Gary Eder

Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.
I am a 59 yo single person who also has a 23 yo son living in southern MN. I graduated from the University of Minnesota, School of Dentistry in 1974 and have been a practicing dentist since. I am currently practicing dentistry at the Department of Corrections facility here in St. Cloud. My son graduated from Mayo H.S. in Rochester and then achieved a degree in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State. 

What experience do you have that prepares you for public office?
I have been a school board candidate in a Rochester, MN election and was actively involved in the school system while I lived there for 27 years. While there I was on two non-profit organization boards and served as a member of two elected positions in other organizations. I have had further negotiation experiences while I was a member of these organizations. 

Why you decided to run for this office?
I have received a lot from the educational process and have always wanted to give back with my time and effort. I feel with my diverse background I would be able to interject some information to the board decisions and hopefully work to bring the district back into a position of financial security. It has also been my opinion that the recent actions of the current board has led to some of the problems we currently face. I would like to be a part of the solution in working to better our system. 

Top three issues you would tackle, if elected.
Obviously the financial concerns must be a top priority. A second area of concern would delve into the area of academic excellence, what it means to each student and how we can work to make it happen for the entire student body. Thirdly I would like to see a continued attempt to informing the citizens of the district about the proceedings and progress of our school system. We need a continued educational process and not the rapid dissemination of information when we have a crisis situation like we do now with the financing problems.