When Pat Anderson was a teenager, she got her âÄúsparkâÄù for politics when the Reagan administration reformed AmericaâÄôs welfare system. Anderson, a former state auditor and University alumna, said those reforms pushed her to take an active role in policy early on. On Nov. 2, Anderson announced she would seek the Republican endorsement for the 2010 gubernatorial race. She said her campaign marks a shift from partisan politics, calling for increased citizen participation and advocacy. As an international relations student at the University, Anderson serviced as Student Service Fee Committee chair in the Minnesota Student Association and helped eliminate a service fee at Boynton Health Services . She also credits much of her interest in government to her family who favored âÄúindividual libertiesâÄù and actively participated in government. Anderson said much of her participation in policy has been modeled by the platforms her parents believed in. Anderson served as state auditor from 2003-2007 before losing her bid for re-election to DFLer Rebecca Otto . She then served under Gov. Tim Pawlenty as Commissioner of Employee Relations, managing its merger with the Minnesota Department of Finance. This spring, she helped organize Tea Party rallies. AndersonâÄôs limited government platform focuses on MinnesotaâÄôs current tax system, economy, health care and K-12 education. âÄúWeâÄôve had a situation where politicians on both the right and the left are using government to foster their own vision on the world or to create programs that benefit their constituencies,âÄù she said. âÄúTo me, that is not the role government should play.âÄù If elected, Anderson said she would ditch the state’s corporate income tax and reduce income taxes, replacing them through the extension of the sales tax to services and clothing âÄî taxing consumption, not productivity. âÄúWe should not be discouraging productivity. We should be encouraging it,âÄù she said. She said stabilized revenues for businesses will increase employment in the state, emphasizing that the government cannot create jobs, but only shuffle resources from private to public sectors. âÄúLimited government has a purpose,âÄù she said. âÄúI believe people should be able to make their own choices.âÄù In an attempt to create a free market for health care, Anderson said getting rid of state insurance regulations and giving people on public programs the option to buy health care where they want are essential. Anderson, who has supports medical marijuana, said the government should not get involved in doctor and patient relations. Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, who is acting as treasurer for DFL candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher, said the republican candidate is âÄúextremely inconsistent.âÄù âÄúShe can slap any label she wants on herself, but the proof is in her policies,âÄù he said. In 2006, The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal named Anderson one of the stateâÄôs âÄúMost Influential Women to Watch,âÄù and one of MinnesotaâÄôs âÄúTop 40 Business and Community Leaders Under 40.âÄù AndersonâÄôs campaign kicked off a year before the 2010 election, promising 365 ideas in 365 days. âÄúPeople are looking for substance âĦ I provide something very different [than many candidates],âÄù she said.