By Rachel E. Stassen-Berger

After months of traipsing across the state to separate forums, a host of DFL and Republican candidates for governor will share a table to talk about hunger this week.


Ten of the candidates for governor in 2010 — State Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook; former Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton; Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano; state House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis; state Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville; state Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall; Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner; state Sen. Mike Jungbauer, R-East Bethel; Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia; state Rep. Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis— are slated to show up for a forum on hunger and poverty issues on Wednesday.

We're guessing all the candidates will say that hunger and poverty are bad but their solutions to reducing them may be interestingly different.


The 1:30 p.m. event at the River Center in downtown St. Paul is part of Hunger Solution's Hunger Relief Event. Before the forum, Cokie Roberts, public radio analyst and television pundit, will address the gathering.

UPDATE:

The organizers of the event just updated their list of the candidates who will attend the event. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, a Democrat who has yet to officially declare his bid for governor, and Leslie Davis, a Republican who opened a campaign finance filing for governor back in 2002, will also be there.