ST. CLOUD — Minnesota House of Representatives District 14A Rep. Bernie Perryman, R-St. Augusta, is facing Democratic challenger and business owner Abdi Daisane this election cycle.
The Republican incumbent narrowly won her first term in 2022, walking away with a 1.3% margin. Republicans are banking on Perryman to win once again as they hope to flip the Minnesota House and put an end to the DFL trifecta in St. Paul.
Daisane, 36, was born into a “well-off” middle-class family in Somalia, but that socioeconomic background changed as the country’s civil war broke out, and his family sought refuge at the Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya. The Democratic candidate told the St. Cloud Times he lived there 18 years before coming to the U.S. in 2009.
“My mom did everything she could to put food on the table. She would sell milk on the street. She would sell vegetables on the street. She would go out and get firewood and sell it,” Daisane said. “She did everything she could to make sure we survived in the refugee camp. Honestly, similar to my dad. Most parents were just going out and doing whatever they could so they’d come back home with some bread.”
While at the refugee camp, education played a major role in Daisane’s life. While he said the educational offerings were not as good as in the U.S., it set the foundation for him to get his GED upon arrival in America before ultimately making his way to St. Cloud State University, where he completed his bachelor’s degree in international relations and his master’s degree in public administration.
The university, alongside the city’s established Somali community, brought Daisane to St. Cloud in 2013 from Nebraska, where he initially settled upon moving to the U.S.
“I did a tour throughout Minnesota. I went to Willmar, Mankato; I went to a bunch of other places in Minnesota, and as I came to St. Cloud, I just loved it,” Daisane said. “My mom had some long time friends that already resided in St. Cloud. So I thought this would be really great for not only her, but also me because it's outside the big city in a smaller town with a university. I can definitely pursue my educational dreams and my personal dreams here in St. Cloud.”
Daisane’s business and its violations
Following those dreams is what Daisane did. He went on to open his own business, Blooming Kids Child Care Center, after he saw a need for early childhood education and daycare in St. Cloud. Today, Daisane said his business is booked with a waitlist of kids he’s not sure he’ll be able to accommodate in the foreseeable future.
“There's higher needs for childcare in greater Minnesota, so when I saw the need for childcare, and I found the opportunity to open one, I jumped on it and said, ‘You know, I'm going to do this,’” Daisane said. “It's a tough job and a lot of work. It's not easy because we are taking care of the most precious children.”
However, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Blooming Kids Child Care Center. Daisane and his business were in violation of many state requirements, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services. These violations have been consistent since 2021, according to reports, with some of the offenses repeating year to year.
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Blooming Kids Child Care Center has been found in violation of not containing sufficient student medical documentation, inadequate staff orientations, lacking documentation that teachers met qualifications, not having enough staff, equipment being in poor repair and more. All of these violations have been corrected, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
When asked about the violations, Daisane admitted responsibility, but he said the state could do more to help with daycare center staffing problems, saying it's hard to recruit staff in an industry with little pay and benefits.
“We have difficulties in recruiting folks to work at the daycare for obvious reasons,” he said. “One, we don't pay well. Two, we don't have a benefits package. It's a tough job, and it’s difficult to do all these responsibilities with such a low pay, changing diapers and feeding and making sure kids are safe.”
Daisane also said it's common for child care centers to get violations during annual visits. Several other child care centers in St. Cloud have multiple violations, such as New Horizon Academy. However, a good portion of St. Cloud child care centers have less violations than Blooming Kids Child Care Center, according to the DHS database. Some establishments, such as Love and Learn Childcare Academy, have no recent violations.
Minnesota Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud, is looking to alleviate the stress on child care center facilities statewide, and introduced legislation last session to enhance educational opportunities for those looking to get into the child care industry. This was in an effort to address the staffing woes experienced by Daisane and others in the industry.
Daisane’s goals if elected
The Somali-born candidate looks to tackle housing, economic development, education and gun control if elected to office. Daisane said housing is the first item he plans to address, saying it’s the most discussed issue when door-knocking.
“We have a lot of renters in this community, but rent is just going up, and the cost of everything is going up these days,” Diasane said. “But most importantly, rent is just going up every year when the income of the folks are not going up, or at least not the same speed as the rent is, which makes it very difficult for a lot of families to live in their community.”
Daisane is a renter himself and said he’d like to own his own house someday, calling it the American dream while recognizing it's slipping outside the average American’s grasp. That said, he told the St. Cloud Times he’d like to explore enhancing programs like a first-time homeowner grant to help alleviate that initial pressure for those new to the housing market.
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“Down payment assistance for first time homeowners is one of the innovative ideas that can actually help a lot of people who can afford the mortgage but cannot afford to put down $40,000 or $30,000 right away for down payment to buy a home,” he said.
The Democratic candidate also wants to put a focus on economic development. Daisane told the St. Cloud Times it has been an honor to serve on Mayor Dave Kleis’ Downtown Task Force, and he would like to work in St. Paul to help the city accomplish its goals to revitalize the area.
St. Cloud was hoping to get state bond funding toward the project in 2024, but the bonding bill didn’t pass.
With education, he said he’d like to increase funding to St. Cloud Area School District 742 if possible, alleging it has been underfunded for years.
Daisane also said he supports the second amendment, saying people deserve the right to own guns. However, he said restrictions should be in place to ensure responsible gun ownership to keep weapons out of the wrong hands.
"I don't want some crazy people buying guns and then taking it and causing a lot of harm to others," Daisane said. "As someone who grew up in a refugee camp where there's no sense of safety, I want to feel safe, and one way to feel safe is making sure that we have public safety, (such as police and firefighters), supported."
Corey Schmidt covers politics and courts for the St. Cloud Times. He can be reached at cschmidt@gannett.com.
