Political Notebook

Conservative think tank labels Zip Rail a "future boondoggle"

A conservative think tank is targeting Olmsted County's Zip Rail proposal calling it a "future boondoggle." The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota went after the project in its weekly bulletin.

The foundation criticizes Olmsted County for seeking $15 million in state bonding money to help fund design studies for the proposed high-speed rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities. The foundation writes, "Olmsted County taxpayers are now on the hook for a $15 million 'high speed rail' bonding request and could be on the line for much, much more in the near future."

PB reporter Jeff Pieters wrote a story this week about the Olmsted County Regional Rail Authority approving seeking the bonding money. The total cost for the study is estimated to be between $75 million to $90 million and county officials are hoping to use the state dollars to getfederal money. The total cost of the Zip Rail line is projected to cost between $1.5 billion to $2 billion.

The weekly bulletin article states, "If we've learned anything from the past from the various rail lines that have popped up around the state and country, we've learned that taxpayers are the ones that usually get taken for the ride. Hopefully citizens in Olmsted County can bring the latest 'future boondoggle' to a halt."

 

Minnesota gets its own GOP straw poll

Minnesota will hold its own Republican presidential straw poll on Oct. 8 as part of the Republican Midwest Leadership Conference. In a press release, Republican Party of Minnesota Chair Tony Sutton said the straw poll will help gauge which candidates are performing well in region.

"The 12 states that make up the Midwest region include several swing states, Minnesota among them, that will play a pivotal role in the 2012 presidential election. Consequently, the Midwest region will have a significant say in who the Republican candidate is that makes President Obama a one-term president," Sutton said.

The straw poll will be held during the closing reception of the conference on Saturday and the results will be announced that evening. It will be interesting to see if Michele Bachmann has an advantage in her home state. Or perhaps there will be a big surprise — like Herman Cain winning the Florida straw poll.

The speakers lined up for the two-day GOP conference include Karl Rove, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Michael Reagan, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven and Jason Lewis.

Olmsted County high-speed rail plans chug ahead

The Olmsted County Regional Rail Authority is expected to vote tomorrow on a resolution in support of a $15 million bonding request for a proposed high-speed rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities.

The funding would go towards pre-design, design and environmental studies for the Zip Rail project. Last week, members of the authority met with the Post-Bulletin Editorial Board to discuss the bonding request. The total cost for the studies would be $75 million. The hope is the state money would help draw down federal dollars to complete the work.

While the rail authority members are enthusiastic about the project, they acknowledge they have yet to find a local lawmaker willing to sponsor the bonding request. Several Republican members of the delegation have voiced skepticism about the rail project, which is estimated to cost upwards of $1.5 billion to build. Sen. Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, who chairs the Senate Capital Investment Committee, said he has lots of questions about the project. Those include who would own the rail line and what sorts of operating costs would be incurred. Rep. Mike Benson, R-Rochester, and Rep. Duane Quam, R-Byron, have also raised questions about the proposal.

So why move ahead with this funding request now? Officials say DFL Gov. Mark Dayton is very supportive of the Zip Rail project and tye are optimistic the request will be included in his bonding proposal. They added that the county cannot afford to just sit around and wait for a better political and economic climate. Olmsted County Commissioner Ken Brown compares the plans for high-speed rail to the investments made in the 1950s to build the interstate system.

"I understand the perceived skepticism but from a personal point of view, I believe this is the future," he said.

Walz wants more money for disaster relief

 


DFL Congressman Tim Walz joined fellow Democrats today in voting against a measure that would provide $3.7 billion for disaster relief and prevent a government shutdown. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the measure this morning. The delay in approving funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) means flood buyouts for homes severely damaged in last year's floods are on hold.

So why did Walz vote no? Walz's spokeswoman Sara Severs said the congressman wants to see more funding for federal disaster aid. He favors a proposal by Senate Democrats that would allocate $7 billion for FEMA. The congressman issued the following statement: 

"In southern Minnesota, we know what it feels like to start recovering from a natural disaster.  And whether it's a tornado that touches down in Minnesota, an earthquake that hits California, a hurricane that hits Florida or a fire blazes across Texas, disasters affect us all. 

I voted against this legislation because I believe it fails to give FEMA the tools to meet the needs of Americans. There are communities in my district who are still waiting for FEMA funds and unless we get FEMA adequate resources, I cannot be sure southern Minnesota communities will see that help.  I am asking my colleagues to put partisan politics aside, come up with a common-sense compromise so we can rebuild all our communities hit by disaster."

Congress has until Sept. 30 to reach a compromise in order to avoid a government shutdown. Senate Democrats have voiced opposition to the House bill, which offsets the cost of disaster relief funding with spending cuts for a government loan program to help car companies build fuel-efficient vehicles.

Walz to hold Congress on Your Corner event in Austin

First District Congressman Tim Walz will be dropping by an Austin grocery store next week to chat with voters.

The Mankato Democrat is hosting a "Congress on Your Corner" event from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday at Hy-Vee, 1001 18th Avenue Northwest. Residents are encouraged to drop by to share their concerns with the congressman.

"Hearing the thoughts and ideas of southern Minnesotans is the cornerstone of our representative democracy. I am looking forward to the opportunity to hear from folks," Walz said in a released statement.

Republicans to hold town hall on reform

Republican legislators are hosting a town hall in Rochester next week to share their ideas for reforming state government.

Rep. Mike Benson of Rochester, Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa and Rep. Duane Quam of Byron announced the town hall yesterday, which will focus on the GOP's "Reform 2.0" initiative for the upcoming legislative session. The town hall will be Thursday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Century High School, 2525 Viola Road N.E. in Rochester. Minnesota House Majority Leader Matt Dean is also expected to attend.

According to a news release, the redesign efforts at the legislature last year will save the state $2.5 billion according to "some analysts." (Not sure what that means or what the number is based on) It adds that Reform 2.0 will "seek ideas that promote opportunity and preserve individual responsibility through limiting government over-reach, improving the state's business climate to help job growth, reduce meaningless mandates that overlap between state, local and federal governments, lowering taxes and reforming the state tax code, and promoting government services that are effective."

Residents are encouraged to attend and offer their ideas.

Moen officially announces he'll challenge Nelson

With a crowd of roughly 20 supporters looking on, Rochester trial attorney Ken Moen announced he is running against GOP Sen. Carla Nelson. The Democrat said he was inspired to run after watching the lead up to the government shutdown and the refusal of Nelson to support tax increases to help balance the budget.

"I thought that was very poor representation, and now we've got a bigger hole to dig ourselves out of as a result of what didn't happen," Moen said.

He also blasted Nelson for not supporting the Mayo Civic Center expansion and having "fled from serving on the health and human services committee despite the fact that she represents a community with the Mayo Clinic, the state's largest private employer."

In an interview before today's official announcement, Nelson disputed Moen's claim she does not support the Mayo Civic Center expansion.

Moen said his 34 years of experience as a trial lawyer make him a "seasoned negotiator," which will help him as a legislator. He also emphasized he is willing to compromise

"We cannot continue to be represented by people who only vote "no" and refuse to make a credible effort for the citizens, employers and interests of their districts," he said.

Redistricting complicating candidate recruitment

Republicans and Democrats are already hard at work trying to recruit candidates to run for the legislature in 2012. Complicating those efforts are uncertainty about where the political boundaries for the 2012 race will be drawn.

Tony Sutton, chairman of the state Republican Party, said the prospect of redistricting has some potential candidates hanging back until they know for sure what the districts will look like.

"It does create the unknown. We talk to people about running, and they say, 'We're interested in running, but we don't know where the lines are,'" he said. 

Every 10 years, after the U.S. Census, states are required to change congressional and legislative districts to recognize population shifts. The courts are expected to determine where those lines will be drawn, and that process likely won't be completed until late February.

One candidate is jumping in without waiting for the lines to be drawn. Rochester DFL trial attorney Ken Moen is expected to announce this afternoon he will challenge GOP Sen. Carla Nelson. Moen said he lives within six blocks of Nelson so he the odds of not being in her Senate district are slim.

Minnesota DFL Chairman Ken Martin said his party is urging candidates not to wait until the final lines are drawn.

"We don't want to lose any time or energy over the next five or six months as we wait until those maps come out," Martin said. "So we highly encourage people to get in now and start running."

Lynch not running for Senate again

Former DFL Sen. Ann Lynch said in an interview this afternoon she does not plan to run again for the Senate.

"I am moving on. I can't underscore enough that I am so proud of the work that was accomplished during my tenure, and it was a privilege to work with the community," the Rochester Democrat said.

Republican Sen. Carla Nelson defeated the one-term lawmaker last year with 54 percent of the vote.

Lynch said at this point she is exploring her options and has yet to make any decisions about her next career move. Her announcement comes as Rochester DFL trial attorney Ken Moen is expected to announce tomorrow he will run against Nelson.

Moen to run against Nelson

Rochester trial attorney Ken Moen is expected to announce tomorrow that he will run against Republican Sen. Carla Nelson for the Senate District 30 seat. Moen, a Democrat, is expected to announce his candadicy at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Government Center in Rochester.

Moen has long been involved in DFL politics helping campaigns behind the scenes. That includes helping with the late Sen. Paul Wellstone's campaigns, along with supporting DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Al Franken. This is the first time he has run as a candidate. He registered a campaign committee with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board last week.

Nelson was elected last year to the Senate after defeating DFL Sen. Ann Lynch. Nelson previously served in the Minnesota House from 2003 to 2004. Lynch has expressed interest in running for the seat again. She sent out a fundraising letter last spring.