Political Notebook

Gacy's name rises again in politics

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann's gaffe on which John Wayne is a Waterloo native — she referred to her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, as the home of John Wayne. The actor was actually from Winterset, Iowa. Serial killer John Wayne Gacy was a Waterloo native.

The mention of Gacy reminded us of another politician from Minnesota, whose roots are in Iowa.

Here's a clip from then Post-Bulletin political reporter John Hughes, now a Bloomberg reporter based in Washington, D.C. Hughes talked with then state Rep. Gil Gutknecht, who was running for the 1st District Congressional seat that Rep. Tim Penny was leaving in 1994. Gutknecht went on that year to win the first of six terms in Congress. This item was filed on May 14, 1994, The item follows:

Mass murderer John Wayne Gacy invited Gil Gutknecht to his home twice to watch stag movies.

``Thank God I never went,'' Gutknecht said.

It was the summer of 1967 and Gutknecht, then 16, was working one of his first jobs for $1.10 an hour at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Gacy, then 35, managed the KFCs in Cedar Falls and elsewhere in the area.

At first, Gacy seemed like a successful businessman. He had a nice car and an attractive wife.

But Gutknecht and other workers at the Kentucky Fried Chicken noticed oddities.

``He was one of the most sadistic people I ever met,'' the Independent-Republican representative from Rochester said.

While Gutknecht and other young boys were working, Gacy would walk up behind them and deliver a knee to the back of their thighs.

``I never saw anyone else who would do that,'' Gutknecht said. ``It was such a sadistic act.''

Gacy at other times would deliver a good-natured punch to his workers' shoulders, but it still hurt, he said.

Then there were the movies Gacy would screen at his house. While Gutknecht never went, some co-workers did. But the co-workers never reported any strange or criminal activities at the events.

Gutknecht only worked the job for a few months, and Gacy was then out of his life.

A few years later, Gacy would be charged with his first crimes -- breaking and entering and sodomy. He served a few years in an Iowa prison and was on parole when he moved to Illinois and committed the 33 murders that brought him infamy.

Gutknecht has always been against the death penalty. But he said, ``in his case, I believe he deserved to be executed.''

He said Gacy's crimes were so brutal and exceptional, it was a miscarriage of justice that he waited in prison 14 years for the excution. ``It has caused me to rethink my whole position on the death penalty,'' he said.

Gutknecht said he might support the death penalty for the most grisly crimes.

Ironically, Gutknecht may be one of the few people acquainted with two killers. He was a good friend of David Brom and the Brom family, and was a pall bearer at the Broms' funeral.

David Brom is serving time in St. Cloud for killing four members of his family in 1988.

Gov. Dayton appoints members of board on aging, state arts board

ST. PAUL —Chrisanne Pieper of Rochester was appointed today to the Minnesota Board on Aging.

She was one of several appointments announced to by Gov. Mark Dayton's office.

Other appointments include:

Minnesota State Arts Board: John Gunyou of Minnetonka

Minnesota Board on Aging: Jeffery Hane of Hallock; Neil Johnson of St. Paul; Carolyn Perron of Fridley; Donald Samuelson of Brainerd; Harlan Tardy of Nashwauk

A blogging hiatus

I will be taking a break from blogging this summer because I will be staying home with my new baby. But do not fear — other reporters and editors from the Post-Bulletin have promised to do some blog posts in my absence. I plan to be back on the job on Sept. 6 and will resume blogging then. I hope all you Political Party blog readers have a fabulous summer!

 

 

GOP to move ahead with voter ID constitutional amendment

At a press conference this afternoon, Republican lawmakers said they will push to get a proposed constitutional amendment on the November 2012 ballot. That amendment would require voters to show photo identification in order to cast a ballot.

Sen. Scott Newman of Hutchinson and Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer of Big Lake are sponsoring the amendment proposal. Joining them at the press conference to show his support was Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa.

The move to put the issue before the voters comes after DFL Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a photo ID bill. Dayton said he would not sign an election bill unless it had broad bipartisan support. While the measure has the strong backing of Republican lawmakers, it is strongly opposed by Democrats.

Kiffmeyer, former Minnesota secretary of state, said it's time to put the issue before the people. She cited a recent Star Tribune poll that found 80 percent of respondents favor requiring photo ID to vote.

"If Gov. Dayton is going to stand in the way of 80 percent of the people, then we'll let the people speak directly through the constitution," she said.

Republicans argue that photo ID will discourage voter fraud and protect the integrity of Minnesota's election system. But Democrats argue that the new requirement would disenfranchise some voters who would find it very difficult to get a photo ID with a current address. That includes senior citizens, low-income residents, people with disabilities and women in battered women's shelters.

Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, blasted the proposal. He said the fact Republicans are pursuing this measure after recently approving putting a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage on the 2012 ballot shows they are not focusing on solving the budget deficit and creating jobs.

"It wasn't enough to target one minority group. Now they want to go after the civil rights of others," he said.

Both Newman and Kiffmeyer said they have no intention of trying to get the measure passed during a special session this summer. Rather, they said they would plan to take it up when the legislature reconvenes in January. The goal would be to get it passed within the first couple of months.

 

Will negotiating schedule help avoid a government shutdown?

Today GOP legislative leaders met with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton to discuss talk about the budget. As part of that meeting, they proposed an aggressive budget negotiation schedule throughout this month aimed at getting a deal in place so lawmakers could be called back for a special session that would start June 27. If lawmakers and the governor cannot work out a deal on solving the state's projected $5 billion budget deficit by June 30, there will be a government shutdown on July 1.

Click here to Download Budget negotiation schedule

The Star Tribune reports that both the governor and GOP leaders described the meeting as productive. But the big disagreement over whether or not to raise revenues to solve the budget gap remains. Dayton has proposed raising $1.8 billion in income taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent. He has said he is willing to consider other revenue options. Republicans have said they will not go above their $34 billion budget, which is based on expected state revenues.

Meanwhile, one area senator had his own meeting with the governor. Sen. John Howe, R-Red Wing, had lunch with Dayton yesterday, which he described as productive. He said he offered some ideas on how the budget dispute could be resolved. One idea Howe is pushing is changing how the state gets its revenue. He said the state needs to move away from relying so heavily on property and income taxes and instead look at getting more of its money from a consumer-based tax like the sales tax. He said that might offer an avenue for negotiations.

"We have to find something that is achievable. I think just raising income taxes is not achievable, and I think we need to work together and we have to find a way that makes sense and provides a stable funding environment."

Davids says he is reconsidering support for Roch sales tax

House Taxes Committee Chair Greg Davids gave me a call yesterday wanting to tell me he is reconsidering his support for authorizing the city of Rochester to put a $139.5 million sales tax extension before the voters.

Davids said his frustration stems from the fact that Rochester's two Democrats — Rep. Kim Norton and Rep. Tina Liebling — did not vote for his large tax bill, which included the sales tax extension. He also noted that in DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's veto letter for the bill, the governor pointed out the total tax increase resulting from all the sales tax proposals in the bill. Dayton wrote, "While advocating for reductions in local government spending, your bill extends authority for local options sales tax for nine cities and grants special tax increment financing authority to others. The Department of Revenue estimates that your local option sales tax provisions will increase sales taxes on Minnesotans and visitors by about $17 million per year."

Davids said he took that to mean the governor does not support those local sales tax options. He is also upset with comments made by Rochester City Council President Dennis Hanson supporting the idea of holding a special election on the sales tax issue. During the tax conference committee, Hanson and others agreed to put the tax issue on the general election ballot in order to get the measure included in the tax bill.

"It's something that has to be bipartisan and now with the council president going back on what he said, I have to re-evaluate if I can support it at all," he said.

Trying to get the sales tax authorization passed this year proved to be a major headache for Rochester officials. Initially, the city proposed a $160 million sales tax extension that would be used to fund a wide range of projects in the areas of economic development, transportation, higher education and community facilities. Davids argued that was too high and supported slashing the amount to $101.5 million removing funding for a Boys & Girls Club youth facility, a Rochester library expansion, a senior center/community center and various economic development proposals. During final negoations, Davids supported adding back $38 million in cuts previously made but still left out money for the Boys & Girls Club and the library. In the end, Dayton vetoed the tax bill. Officials are hoping lawmakers can pass the authorization language as part of a special session.

While Davids accuses Norton and Liebling of opposing the sales tax, both of the Democrats have been ardent supporters. They both supported an amendment trying to get authorization for the entire $160 million sales tax proposal. They did both vote against the large tax bill, which included several other provisions such as a cut in anticipated Local Government Aid and reductions in the renters' tax credit. Still, Davids said they should have voted for the bill because it included the sales tax authorization.

As for Dayton, while his veto letter does point out the cost of these local sales tax authorizations, he has said in the past he supports allowing Rochester voters the chance to vote on the sales tax proposal.

Davids' announcement that he is reconsidering his support comes after a Post-Bulletin editorial ran yesterday that took some jabs at the tax chair. But Davids said that has nothing to do with why he is reevaluating his support.

"It has to be bipartisan, and it has only been Republicans that have supporting it and that has to change," Davids said.

 

Business coalition launches ad campaign backing GOP budget stance

If you flip to page B5 in today's Rochester Post-Bulletin, you'll see a half-page ad thanking four local Republicans — Rep. Mike Benson, Rep. Duane Quam, Sen. Carla Nelson and Sen. Dave Senjem — for "holding the line on state spending."

The ad states, "Families have to live within their budgets — so should government. Grow jobs, not government."

It's all part of a newspaper ad campaign launched today the Coalition of Minnesota Businesses, an organization comprised of 11 employer groups including the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota Business Partnership. The group is lining up behind legislative Republicans arguing against tax increases and increased spending as part of a budget deal.

The coalition's Communications Director Mark Giga said they are running ads in 33 newspapers across the state specifically thanking 52 Republican lawmakers. Those ads are targeted mainly along the U.S. 52 and I-35W corridors headed up to the cities and Interstate-94 into St. Cloud. Giga said it makes sense to focus on these areas — especially Rochester.

"It's no secret that these are swing districts," he said.

Giga said he did not have an estimate of how much the coalition will spent on the newspaper ads at this point. This is the second part of an ad campaign launched before lawmakers went on their Easter/Passover break. That time the coalition spent roughly $250,000 on radio and internet ads saying the state needs to stop spending more and live within its means.

Other area GOP lawmakers getting praised in the ads are: Rep. Rich Murray of Albert Lea, Rep. Greg Davids of Preston, Rep. Tim Kelly of Red Wing and Sen. John Howe of Red Wing and Sen. Jeremy Miller of Winona. Go here to see what the ads look like.

These ads come as Alliance for a Better Minnesota, a liberal, union-funded group, has launched a TV ad campaign that supports DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's proposal to raise $1.8 billion in income taxes on the state's wealthiest 2 percent.