I say that with a roofing contractor as a neighbor, LaFrance, the contractor that did the house across the street. The owners are not merely satisfied but a step beyond, happy with that job. So I am not a roofing contractor hater. Nothing like that.
Yet there is one contractor who has failed to close over 90 - 95 percent of the permits he pulls in Ramsey, I saw a court affidavit about that, and that firm and its qualifying person for the contractor's license have been in litigation over quality of work done for a former Ramsey council member, but again apples in a bushel taste different.
Huizenga's firm, American Building Contractors, Inc., of Burnsville, Minn. does not have a website. A screenshot of Huizenga's campaign website is next, and at least he is honest about all he cares to tell you about his candidacy.
Not caring to put his name onscreen, on the homepage, he nonetheless has a message. He, however, does put his name on the donation page, presumably not wanting the checks misspelled.
Since there's no business webpage, start with watchdog, a conservative website in the north metro - the Anoka County Watchdog, homepage, here; column by column comparison between the GOP candidates, here.
Not being GOP, I see slim pickings either way, the name Elvig in things troubles me but that is a personal thing, not about either candidate, and you can read the watchdog reporting if you care.
Next, the online litigation of Huizenga's firm, not with a link because going through multiple search windows gives a link failure message. The screen shot, if you click to enlarge, gives the names, etc., but the hotlinks will not work from the image. (The court system navigation can be frustrating. It takes a bit of navigation to see, for example, the local politician who has three DUIs in his history when you thought there only were two, etc.). But if you care to try, the court page the screenshot was taken from can be reached from here, via a couple of intermediate screens from the "Access to Trial Court Records" link at the top.
Screehshot #2.
I could not find any candidacy webpage for Abeler, despite googles, here and here.
One of the hits under Abeler was not about Abeler, but Huizenga, and it is insightful, here.
Huizenga appears to not be an astute or politically correct individual from that, but that's how I read it, have a look, form your opinion.
I wonder if Huizenga checks citizenship of the roofing workers he hires, but it might be politically incorrect of me to speculate that way and thought police might jump me. It is an area in flux, see here, and I do know that in one Anoka County Court dispute it went to settlement quite quickly when the homeowner's will to discover identities of the actual workers he claimed did negligent work appeared close to being granted by Judge Gibbs. I saw the hearing and later looked at the online docket for that case, involving the former Ramsey council member, and it had been one of those three inch thick things where it looked like a deep pocket had been pushing a lot and hard, then it suddenly settled.
Enjoy. The GOP primary race should be interesting. It is the Grand Old Party. I hope they give us a grand old show. With good old boys.
I do not know if a donkey is running at all; good, bad or indifferent. We will see after the filing deadline, July 15.
_______UPDATE________
A clarification - when I write of navigating the court site pages, and the three vs. two DUI example, you can regard it as real or as a hypothetical, but not reflecting directly on either Abeler or Huizenga. To my knowledge, neither of them has ever had a single DUI, nor even a stop leading to a lesser charge or a warning. However, if you want as an exercise to navigate the pages and look at the criminal law litigation, district court docket level, you are welcome to use any politician's name to do a search. But, really, it is best to set such things aside and instead take a long skeptical look at the individual, that person's record and how it reflects good or bad judgment, good or bad temperament and attitude, conflicting personal or family interests or lack of that in facing public spending and community land use decisions, etc., and then to go by the gut level feeling - would I or do I want this individual making decisions for me, or in public office and impacting me and my community or my locale. It is how I decided twice to run for local office.
A second clarification - in writing of the roofing contractor not getting inspections as the law requires in Ramsey [and with a comparable indifference to lawful compliance in Elk River] it is NOT Huizenga's firm. Whether that roofing contracting firm does or does not close permits properly by getting intermediate and final inspections as the law requires is something YOU, if it makes a difference to you, can check with the two city hall staffs. I have not checked it, and have no knowledge either way.
______FURTHER UPDATE_______
Via the comments, to make any sense beyond "contribute" from Huizenga's website homepage, one comment indicated Flash Player needs to be installed.
Second, the homepage for Abeler is jimabeler.com
There Abeler says:
Since 1998, I have fought hard for the needs of the people of Anoka County. Some issues, like the Northstar Commuter Rail and transportation problems, are not resolved and will continue to be at the top of my agenda for the coming legislative session. Others, like education and health care, require ongoing effort even though I have had marked successes. Overall, as your local legislator, I have kept your priorities and values as my guide in making wise, "common sense" decisions for our district.
It appears he is not backing down on his anti-veto vote, and standing instead on his view of the soundness of his position, that transportation needs exist and need funding.
Comments like that are helpful and appreciated.