Tag Archive for: Kelly Armstrong

Armstrong’s Ukraine vote is “cowardly” says Dem-NPL Chair

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 22, 2024

FARGO — On Saturday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to provide around $60 million in aid to support Ukraine. All the Democrats present and 101 Republicans voted for the bill, however, a notable “nay” was North Dakota Representative and Gubernatorial candidate Kelly Armstrong.

North Dakota Democratic-NPL Chair Adam Goldwyn said, “Rep. Armstrong’s vote against Ukraine aid is cowardly. The fight to protect democracy isn’t a metaphor for the brave Ukrainians fighting against Putin’s invasion. This war is deeply personal for me—my mother-in-law and father-in-law live in Kyiv. How do I tell my own family that my representative doesn’t have the backbone to stand up for them? Armstrong is putting American and Ukrainian lives on the line as he grovels to extremists in the Republican Party. We need to elect folks like Trygve Hammer and Katrina Christiansen to Congress who will support our allies.”

CONTACT:
Laura Dronen
Communications Director
(701) 566-0616
[email protected]

Piepkorn and Hart Aim to Take Back Executive Branch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Saturday, April 6, 2024

Merrill Piepkorn and Patrick Hart earned endorsements from the North Dakota Democratic-Non-partisan League Party at its convention Saturday, vowing to take back the Executive Branch and bring balance to North Dakota government.

Piepkorn was nominated to run for Governor and Hart for Lieutenant Governor. Piepkorn said the two would be partners in the Capital to listen to the public and work with both parties to solve problems.

In speeches to delegates accepting their nominations, both candidates stressed the need to bring North Dakota together and get past partisan divisions. Piepkorn said he was nominated to be Governor for all of North Dakota, not just the Dem-NPL party or people who agree with him. Piepkorn called for supporting affordable childcare and school lunches, reforming but not eliminating property taxes, and developing agriculture and energy opportunities. He said healthcare decisions shouldn’t be in the hands of the government.

“If we want strong families and healthy communities, we need to get serious about mental health care and treatment for addictions. We need to protect the land and heal the wounds between us as cultures. We need to talk to each other again as neighbors,” Piepkorn said.

Hart said the state had lost its checks and balances and needed to restore bi-partisanship and accountability. “Good government starts at the top,” he said, stressing the need for integrity in state leadership and a commitment to transparency and efficiency in public agencies to serve the public better.

As a small business owner, Hart said, he understands firsthand what it takes to support small business and North Dakota’s main streets. North Dakota needs to welcome a workforce instead of driving them away, he said. Support for secondary agriculture markets, economic models like coops, and collective buying to keep rural grocery shelves stocked can benefit the whole state but also “can keep small towns that may be one bar or one grocery store away from turning out all the lights.”

Piepkorn has served in the North Dakota Senate since 2017 representing District 44 in Fargo. He is the current assistant minority leader and has served on committees that include Employment, Energy and Natural Resources, Finance and Taxation, Agriculture, and Human Resources. Originally from Stanley, N.D., he has been a producer and performer for Prairie Airwaves and Prairie Public Broadcasting for almost twenty-five years.

Hart, originally from Pembina who now lives in Bismarck, worked as a fertilizer auditor for North Dakota Department of Agriculture and a grain warehouse inspector for the Public
Service Commission. He is now a partner in Anytime Works, a general contracting company, and Anytime Rentals, a rental and real estate holding company. Hart has held officer positions in the North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party and was a candidate for State Auditor in 2020.

Contact Information:
Shannon Charpentier
[email protected]
(701) 793-0566

‘Neither Armstrong nor Miller actually want to secure the border’ says Dem-NPL Chair

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 29, 2024

FARGO, ND – As the Republican Gubernatorial Primary grows increasingly negative, a new ad from Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller falsely claims a cartel attack happened under President Biden’s watch. In reality, Donald Trump was president at the time, and it didn’t even occur in the United States.

North Dakota Democratic-NPL Chair Adam Goldwyn remarked, “People’s lives and livelihoods hang in the balance at the US-Mexico border, but neither Armstrong nor Miller actually want to secure the border or help the people of our border regions. If they did, they would have supported the Senate Bipartisan Border Deal. These two are more interested in playing political games than solving real problems. The Democratic Party stands ready with real solutions to real problems while the Republicans continue to play political games with real people’s lives.”

In February, House Republicans and Donald Trump sank the bill to secure the border. This prompted US Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), who’d negotiated the bipartisan agreement took to social media to say, “The border is a money making grievance machine for Republicans. That’s all. Period. Stop. Keeping it a problem raises them money, drives ratings, helps them win elections. They don’t want to fix it. That’s why they killed the bipartisan border bill.”

During President Biden’s 2024 State of the Union, he remarked, “’That bipartisan bill would hire 1,500 more security agents and officers, 100 more immigration judges to help tackle the backlog of two million cases, 4,300 more asylum officers, and new policies so they can resolve cases in six months instead of six years now. What are you against?” The key Republican negotiator on the bill US Senator James Lankford (R-OK) was seen saying, “That’s true” and nodding his head.

CONTACT:
Laura Dronen
Communications Director
(701) 566-0616
[email protected]