…p.s. The Political Scene: 25 years after Joan Growe became the first woman to run for a major statewide office

..p.s. The Political Scene: 25 years after Joan Growe became the first woman to run for a major statewide office

Our drizzly June weather on Tuesday evening didn’t suppress the turnout at one of the great parties of the year, the 25th anniversary of Joan Growe’s DFL endorsement for U.S. Senate. Vance Opperman’s Key Investment offices were the venue for a spectacular evening celebrating and honoring Growe’s big first. Wine was flowing and guests mingled and signed the guestbooks before Opperman took the mic and introduced co-chair Margaret Kelliher. The Speaker gave moving remarks about how Growe inspired her to enter a life of politics and public service.

Not to bury the lede, but Growe brought down the house talking about how, late in the course of the 23 hours of balloting, she was summoned by a man to a meeting in a backroom with another campaign. Growe said she wasn’t sure she should go because, “when a man summons a woman to a backroom, it’s usually to get screwed.” 

Besides Kelliher, DFL gubernatorial candidates working the room included St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, former Sen. Steve Kelley and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak. 

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1. Elaine Voss (deputy secretary of state under Growe), Guest of Honor Joan Growe, and Bob Meek (event organizer and communications staffer on the 1984 campaign).

2. Vance Opperman

3. Judi Dutcher, Speaker Margaret Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis)

4. Bob Meek, PIM Publisher Sarah Janecek, Bob Seng  [Seng, now an attorney with Target, was Growe's driver on the 1984 campaign, Meek and Janecek had Meek's job on the Rudy Boschwitz campaign

5. Jane Ranum (former state senator) watches the program with other guests

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6. Dane Smith (Growth & Justice), Tina Flint Smith (Rybak’s chief of staff), Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak

7. Meg Tuthill (candidate for Minneapolis City Council’s 10th ward seat), Secretary of State Mark Ritchie

8. Behind the bar: Ham Thompson, Carole Faricy, and Scott Benson (Minneapolis City Council)

9. Steve Kelley (DFL gov. candidate)

10. Ember Reichgott Junge (Lutheran Social Services) and Bob Meek

11. Dee Long (retired House Speaker), David Lillehaug (attorney for Al Franken), Sean Kershaw (Citizens League)

12. John Derus (former Hennepin County Commissioner who ran against Growe for the endorsement)