end of town. The theme, “We Are Family,” was a nod to the notion that LGBT people are part of the fabric of the larger Pine City community.

“A family is not only one of inclusion, but of values of hard work, respect for others, love and commitment, along with a sense of belonging to the greater community of East Central Minnesota,” said Don Quaintance one of the picnic organizers.

The event, Pine City Pride, is one of only two known rural LGBT pride events in the country, serving as an important networking and community-building opportunity for LGBT people living in rural Minnesota.

This year same-sex marriage was the hot topic as four states, including Iowa to the south, have made same-sex marriage legal. OutFront Minnesota was at the picnic providing education on — and gathering support for — a campaign to bring marriage equality to Minnesota within the next three years, by which time the state will have a new governor; only days earlier Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who had stymied many efforts to pass LGBT legislation, announced he would not be running again.

“There’s going to be a lot of changes in Minnesota,” said Sen. Rick Olseen, a DFLer who represents the district. “It’s time to be really active and support a governor that supports equality.”

An early-announced candidate to replace Pawlenty on the DFL ticket, Sen. John Marty gave a rousing speech.

Marty said he’s fighting for full marriage rights for same-sex couples, and nothing less — such as civil unions — would be acceptable.

“I don’t care what [Rep.] Michele Bachmann and her ilk like to call it. We call it gay marriage,” said Marty. “I don’t want to tell anyone else what to call their relationship… A same-sex marriage is not hurting anybody else. And that’s one of the reasons I’m running for governor.”

He added that it took “hateful people like Michele Bachmann” to rally Minnesotans against the LGBT community.

Only four blocks away in Robinson Park, a “pro-family picnic” was being held in response to Pine City Pride.

“The GLBT picnic is being brought in by groups from around the state. If you go to their Facebook group, you can find people asking to be bused in from Minneapolis,” said Abe Mach, pro-family picnic organizer and director of the Pine City Republicans. “These aren’t the values of our community, and we want to make that clear. We do not want to this to become the defining event of our city.”

Mach said on a Facebook page for the event that he sees the LGBT picnic as an assault on Pine City families.

“The attack on traditional family values is coming from radical homosexuals desiring to introduce their lifestyle to kids in order present an alternative to the natural heterosexual lifestyles they are born into,” he told critics. “We simply want to be able to protect our children and families from what we believe to be a negative influence.”

Despite the invective, the pro-family picnic was a subdued affair. Children sang gospel songs and at least one politician spoke.

Rudy Takala, a Republican running for the State House district around Pine City, urged attendees to send letters to their elected officials opposing rights for same-sex couples.

“We can make them fear this time of year if we send them letters,” he said.

A lone pro-family activist made his way over to the LGBT event. He wielded a large sign that read, “Where will you spend eternity? With God or Satan?” and shouted Bible verses at the crowd.

Sen. Marty acknowledged the detractors.

“We aren’t going to allow their hate to ruin our day. This is the pro-family picnic, not the one on the other side,” he said. “I’m glad to stand with you on this bitterly cold June day. It’s a cold day, but there are a lot of warm hearts. Thanks you for standing up for your community in Pine City.”

At least 10 challengers have filed papers with Minnesota’s Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board since Election Day announcing their intent to run for the state House or Senate. Not surprisingly, given the strong Democratic majorities in both legislative bodies, the bulk  of these early contenders (seven) are Republicans.

Rudy Takala, a veteran GOP activist and chair of the Pine County Republican Party, intends to run against Rep. Tim Faust in House District 8B. Faust has squared off against Judy Soderstrom in the previous three elections, winning two of the contests.

Takala believes it’s time for someone else to take a stab at the seat. He expects gay marriage and high taxes to be important issues in the 2010 contest and argues that the state Republican party has strayed too far from its conservative roots.

“I don’t think they look at who the best candidates are,” he says. “They look too closely at whose turn it is. I think that needs to change if we’re going to get better candidates.”

Another swing district that’s likely to see an electoral battle in 2010 is 41A in Edina. Rep. Keith Downey survived a tough three-way contest last year to keep the seat in the GOP column, winning with just 37 percent of the vote. Downey got the Republican endorsement over nine-term incumbent Ron Erhardt, who was shunned by his party after voting to raise the gas tax.

Doug Pagitt has already signed up to run on the DFL side of the ledger in 2010. He’s motivated in part by the ugly manner in which local Republicans dispatched Erhardt after nearly two decades of service.

“I think that they shouldn’t be rewarded for that kind of behavior,” Pagitt says. “I think it’s mean-spirited and narrow-minded.”

The fledgling politician is the founder of Solomon’s Porch, which is described as a “holistic, missional Christian community,” and the author of numerous relgious books. Although he filed to run for the House, Pagitt could alter his plans and take on GOP Sen. Geoff Michell. Either way the early filing will allow Pagitt to begin raising money and establishing name recognition.

“It takes a while,” he notes. “It’s not easy starting from a dead stop.”

Another candidate with a religious background has filed to run in Senate District 31, currently held by Democrat Sharon Erickson Ropes. Paul Ibisch is the pastor at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in La Crescent, and also chair of the Republican Party in Houston County.

“I’m an ordinary person who lives from paycheck to paycheck,” says Ibisch, in explaining why he filed so early. “I have to really establish a grassroots support system for my campaign.”

Social issues, including opposition to abortion, will be a focus of his campaign. “We’re very concerned about family values and the well-being of the family in our community and our state,” he says.

Democrat Lisa Fobbe won her Senate race by just 84 votes in District 16, which leans heavily toward the GOP. She almost certainly benefited from the write-in candidacy of disaffected Republican Mark Olson, who garnered almost 1,500 votes.

Not surprisingly Fobbe has already attracted opposition for 2010 — Republican Jason White, an emergency room nurse, fiscal conservative and political neophyte.  “The consensus is if you get your name out there early you have a better shot,” White says.

In Senate District 52, Dennis Hegberg is the only candidate registered to run as an independent. The Washington County Commissioner has historically been a Republican, but the local party refused to endorse him for re-election last year after he voted to enact a transit tax.

Hegberg says he probably won’t run if incumbent Sen. Ray Vandeveer decides to seek another term, but by filing early he can begin to raise money.

“If I go as an independent, it’s a very difficult task to do,” he notes.

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