Local residents in attendance at a meet-and-greet for U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken Thursday indicated they were still in support of the candidate’s campaign message, despite the controversies that have risen lately surrounding his past actions.

“Al is known for being a comedian, but if you listen to his message, he’s thoughtful and caring — he’s his own man,” said Albert Lean Karen Meyerson. “We need people who are not afraid to speak their mind, rather than a guy who rubber-stamps.”

The brief visit by the former “Saturday Night Live” comedian at Trumble’s Restaurant in Albert Lea was part of a four-day “Standing up for Minnesota” tour throughout the state. The tour kicked off Franken’s campaign as the official DFL candidate for the U.S. Senate seat against Republican incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman.

Franken said though the last couple of weeks leading up to the state DFL convention weren’t that fun, most of his campaign is enjoyable and he does enjoy a challenge.

“It was gratifying to step into the convention with a challenge or two to overcome,” he said, referring to the recent slams against him concerning back taxes and some of his past actions.

After briefly touching on his origins in Albert Lea, Franken shook hands with people in the restaurant, posed for pictures and answered questions.

Art Anderson, Freeborn County DFL Party chairman, said he was pleased Franken won the nomination for the seat.

“I think it’s important to get out what he’s standing for,” Anderson said.

Dale Drescher, who was also in attendance at the event, said “what a person does decades ago does not reflect upon the person they are today.”

In response to some of the opinions aired at the event, Luke Friedrich, press secretary for the Coleman for Senate campaign said though the people in attendance at the meet-and-greet were in favor of Franken, “there are plenty of Democrats who are concerned about Al Franken’s record.”

“Congresswoman Betty McCollum called Al Franken’s remarks ‘appalling’ and has failed to endorse him, and just last weekend, the president of the DFL Feminist Caucus resigned because members of her organization decided to endorse him,” Friedrich said. “The reality is Al Franken has a 30-year record that includes joking about rape, writing pornography and attacking those who disagree with him. Democrat activists may not care about that record, but regular Minnesotans certainly will.”

Rick Mammel, who moved to Albert Lea almost a year ago, said he’s looking for someone who has creative as well as analytic skills.

After all, matters of national importance are on the line, he said.

While some see his work on “Saturday Night Live” as more of a negative than a positive, Marie Mammel said she thinks it is a good factor.

When Franken was 4 years old, his family moved from New Jersey to Albert Lea because his grandfather wanted to open a factory in the Midwest.

The factory failed after two years, and then the family moved up to the Twin Cities.