Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak debuted his campaign for governor of Minnesota Monday night, speaking on the stateâÄôs need for progressive leadership and strong fiscal management. Rybak talked about key issues facing the state âÄî from higher education to gay marriage âÄî alongside 11 other candidates running in the 2010 race at a debate at Gustavus Adolphus College . RybakâÄôs appearance campaigning for governor comes less than one week after winning reelection as Mayor of Minneapolis. âÄúI was born in a great state, and I donâÄôt want to die in a mediocre one,âÄù Rybak said to the young crowd of about 200 students and community members. Seven DFL candidates dominated the scene, all in agreement that state taxes must be raised to stabilize the state budget. Talk focused on those topics most directly relevant to the stateâÄôs students, including job creation, higher education funding and offering solutions to the stateâÄôs budget deficit. âÄúAs the budget goes up and down, it reduces predictability,âÄù DFL candidate Steve Kelley said. âÄúWe need to have a system thatâÄôs both progressive and stable.âÄù Republican candidate Leslie Davis said the government canâÄôt âÄúpay debit with debt and get out of debt.âÄù Davis added that while the economy is in a downturn, things could get worse. Together, DFLers argued for increased funding for higher education and greater accessibility to the stateâÄôs higher education institutions. âÄúToo many students are graduating with too much debt,âÄù said DFL candidate Margaret Anderson-Kelliher , citing that many of todayâÄôs students graduate college with debt in amounts equivalent to that of a house mortgage. As the ratio of state funding for higher education to tuition dollars continues to shift âÄî University of Minnesota tuition dollars exceeded the institutionâÄôs state funding for the first time this year âÄî the candidates agreed that education has to be made a state priority. âÄúI donâÄôt care how tough the times are, weâÄôve got to find a way to do it,âÄù DFL candidate John Marty said. âÄúYou get what you pay for âÄî you invest [in education] and we see results,âÄù Kelliher said. Rybak was one of only two candidates who touched on the subject of gay marriage, and was applauded when he said he would proudly sign a bill in support of it. Susan Solarz , Ph.D. program coordinator at the University of Minnesota said she attended the debate because her choice candidate, Chris Coleman, dropped out of the race and she was looking to learn more about the other candidates before choosing a new one to support. âÄúWeâÄôve not elected a democrat as governor since 1986 and I think that has damaged the state and certainly has damaged the economy,âÄù she said. Solarz said she is most concerned with the issues of higher education funding, healthcare and the overall state of the economy. Other candidates in attendance included DFLers Tom Bakk, Susan Gaertner, Ole Savior and Tom Rukavina , Republican candidate Mike Jungbauer , Green Party candidate Peter Roess and Grassroots Party candidate Chris Wright .