St. Paul deaf minister opens campaign for state House

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Last update: July 12, 2006 – 8:57 PM

St. Paul deaf minister opens campaign for state House
A deaf minister used sign language to announce his campaign for the Minnesota House Wednesday.

A deaf minister used sign language to announce his campaign for the Minnesota House Wednesday.
Speaking through an interpreter on the Capitol steps, the Rev. Emory Dively, a Republican, said he will challenge Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, who was first elected a decade ago.

Dively, a pastor at the Twin Cities Deaf Assembly of God in St. Paul, said he opposes tax increases and supports light-rail transit for St. Paul and better services for deaf people. He didn't want to talk about Paymar, but he said, "Ten years is long enough. Time for a change."

If elected, he said he would apparently become the nation's first deaf state legislator.

Obi Sium, an Eritrean immigrant who's running as a Republican in the Fourth Congressional District, also held a news conference at the Capitol. Sium said he grew up under a totalitarian regime and that the act of voting here moves him to tears.

He's challenging incumbent Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat. He said they differ on taxes, abortion and the Iraq war.


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