By Phillip C. Parrish, Retired Navy Lt. Commander, Teacher, Farmer, and Candidate for Governor of Minnesota in 2026
Fellow Minnesotans—picture this: You open your mailbox to find your property tax bill up another 8–11% this year, on top of the 28% spike some of us have already swallowed since the so-called “surplus” vanished. Your power rates? Poised to jump 21% or more, courtesy of a fresh deal handing our utilities to Wall Street giant BlackRock. You’re not imagining it—this isn’t bad luck or “unavoidable inflation.” It’s a calculated squeeze, designed to price you out of your home, your business, your very stake in the North Star State. And the worst part? It’s being sold to us as progress, while the truth-tellers among us are drowned out.
I’ve spent my life serving: over 21 years in Navy Intelligence exposing waste and fraud, teaching kids to think critically, farming the land that feeds us all. Now, as your candidate for Governor, I’m sounding the alarm on a premeditated agenda that’s eroding the Minnesota we love. It’s not about left or right—it’s right versus wrong. And the majority of us, the hardworking families from Duluth to Rochester, from the Iron Range to the suburbs, are the true power here. We just need to see through the smoke.
The Lies They’re Telling—and the Truth They Won’t
Let’s cut the fog. The spin is relentless: “We have to raise taxes for schools and safety.” “This BlackRock deal is for clean energy and jobs.” “The surplus? It went to help everyone.” But peel back the layers, and you see the playbook: Blow an $18 billion windfall on pet projects and unchecked spending, then shift the bill to you while handing public assets to private profiteers. Gov. Walz’s crew raised $10 billion in new taxes—payroll, sales, you name it—while leaving us with a deficit and forcing local levies skyward. Minneapolis? Up massively after riots gutted downtown businesses, slashing commercial tax shares and dumping more on homeowners. Edina, Minnetonka, St. Louis Park—all hitting the max 8–11% hikes, with counties like Hennepin and Anoka pushing 7–17%.
The BlackRock-Allete takeover? Approved October 3 by a Public Utilities Commission Walz handpicked entirely—5-0, against the state attorney general, consumer groups, even their own judge who called it “not in the public interest.” Why? Allete needed cash for Walz’s carbon-free mandates, sure—but BlackRock’s $6.2 billion buyout (with Canada Pension partners) means they control Minnesota Power for 150,000 of us, from the Range to the farms. Expect rate hikes to fund $4–5 billion in “upgrades”—wind, solar, batteries—that line investors’ pockets, not yours. It’s no coincidence: Taxes force sales, utilities spike costs, and suddenly distressed properties are ripe for corporate grabs. BlackRock’s already on track to own 60% of U.S. single-family homes by 2030—your home could be next.
This isn’t oversight. It’s consolidation: Power and money funneled from families to elites. Walz’s “one Minnesota” rhetoric? A veil for an exodus that’s already cost us 58,000 residents and $2.4 billion in income since 2019—high-earners fleeing 38% faster under his watch. The unwitting—good folks on city councils, trusting voters—buy the “essential” line without seeing how it props up fraud-riddled programs and donor deals. But the architects? They know. And they gain: Political clout from green virtue-signaling, donor cash from REITs and PE firms scooping bargains.
Standing with the Truth-Tellers: You’re Not Alone
To every voice crying out—the mom in Edina staring at her doubled bill, the Iron Range worker dreading winter heat costs, the small business owner in St. Cloud who’s had enough—I see you. And I’m amplifying you. Shout-outs to the brave ones like Ray G on X, blasting “Stop the lies! Our power bills are going up because Walz sold us to BlackRock!” Or Liberty4All, exposing how “Walz has raised taxes much more than $10 billion… hurting homeowners, small business, renters, and everyone.” Journalists at the Minnesota Reformer and American Experiment, who warned this deal harms constituents for elite enrichment. Even the Sierra Club and state AG, fighting the PUC rubber-stamp. You’re the unwitting no more—these truths are your megaphone.
I’ve blown the whistle before: On refugee fraud siphoning billions, on agency bloat wasting your dollars. As Governor, I’ll audit every penny, cap levies at inflation, block predatory buyouts, and claw back funds from the crooks. No more shifting costs to counties while surpluses evaporate. We’ll rebuild with servant leadership—putting families first, from education to infrastructure, without the partisan games.
Ignite the Groundswell: The True Majority Rises
Minnesotans, this is your moment. The “unwinnable” narrative? A lie to keep you sidelined. We’ve seen it shatter—at Farmfest, in county meetups, online where thousands echo “We’re fed up!” You’re the majority: The teacher scraping by, the farmer battling mandates, the retiree eyeing Florida not by choice, but necessity. Join me—not for anger, but action. Visit parrish4mn.com to volunteer, donate (every dollar fuels events and truth-spreading), or host a County Ambassador booth. Buy our gear, sponsor literature—your time, talent, treasure turns whispers into a roar.
Together, we’ll expose the agenda, reject the lies, and reclaim what’s ours. Because in Minnesota, we don’t just endure winters—we conquer them. And this storm? We’ll weather it as one. Right will prevail. Who’s with me?
Phillip C. Parrish
Candidate for Governor – Putting Families First
parrish4mn.com | @phillipcparrish
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