Politics in Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 3, Issue 9 - 8/23/2007
PIM Publishing Schedule
Politics in Minnesota Publisher Sarah Janecek has learned over the years that about the only way to escape Politics in Minnesota is to leave the country. So, off to Egypt and Jordan she goes for three weeks. Her agenda so far consists of seeing a full moon over the Great Pyramids, looking for Harrison Ford at Petra and not falling off a camel while riding one in the desert.
While the GOP publisher is away, the DFL staff gets to play. The Democrats will publish by themselves next week, take the week of Labor Day off, and be back at it the following week. So, DFL subscribers, send your DFL thoughts, stories and anti-GOP screeds to Dan Feidt and Nick Lambert at staff@politicsinminnesota.com. Janecek may or may not approve the copy (sort of depends on the camel).
By the way, PIM DFL contributor Nick Lambert has just started also working at Bob Olson's campaign in Congressional District 6. Olson is running to be the DFL nominee to face incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.
Politics In Minnesota at MNSpeak.com
Starting this week, Politics In Minnesota is posting daily political headlines at MNSpeak.com. For those not familiar with MNSpeak.com, here's the scoop: MNSpeak has evolved into being the most active and most interesting Minnesota community participation site. When a news story is hot, MNSpeak is the best place we've found online to get a good sense of community reaction. Each day, we'll be sending MNSpeak what we think are the day's top and/or most interesting political stories. So, if you read something in a Politics In Minnesota Morning Report and want to opine online or see what others (both DFLers and GOPers post) are saying, check out MNSpeak.com. And, don't forget to register to post your own comments.
Olson Leaving Ethics Behind
Anyone who knows Jeanne Olson, the current executive director of the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Board, will immediately recognize the joke in this headline. Olson is leaving the job at the end of this year. She's not "retiring," but rather "leaving state service." Olson may surface elsewhere in Minnesota public affairs, or she may embark on a completely new adventure.
Kudos to Olson for a job well done. She has been one of Minnesota's finest public servants in one of the state's toughest jobs--being in charge of policing the state's elected officials and lobbyists. The universal Capitol rap on Olson is that she has excelled at the job, always patiently explaining Minnesota's complicated election and gift reporting laws to anyone who asked, and always with good cheer. We love Olson's professional story. Her first job "out of college" was at the Board, where she started as a Clerk II typist. [Olson went back to college to finish her degree after she'd raised her children.] She succeeded Mary Ann McCoy as the Board's executive director in 1995 (McCoy held the job from 1981-1995).
The staff at the Board are organizing a going-away (not retirement!) party for Olson on a date yet to be determined, but sometime in December. Readers who want to be sure to receive the invitation should shoot an email to LuAnn Swanson.
Olson will be one tough act to follow. The Board is currently seeking applications to fill the job. It should be fascinating to see who gets the job. There are several internal candidates, and we can't imagine that a known partisan or two won't apply. Previous party ID isn't an automatic exclusion (McCoy was a known DFLer), but certainly all party activities have to cease when a person takes the job. A partisan person, of course, will receive recurring high scrutiny from the other party. The current Board members who will make the decision are chair Felicia Boyd (GOP identified, a complex litigator with Faegre & Benson), vice chair Sven Wehrwein (DFL identified, an investment banker and CFO), Hilda Bettermann (former GOP Rep. from Brandon), Scott Heintzeman (no party ID, Carlson Marketing Group executive) and Bob Milbert (former DFL Rep. and Culligan Water dealership owner).
House GOP Caucus Presidential Poll
House Republican Minority Leader Rep. Marty Seifert (R-Marshall) executed a creative and successful fundraising event this week. He held a Presidential straw poll and for a $100 contribution to the caucus, anyone could cast a vote. Here are the results from several hundred of the GOP rank-and-file who attended the event:
Fred Thompson - - 21% (a write-in candidate because he has not officially entered the race)
Mitt Romney - - 20%
Ron Paul - - 16%
Rudy Guliani - - 13%
John McCain - - 11%
Mike Huckabee - - 8%
John Cox - - 4%
Sam Brownback - - 2%
Newt Gingrich - - 2%
Duncan Hunter - - 2%
Tom Tancredo - - 2%
The event was held almost exactly one year before the Republican National Convention comes to the RiverCentre and Xcel Energy Center, the site of the straw poll. Not surprisingly, given Minnesota is not a player in the primary / caucus presidential selection process, none of the major contenders came to town, although Illinois financier John Cox did attend and received four percent. Other candidates either had spokespersons on-site, or presented videos.
Corey Stern, the local volunteer organizer for U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX 14), trumpeted Paul's third-place straw poll finish among GOP stalwarts, beating Rudy Giuliani and U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Paul's straw poll performances have been strong, winning 73% in New Hampshire and 94% in Alabama. Stern said that supporters mobilized for quick impact at Minnesota's GOP straw poll via MeetUp.com, where the Minnesota Ron Paul 2008 group has more than 275 members. Supporters will work the State Fair crowd August 25 and September 1. The DFL faction at PIM appreciates Dr. Paul's interesting anti-war, pro-freedom agenda almost as much as the mysterious media blackouts that dog the candidate's campaign.
[Note to Democrats: Why don't you hold a presidential straw poll? As best we can tell, the DFL establishment types are supporting Hillary Clinton; the Wellstonian liberals, Barack Obama; and hardly anyone we know, John Edwards.]
Kitty Gamble, Remembered Again
Shame on both the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Star Tribune for not writing a news obituary about GOP activist and former U.S. GOP Sen. Dave Durenberger state director Kitty Gamble. It's been tough to measure the impact of all the cuts and layoffs on news coverage at both papers, but there is one very noticeable difference in both of them, and that is in covering deaths. We know at least four people with standing in the community who asked for a news obituary about Gamble, and one was never written. Could be that key political reporters have been on vacation at both papers, or that resources were diverted to cover the bridge tragedy, or a combination of both. Nevertheless, Gamble warranted a story.
As one highly respected GOP woman wrote in an email, "We just cannot let these wonderful women mentors slink off into the sunset." Agreed. So here's one more favorite and legendary Kitty Gamble story.
In the early 1980s, protesters came to then-Sen. Durenberger's Minneapolis office with some frequency. They were a somewhat unkempt bunch, prone to bringing in a vessel of blood-like (read: permanent-staining) substance. Having been duped once into allowing the protesters to pour the liquid on the office carpeting, Kitty was not going to let it happen twice. When one of the protesters pulled out the "blood," she looked him straight in the eye like any good mother of four kids and pointedly said that if he was going to spill that liquid on the carpet, he better be ready to get down on his hands and knees and clean it up. No blood was spilled that day or ever again.
You can still sign Gamble's guestbook here.
AFSCME Gets a Big Win
Lots of political stories got buried in the I-35W coverage including this one: AFSCME Council 5 members voted overwhelmingly to accept the proposed state contract for 2008-2009. AFSCME members, who average $36,000 annual salaries, will get a 3.25 percent raise on July 1 in 2007 and 2008 (the raise in 2007 is retroactive). In 2008, workers who earn less than $14 an hour will get a 45-cent per hour raise, which works out to be greater than the 3.25 percent higher-paid workers will get.
The raises in this contract are the largest since 2002, a year in which it took a two-week strike to get a raise from the Jesse Ventura Administration. The new contract also includes only modest raises in out-of-pocket costs for health care. This round of negotiations began in mid-April. AFSCME Council 5 represents about 43,000 public and nonprofit workers in Minnesota.
2008 Republican National Convention Update
The Minnesota Government Relations Council, the lobbyists' trade association, held a seminar this week to provide greater detail on what the 2008 Republican National Convention will mean to Minnesota public affairs practitioners. The panelists were Winthrop & Weinstine's John Knapp, who is also serving as legal counsel to the official Republican National Convention Host Committee, and Xcel Energy top executive and chair of the host committee, Cynthia Lesher.
Knapp made an an astute and interesting observation: National political conventions are about the only remaining political place where checks directly from the official "Inc." checkbook can be cashed. And, not only are corporate contributions permitted, but also they will go undetected until after the conventions (the Federal Election Committee reports are not due until 30 days after). The host committee, by the way, is not disclosing how much money it has raised.
Besides raising money, the host committee is also focused on something they learned from other cities that have hosted national conventions. These cities, like New York, Boston and San Diego, say their biggest regret was not touting their towns at a time when they were on the international stage. So, look for lots of Rah Rah MN stuff to start getting put together. Finally, a conversation about money in Minnesota politics inevitably leads to Minnesota's gift ban for public officials. Four years ago, the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board issued an advisory opinion ruling that public officials could accept corporate freebies (food and beverages) if they were officially part of the delegation. Certainly with the convention in our home town, lots more public officials will be be invited to events paid for by corporations, which could present a headache to those public officials.
Speaking of the Republican National Convention, for lefties now is a fine time to start making protest signs and organizing, according to the nine-year-old Anti-War Committee. At 1 PM on Sunday, August 26, at the Anti-War Committee Minneapolis office, located at 1313 5th St. SE, room 213, the "first of many pre-RNC art-making efforts" gets underway with "banners, signs, buttons, t-shirts and more." Call (612) 379-3899 or email info@antiwarcommittee.org for info.
Gerlach Direct
There's no business like mail business. At least, that's what Sen. Chris Gerlach (R-Apple Valley) has decided. Gerlach recently bought Capitol Direct, the political direct mail and marketing company started by former GOP State Auditor and current commissioner of the Department of Employee Relations Pat Anderson, who sold it to former GOP Rep. Tim Commers when she became auditor. Commers wanted out to work on another business project that is going gangbusters. That business is Baskets by Design, which Commers and Greg Bullard run, selling large orders of specialty baskets to distributors.
Gerlach hopes to expand Capitol Direct's mail and marketing services to business and nonprofits outside of politics. Appropriately, the sale closed the day David Strom had his bash to celebrate the renaming of the Taxpayers League Foundation to be the Free Market Institute. Gerlach, who is still selling real estate as well, has definitely jumped into the free market.
Fifty Years of Crime and Justice
Five decades is a lengthy lifespan for any non-profit organization, so it's encouraging to hear that the Minneapolis-based Council on Crime and Justice is celebrating its 50-year anniversary in October with two major events: On October 9, the 2007 Equal Justice Benefit hosted by popular author Malcolm Gladwell, who will present research on how Minnesota's justice system has changed over the life of the group. The next day, the Council will host the "Framework for the Future" Forum. Of particular note: the state's population has nearly doubled since the Council started, but its prison population has skyrocketed six-fold. While people of color make up only 14% of the population, they make up 42% of the prison population. More information in their August newsletter.
Politics in Minnesota: Bits & Pieces
Congratulations to Steven Rosenstone, the current dean of the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) at the University of Minnesota. After 11 years as Dean, Rosenstone will become the first "Vice President for Scholarly and Cultural Affairs" at the U. It's an "upgraded" position to fill the currently vacant position of director of Northrup Auditorium. Wisely, in our view, the U is expanding the job to include transforming the beloved but behind-the-times Northrup Auditorium into a state-of the-art facility more integrated with its campus, but also expanding and strengthening the U's artistic, academic, cultural and civic programs. Plans for an interim dean and a national search for a new CLE dean are underway.
It's no secret that the metro housing market is in turmoil, as local mortgage banker Alex Stenback noted on his excellent local blog, BehindTheMortgage.com: Foreclosures in the Twin Cities MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) are up 60% over the last six months, and 200% year-over-year. One out of every 245 properties here has a foreclosure filing. There's good news: Of the 100 major metro areas RealtyTrac tracked, the Twin Cities was 75th in foreclosure rates: 74 metro areas are worse off. Stockton, CA leads the group with a shocking 1-in-27 foreclosure ratio. (RealtyTrac provides real estate data & marketing, and keeps their own blog at ForeclosurePulse.com)
On August 28, The Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation is hosting a neighborhood meeting to "discuss the foreclosure problem in our communities and how you can prevent it," with guests from St. Paul Code Enforcement, the Neighborhood Development Alliance, ACORN and ACORN Housing. It's at 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the St. Peter Claver Church, 375 Oxford St. N. For more info call (651) 222-0399 or check aurorastanthony.org.
Gun control groups have called a national day of protest for August 28, and events are planned in Minneapolis and Duluth. Citizens for a Safer Minnesota notes an event sponsored by the Twin Cities Metro Anti-Violence Coalition and the Minneapolis Urban League, starting at 8:30 AM at Shiloh Temple International Ministries, 1201 West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis. Mayor R.T. Rybak, police chief Tim Dolan and Chaska Police Chief Scott Knight will attend. At noon, the Northland Chapter of the Brady Campaign is putting on an event at Duluth City Hall, and city mayor Herb Bergson will attend.
KTLK FM's Jason Lewis will fill in for Rush Limbaugh on his nationally syndicated program next Thursday and Friday.
DFL Communications Director Kelly Schwinghammer is posting what time what DFL pols will be at the DFL's State Fair booth.
Bretton Jones put together a nifty video of President Bush's massive motorcade and posted it on his video blog, Minneapolitics.com.
The Minnesota Excellence in Public Service Series is accepting applications until September 1 for their annual professional development training program. The series looks to increase the number of conservative women in the political process, and only 10-12 women are selected per year so serious applicants are encouraged to apply ASAP.
Holding Cops Accountable, a project of Communities United Against Police Brutality, will be taking place Saturday night at 6 PM at the Walker Church on 3100 16th Ave S. in Minneapolis. The group will be teaching people how to properly monitor police activity in a ongoing effort to curb police brutality and stop racial profiling. A 'cop watch' practice session will follow the meeting.
Welcome back to Minnesota Peter Hong, who moved back from Washington where he was a special assistant for public affairs in the U.S. Department of Labor and Industry. Hong is now director of communications / public relations for the Minnesota Bankers Association. In other lives, Hong was Minnesota communications director for Bush-Cheney '04, communications director for GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty's 2002 campaign, a lobbyist in DC for the American Community Bankers and press secretary to former GOP U.S. Sen. Rod Grams.
Alan Weinblatt, the longtime and highly respected lawyer for the DFL party and candidates, and Dave Colling, who recently managed Congressman Keith Ellison's (D-MN 5) campaign, set up a new company, Campaign Services Corporation, which hopes to sell services relating to making rogressive campaigns run more efficiently. The business does not aid in messaging; rather, it deals with a campaign's daily business logistics. This model allows campaigns to free themselves from the often cumbersome daily business tasks and focus more on their own messaging and organizing.
Seventh Judicial District trial court judge Hon. Thomas P. Schroeder is retiring in October, so his Detroit Lakes seat in Becker County is up for grabs. Licensed attorneys residing in the Seventh Judicial District can apply for his position by calling or emailing John Hultquist at (651) 296-0019 or by writing Eric J. Magnuson, chair of the Commission on Judicial Selection at the State Capitol. Put that fancy law degree to work and get a gavel!
Congratulations to UnitedHealth Group top executive Lois Quam who is heading to Piper Jaffray to be managing director of alternative investments. We can't help but note that the Piper job will be a much better fit if her husband, former House DFL Minority leader and attorney general candidate and Minnesota 2020 think tank founder Matt Entenza decides to made another run for statewide office.
Politics in Minnesota: Lobbyist Watch
--Who is working which issues--
From the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board:
Morning Reports
