Politics in Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 3, Issue 16 - 10/19/2007
Publisher's Note
Happy horrible drizzle week, everyone. Two things. First, a reminder that former DFL Rep. Betty Folliard is now contributing (wonderfully) to the PIM Weekly Reports. Second, about our Morning Reports. Wow. We're up to 5,000 subscribers! For a limited time, these reports are free. [A few people are paying the bargain price of $25 a year and we thank you.] A quick check of our Weekly Report subscribers shows that most of you get the Morning Reports. To help us better refine our Morning Reports -- and if you want to get them but aren't -- we hope you'll check out the last story in this issue after Bits & Pieces. Let us know what you think at staff@politicsinminnesota.com.
Let's Have Hearings...Lots & LOTS of Hearings
The Democrats mastered a brilliant idea during the 30 years their party controlled the House before the GOP won the majority in 1998. When the Legislature was not formally in session, they took committees on the road all over the state and showed the citizenry they were working hard on their behalf (and they made sure those committees hit swing districts). Check out the current schedule. Republicans are complaining that House Speaker Margaret Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis) and House Majority Leader Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm) have taken the hearing game to a whole new level. They created brand new committees for their vulnerable, newer members to chair. Consider:
- Rep. Ken Tschumper (DFL-LaCrescent), Chair of the "Environmental Justice and Healthy Housing Subcommittee." [Freshman Tschumper beat incumbent GOPer Greg Davids, 50.0%-49.7% last election.]
- Rep. David Bly (DFL-Northfield), Chair of the "K -12 Education Working Group on Alternative Schools." [Freshman Bly beat incumbent GOPer Ray Cox,50.1%-49.8% last election.]
- Rep. Shelly Madore (DFL-Apple Valley), "Chair of the Health & Human Services Working Group: Disabilities." [Freshman Madore beat GOPer Lloyd Cybart, 50.5%-49.8% last election.]
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Rep. Patti Fritz, Chair of the "Health & Human Services Working Group: Nursing Homes." [Second-termer Fritz beat GOP challenger Otto Luknic, 51.9%-47.9% last election.]
None of these new committees is on the official House web site, they are just named in the schedules (and it's hard to figure out there exactly how many new committees we have).
All these hearings present decent political rhetoric fodder for both Democrats and Republicans. For Democrats, mission accomplished showing their hard-working new members actually chairing committees in their youthful legislative careers. One list we saw had 44 cities across the state in which the DFL had hearings the last few months. For Republicans, all these hearings are proof positive that what Democrats really want is a full-time legislature, and that the hearings are costing a fortune. And, oh by the way, sometime this past summer, the Rules Committee doubled the House committee budgets. Then there are per diems...[see next story]
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Marty Seifert (R-Marshall) has to wander in the hearing wilderness, without the imprimatur of holding "official" state hearings enjoyed by the Majority. Seifert and the House Republicans are holding a dozen hearings around the state, with attendance ranging from 30-100. The Seifert hearings aren't issue-specific, rather they are mostly about listening to what people have to say. Republicans are particularly interested in real public sentiment on transportation funding, given their members will be targeted to override a gubernatorial veto. Random consensus distillations include continued hostility to tax increases but at the same time a sense that not enough existing road and bridge money comes to rural Minnesota (the collapse of one bridge in the country could really stall out commerce in the country). The nickel-a-gallon increase that GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty floated after the bridge fell doesn't play well. One grocer noted his profit margin was between one and one-and-a-half percent, and that a nickel increase would wipe him out. But another seemingly GOP-type citizen noted (correctly) that a nickel only brings in $150 million a year, or half the cost of the bridge his county needs. To get a feel for a GOP hearing, here's a live blog thread about a hearing held in Hutchinson this week from "Blue Man in a Red District."
The biggest losers are the lobbyists and the staff. Particularly health care lobbyists. There are some 20 committees/working groups that have been meeting for months. Some lobbyists have attended half a dozen hearings a week. That's ridiculous, in our view. And, staff? They work hard enough when the Legislature is in session.
Carpe Per Diems
Naturally--or predictably, depending on your political view--one issue Republicans like to inject about hearings when the Legislature is not in session is the high cost of per diem, the fixed-dollar cost legislators can be reimbursed for pay, mileage, meals, etc. if they attend an official hearing (House Minority Republicans attending their hearings get no per diem). The first thing the House--led by Democrats but with some GOP support--did when the 2007 session convened was to raise the per diem from $66 to $76. Those for per diem note the high costs of traveling to hearings, the many hearings they are required to attend and grumble privately about the measly $31,140 salary. Those against per diem think it's a backdoor pay raise not transparent to voters.
Interestingly, the seemingly good issue of too much per diem never seems to gain traction. Voters expect a high profile committee chair to have to attend lots of meetings, and they like to see all legislators out and about around the state. The issue plays night-and-day differently depending on geography. Rural voters expect their legislators to declare lots of per diem; to not do so would look like they weren't going to St. Paul to do the work. In the urban/metro area, it's more frowned upon because to them, $76 to go to a meeting in the metro seems steep. What's the answer?
SARAH says: Legislators are underpaid. Double the salary but decrease the total number of legislators, by half.
BETTY says: Sound like carping from the Minority Party. Extraordinary devastation of the I-35 Bridge collapse followed by flooding in southeast Minnesota required House Democrats and Republicans to travel around the state for thorough understanding. Travel and hearings cost money. I agree with Sarah about doubling legislators pay/disagree about cutting the size of the legislature. Representative government needs to be accessible to the public.
In any case, we don't see traction on per diems as an issue, unless at the end of this reporting period, there's a dramatic rise in per diem costs. But we're curious. Does anyone recall high per diem ever being an issue in a legislative race? Send any anecdotal evidence you have to staff@politicsinminnesota.com.
The Grudge Report
U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken recently gave a rousing speech with his usual panache in front of the DFL Central Committee. Somewhat oddly, Franken asserted that the U.S. Senate race was the top of the ticket, and that when his name is on the top of that ticket he will fight to keep the Minnesota House and Senate for the DFL and win the U.S.Senate race. Great stuff, powerfully delivered.
Not every Democrat agreed with his "Franken would be on top of the ticket" premise. Many DFLers think Franken could well be the DFL-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate, and the U.S. Senate race will be a player in the process; but the top of the ticket in 2008 is the Presidential race. They do not want to lose focus on the top because the President sets the agenda, the President gets the majority of what the President wants, and the President vetoes the rest. Government 101. Electing one more Senator places her/him into a room of one-of-one-hundred. Electing a President places her/him into a room of one-of-one.
What Republicans should know is that Senator Norm Coleman has been perceived for the last six years as an interloper by many Democrats; and six years after the much-beloved U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone's tragic and untimely death activists have listed their top priority in '08 as delivering the Wellstone seat back into DFL hands.
What Democrats need to remember is don't lose sight of the top job - the Presidency of the United States of America - or they will spend another eight years scratching their heads wondering how it might have been different.
Quite A Fray In 58A
Rep. Joe Mullery (DFL-Minneapolis) must be feeling the heat at his back in House District 58A. The incumbent has three, maybe four opponents nipping at his heels. Why? Rumor has it some folks at the Capitol are getting irritated at his aloofness and high-handed style in his committee.
Back in the district, demographics have shifted greatly over the past several years. What used to be a fairly homogeneous Caucasian population has been transformed by an influx of young progressives, gay couples, and people of color representing several diverse communities. One candidate who has formally announced is Minneapolis School Board member Peggy Flanagan. "North Minneapolis needs a leader and advocate at the State Capitol for those like me who work hard and struggle to make it. Someone who will take the time to listen to all of our neighbors and will fight for the community we all deserve," says Flanagan, a young member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the first Native American to serve on the Minneapolis School Board where she is the Treasurer. She is a senior organizer for Wellstone Action, a national center for training and leadership development for the progressive movement. Flanagan has a leg-up on other candidates in the race, having already successfully run her own campaign, and she's worked on several others. One wrinkle for Flanagan: The Minneapolis School Board was responsible for closing several Northside schools last year. Flanagan comes with a ready-made progressive network and seasoned volunteers like Library Board member Alan Hooker, who is running her campaign.
Another candidate could be Jonathan Palmer, a young African American man, and the administrator for the Minneapolis Empowerment Zone, an extension of a nationwide strategy to revitalize neighborhoods. He is closely allied with Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and is ready to make a run. (Sources say he was resplendent in his family tartan kilt at the Peace Ball on Saturday night.)
Then there's John Munger - grandson of the beloved champion of the environment, the late Rep. Willard Munger. Munger (John) is a young attorney who is also executive director of the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation which runs the Minneapolis Loppet, the ski race (PDF), who is ready to give Mullery a run for his money.
There may be one more hat in this race: Everett Pettiford, a higher-up in the IBEW, is an African American and a long-time activist. His name is well known on the Northside, though perhaps more so on the B-side.
Who Needs Dennis Hopper?
Many of our readers are Baby Boomers who, like your publisher, are now starting to think about life down the line. Boomers present an unprecedented age wave. The Department of Human Services figures the half billion the state spends on senior care will grow to at least $20 billion by 2050. That's obviously unsustainable. Plus, Minnesota's 1.48 million Boomers don't envision living in institutions ("Cuz I just don't see you playin' shuffleboard, you know what I mean?!").
Enter Ecumen, a completely reinvigorated former nursing home organization previously called Board of Social Ministry. In 2003, the board of trustees wanted to reinvent and brought in highly respected Kathryn Roberts to be CEO (bio here). Roberts, in turn, brought in a "change agent" board of trustees and staff, names many of our readers know, including:
Board chair Loanne Thrane (former state director for GOP U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz), Dave Karsnia (Detroit Lakes business leader), Keith Halleland (health law guru), John Byom (former International Multifoods CFO), Lynn Anderson (Gov. Perpich's chief of staff), Bob Hoffman (former MnSCU board chair), Rev. Dean Johnson (former DFL Senate Majority Leader), Rev. Kris Linner (author), Peggy Lucas (Brighton Development founder), Joanne Negstad (Lutheran World Relief exec), Lisa Deverell, (Land O' Lakes exec), Dianne Nimmer (entrepreneur), Rev. Hank Noordzy (Duluth community leader), Jerry Peterson (former West Publishing exec.), David Stillman (Generations expert), and ELCA SE Minnesota Bishop Harold Usgaard.
Roberts also recruited Steve Ordahl, who headed Underwater Adventures, Lifesource C.O.O. Kathy Bakkenist, former UCare exec Mick Finn and Eric Schubert from Himle Horner's leadership team.
Ecumen has been doing lots of good stuff like conducting the largest ever study of Minnesota Boomers, adding hundreds of housing units, developing housing and services for other organizations, starting the "Changing Aging" blog, creating a more tech-driven system and working for laws to get technology to market faster. Ecumen is certainly a company to watch, professionally (and personally for those of us who will have seniority next).
Where The Money Goes And Where The Jobs Are
A House GOP staffer was noodling over numbers provided by the House Fiscal Analysis Department and said staffer derived some incredible numbers.
On a per capita basis, the cost of state, local, and school taxes has grown from $2,874 in FY91 to a projected $7,845 for every man, woman, and child in Minnesota in fiscal year 2011 (FY11). [Then they get to pay federal taxes.] For a family of four, the average cost of state and local government will rise to $31,880 per year in FY11.
We all know that the largest employer in Minnesota is government. There is one government worker for every five private-sector non-farm employees in Minnesota.
In our state, government is a larger employer than: (1) health care; (2) professional and business services; (3) retail trade; (4) leisure and hospitality; (5) manufacturing of durable goods; (6) financial activities; (7) construction; (8) wholesale trade; (9) manufacturing of non-durable goods; (10) other services; (11) transportation; (12) information services; (13) educational services; (14) natural resources.
Bits & Pieces
Sen. Tom Neuville (R-Northfield) is a finalist for a judgeship in his area. If Neuville leaves the Senate, the GOP plans to recruit former GOP Rep. Ray Cox, also from Northfield. Cox was defeated by Rep. David Bly (DFL-Northfield) by a mere 60 votes. There have been three epic contests between Cox and Bly in this south of the metro district (Cox won two of them).
Vance Opperman reportedly has a bet with the Star Tribune columnist Nick Coleman about when Gov. Tim Pawlenty will retire Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau. Coleman's bet is that it will happen around Thanksgiving when we all roast our turkeys.
In the November issue of Minnesota Monthly, former Star Tribune sports writer and soon to be MinnPoster Jay Weiner offers smart and thoughtful sports stadium analysis that should be required reading for everyone involved in any stadium discussion. Here's a taste of "Getting our Fix: How the Twin Cities can cure its stadium-building addiction": "Let's solve our biggest, if least noticed, problem first: the Target Center vs. Xcel Energy Center death dance. We now have two, 18,000-seat multipurpose arenas 10 miles apart; both are owned by their respective cities and carry substantial debt. They compete with each other for concerts, a dynamic that benefits performers, promoters, and agents—but not taxpayers."
Of note to state lawmakers: Buried in the new four-year union contract agreed to by the St. Paul Pioneer Press guild union and St.PPP owner Media News is "the company agreed to partner with the Guild to apply for a grant of up to $400,000 from the state of Minnesota to design a training program focused on multimedia skills and the paper's digital future." Good luck with that! As always, Brian Lambert and Deborah Rybak have all the scoop on their media blog, "To the Slaughter".
Emily and Jeff Blodgett are hosting the 3rd annual fundraiser for DFL Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's reelection campaign at their home, 1437 Chelmsford in St Paul, on November 2nd from 5-7 p.m. Author and radio host Jim Hightower with be the featured speaker. For more information, go to markritchie2010.net.
The Minnesota Young Progressive Majority is getting a jump on victory parties for November 4, exactly one year to the date before the '08 elections. They've booked Dixie's on Grand, 695 Grand Avenue in St. Paul, for a shindig from 6-9 p.m., featuring local pop star Tim Mahoney timmahoney.com (No - not our state representative Mahoney). It's open to all like-minded folks, and expect streams of candidates.
Stay tuned for the DFL Education Foundation's 5th installment of the Democrat-Farmer-Labor Series coming Sunday, October 28th from 2-4 p.m. at the Ukrainian Event Center, 301 Main Street NE in Minneapolis. This segment is called, "Miracles Don't Just Happen: They Are Created", discussing creation of 'The Minnesota Miracle' in the 1970's which heralded an era of unparalleled progress in Minnesota. Former MN House Speaker Congressman Martin Sabo (DFL) and Former State Senator Wayne Popham (R), who helped shepherd the legislation that created 'The Minnesota Miracle' will be featured speakers. Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller (DFL-Minneapolis) will conclude with "Where Are We Now: Education & Taxes."
Publisher Sarah Janecek, writing here.
I've spent months trying to figure out the new media landscape and how those who love, professionally practice, practice as a hobby, professionally report on, or need to know Minnesota public affairs, are getting their news -- or more how they are not getting it. Thanks to everyone who has participated in long telephone, one-on-one and email conversations with me about this subject. You've helped a great deal in creating something sorely needed in Minnesota public affairs: Shared media and a shared universe of facts. Here's what I learned:
- Nobody I know under the age of about 35 who is a hard core public affairs person by profession or avocation subscribes to a hard copy of a newspaper. These people find their news online, and from myriad places.
- For those of us over 35, the decrease in Minnesota public affairs coverage has been nothing short of stunning. We have good friends who have built careers on covering Minnesota politics. People far higher up the food chain in the newspaper world have decided Minnesota public affairs isn't worth the ink it used to be. As we've written before, the ramifications of this are mind-boggling.
Hunting. Police received a hunting complaint in the 3400 block of Elm Creek Drive. Police spoke to the hunter who was shooting clay pigeons in his field. He said he was done for the day.The hunter was done for the day, and perhaps, so is the Star Tribune as a public affairs institution. The space the "police report" occupied in the "Twin Cities West" section (which used to be the "B Section," and then the "Metro Section") used to be devoted to public affairs. Now it's clay pigeons. [Continue the permutations of the metaphor on your own.]
- Nobody I know, of any age, watches much broadcast news anymore, unless the paycheck depends on it, meaning someone is working for someone in elected office or running for office and needs to see it.
- While the blogs are influential in tightly knit circles, and they sometimes prod major media to cover the stories they write about, most people in Minnesota public affairs don't read them. A quick thanks to all the major Minnesota bloggers who were so frank with me in their conversations about their readership. Hope no one minds that I spill the beans and tell my colleagues in Minnesota public affairs (the subscribers of this publication) that your readership, again, while highly influential, is small.
So, here's what we intend to accomplish with our Morning Reports: Provide you with all the links in all the different media to stay current on what's really happening. We publish these reports Monday thru Friday. The reports are amalgamations of links to the day's political news (and economic and other news that's politically salient), conveniently sorted by topic. We're fond of saying that we check the Bemidji Pioneer, the Alexandria Echo and other small publications daily so you don't have to. Also, of course, we include the major dailies, along with links to the political broadcast stories. Again, as noted above, so you don't have to go find them, yourself.
Not insignificantly, we've worked with all the Minnesota media to make sure our PIM team's media data mining (patent pending, of course) catches everything. We've asked all media to let us know when we miss. We then include the links the next day.
The idea behind the Politics In Minnesota Morning Reports is to provide everyone with a reliable crutch. Too much media, not enough time. We want to make your life easier, so let us. If we're missing something, or you don't like the way we have built the publication, let us know at morningreport@politicsinminnesota.com.
A couple more things here. There have been two huge surprises. The first is that the major newspaper stories that the "old guard" have already read in hard copy are a popular feature of our reports. Again, younger readers don't subscribe.
And second, the section we call "Big Brain Blogs and Think Tank Thoughts." is proving to be enormously popular. That's been a big revelation: Most smart public affairs people aren't actively seeking out the blogs or the think tank postings, because they don't have the time to find them. So, we're doing our best to provide the links to blogs and think tanks that add something important to the Minnesota political conversation that's not being provided elsewhere. Our subscribers' feedback here is greatly appreciated. Bottom line? We are trying to surf the blogs so you don't have to. There are just too many darn blogs for most people to process.
Please send your thoughts about the Morning Report to staff@politicsinminnesota.com, and items you'd like included to morningreport@politicsinminnesota.com.
For your FREE Morning Report, shoot an email request to staff@politicsinminnesota.com, and please pass the word.
Lobbyist Watch
From the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board:
Morning Reports
