Political Notebook

Senate Republicans to pick new leader today

Senate Republicans will gather today to elect a new Senate majority leader to replace Sen. Amy Koch. This comes after Koch resigned her post after being confronted by Senate Republican leaders about allegations she had an "inappropriate relationship" with a male staffer. Koch later issued a statement apologizing for the relationship. The day after Koch's resignation, Senate Communications Director Michael Brodkorb was fired from his position with the Senate.

For reporters, this promises to be one of those days where you spend hours waiting for news. Today's first challenge was simply finding out where the vote was taking place. Senate GOP communications declined to officially release the location saying they would notify press later this morning. I have managed to find that out via my sources, so now I am headed to the location. I expect to spend several hours camped out by the room where the voting is taking place waiting for the big announcement.

One of Rochester's senators is expecting to be in the running for majority leader. Sen. Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, previously served as minority leader.

 

Parry decides not to run for majority leader

Republican Sen. Mike Parry has decided not to run for Senate majority leader, instead focusing on his 1st District congressional campaign. Parry is one of two Republicans hoping to challenge 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz. The other is former state Rep. Allen Quist of St. Peter.

Here's Parry's statement:

"While I appreciate the encouragement I've received from friends and colleagues to run for majority leader, the best place for me to fight for Minnesota's veterans and end 'politics as usual' is in Washington. As we've seen this past week, Washington is in dire need of new leaders who will end these political games and solve our nation's problems."

Senate Republicans plan to elect a new leader on Tuesday. The election comes after Sen. Amy Koch resigned last week the post. Since her resignation, it was revealed she had an inappropriate relationship with a male Senate staffer.

Koch: "I have made some mistakes and errors in judgement"

Sen. Amy Koch released a statement today apologizing for having a relationship with a Senate staffer. Koch resigned her position as Senate majority leader last Thursday. At the time, she said it was because she had decided not to run for re-election to her seat, and Republicans could not afford to have a "lame duck" in negotiations. One day later a group of senior Senators revealed they had confronted Koch before she resigned about allegations she was having an "inappropriate relationship" with a Senate staffer. Also on Friday, interim Majority Leader Geoff Michel announced the Senate Republicans' Communications Director Michael Brodkorb was no longer with the Senate.  The Star Tribune reported that Brodkorb was fired.

Here is the statement she released today:

"In a letter dated 12.15.11, I announced that I was resigning as Majority Leader for personal reasons. I have made some mistakes and errors in judgment for which I am deeply sorry by engaging in a relationship with a Senate staffer. While I have not violated any laws or Senate rules, nor misused any state funds or property, I want to express my deep regret and apologies to my constituents, the Republican party, my fellow legislators, friends and most importantly, my family. I regret more than words can express the hurt that I have caused to the people that I love, and to those who have worked and served with me over the past years.

The events of recent days have been very difficult for me and those close to me. It is important that I spend time now focusing on the challenging days ahead as I work through some very personal issues."

 

Senate Republicans to elect majority leader on Tuesday

Senate Republicans are set to elect a new leader on Tuesday after Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch resigned her post amid allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a Senate staffer.

Rochester Sen. Dave Senjem is among those considering a bid for the post. He previously served four years as minority leader until he was replaced by Koch last year. There are plenty of other names being tossed out as possible candidates. They include interim Senate Majority Leader Geoff Michel of Edina, Sen. David Hann of Eden Prairie, Sen. Julianne Ortman of Chanhassan, Sen. Dave Thompson of Lakeville and Sen. Bill Ingebritsen of Alexandria. Another interested candidate, Sen. Michael Jungbauer of East Bethel, actually posted a video on YouTube asking voters to encourage lawmakers to elect him. Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, said she is among the senators who has contacted Senjem and urged him to run. She says the Senate needs a seasoned leader at the helm.

It's clear that it's not just senators that will be lobbying on the issue of a new leader. Just saw a Tweet from Cory Merrifield with Save the Vikes that says "#Vikings fans please contact your Senator regarding the Majority Leader election."

The new leader will play a key role in determining what legislation moves ahead -- including whether a Vikings Stadium is built and if gambling is expanded to pay for it. Other key issues this session include the bonding bill and several proposed constitutional amendments.

Senjem considers run for majority leader

Rochester GOP Sen. Dave Senjem said on Sunday he is considering running for Senate majority leader.

"I am considering it. I am getting a fair amount of encouragement — a number of calls over the last several days to do it," he said.

But Senjem said he has not been giving the idea too much thought this weekend because he is still in a period of "mourning" over Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch resigning her post after she was confronted by fellow senators for allegedly being involved in an "inappropriate relationship" with a male Senate staffer.

"The concern really personally is for Amy right now and not so much what I do or frankly the politics of the caucus," he said.

Last week is probably one that most Republicans in the state would like to forget. On Thursday, Koch shocked many at the Capitol by announcing she was stepping down for her leadership post after one year on the job and would not seek re-election to her seat. In her letter to colleagues, she said  "We cannot afford to have a lame duck leader in negotiations."

But the real bombshell came on Friday. Republican Senate leaders said they had confronted Koch on Wednesday night about allegations of an "inappropriate relationship" with a Senate staffer. Later that day, news broke that the Minnesota Senate's Communications Director Michael Brodkorb was no longer employed by the Senate. Brodkorb later resigned his position as a volunteer adviser for 1st Congressional District GOP candidate Mike Parry, according to campaign spokesman Ben Golnik.

Senjem previously served as minority leader for four years and was at the helm last year when Republicans took back control of the Senate for the first time in 38 years. Despite his role leading the party to the politial promise land, he ended up stepping aside for Koch, who won the caucus' backing.

Senjem said the last couple of days have been difficult, but he said he is confident the party gain regain its footing.

"Clearly it takes a little bit of momentum away and we are going to have to recapture that momentum and go forward strong," Senjem.

As for Koch, the Rochester senator said he wants her to seriously consider staying in the legislature.

"She is a fine legislator. She made an unfortunate mistake here, but we all do in some respects — different kinds of mistakes," he said.

 

Senjem, Quam to address property tax concerns in West Concord

Two local Republicans are participating in a town hall meeting on Monday in West Concord to address concerns raised by citizens and local business owners about rising property taxes.

Sen. Dave Senjem, of Rochester, and Rep. Duane Quam, of Byron, will both be at the town hall meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the West Concord American Legion, 133 E. Main St.

The discussion is likely to center on the elimination of the Market Value Homestead Credit, which was approved by the GOP-led Legislature and DFL Gov. Mark Dayton as part of this year's budget deal. The program provided direct payments to local governments to subsidize local property taxes. Scrapping the program is expected to save the state $260 million.

To make up for the credit cut, lawmakers approved a homestead exclusion for homes valued at $413,800 or less. That exclusion reduces the tax base for cities. In small rural towns like West Concord, which has a lot of lower-priced homes, the tax change shifts the burden to businesses and those with higher-valued homes.

In October, Dodge County Finance Director Lisa Kramer said to make up for the lost tax capacity caused by the state law change, West Concord would need to raise its tax rate by 40 percent to bring in the same amount of money.

Democrats are blaming Republicans for supporting the tax change, which they say is forcing up property taxes across the state. Two former House tax chairs have vowed to push to restore the tax credit in the 2012 session. Republicans counter that it is up to local governments to set property tax rates and it is unfair to blame them. They also note the state often ended up stiffing local governments on the credit when it came time to pay the bill. Quam wrote a column defending those cuts that ran in today's Post-Bulletin.

 

Walz votes for GOP payroll tax holiday plan

1st District Rep. Tim Walz was one of ten Democrats to vote in favor of the Republicans' plan to extend the payroll tax holiday for one year.

Most House Democrats voted against the bill citing concerns with other provisions tacked onto the measure. That included language that would speed up construction of the Keystone Pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada's oil sands to the Gulf Coast. The bill paid for the tax holiday by extending a pay freeze for civilian federal workers for another year and reducing the government workforce. 

Walz issued the following statement about his vote:

"While this bill is anything but perfect, extending tax cuts for middle class families is too important to play politics with. This tax break will go directly into the pockets of hardworking families who will spend it at the local grocery or hardware store. I am sick of the political games being played in Washington. It is time to get things done. Tax breaks for the middle class will strengthen our economy and create jobs that will help us tackle the long-term national debt facing our country."

Also included in the bill is a provision that would allow some renewable energy grants that were part of the federal stimulus package to expire. Republican 2nd District Rep. John Kline supports scrapping these grants citing concerns about how the money could be used for a controversial wind farm in Goodhue County.

“This is a wind energy project Goodhue County citizens don’t want funded by taxpayer money the federal government doesn’t have,” Kline said in a statement. “Given the economic challenges facing our country, we cannot in good conscience use taxpayer dollars to subsidize industries that have failed to demonstrate proven results to help our long-term energy strategy.”

The bill passed 234 to 193. But the Democratically-controlled Senate is unlikely to pass this plan. President Obama has also threatened to veto a bill that includes the Keystone Pipeline language. If Republicans and Democrats fail to reach a deal on the payroll tax holiday it will end up costing the average American family $1,000 next year.

 

 

 

Senate bonding tour includes Mayo Civic Center, Zip Rail

The Senate Capital Investments Committee will be headed to southeast Minnesota on Wednesday to check out a lengthly list of construction projects.

The two-day tour kicks off at 9 a.m. with a visit to Lake Byllesby in Canon Falls to learn about some proposed dam improvements. From there, the committee heads to Red Wing, Mantorville, Rochester and Winona. Day two of the tour includes stops in Chatfield, Stewartville, Austin and Albert Lea.

The Senate committee's tour schedule is in sharp contrast to the House Capital Investments Committee, which only made one stop in Rochester to learn about a proposal to relocate the city's workforce center to Rochester Community and Technical College. The Senate committee will be learning about five Rochester projects. They include Olmsted County's proposal for $15 million for study and design work for the proposed Zip Rail line to the Twin Cities, $35 million for the Mayo Civic Center expansion and $6 million for a new 65th Street Northwest and U.S. 52 interchange. Why checking out so many more projects? Probably doesn't hurt that the senate committee chairman is Rochester Republican Sen. Dave Senjem.

But just because a project makes the list does not mean its a shoe-in to get state funding. Senjem said the state has more than $2.2 billion in requests and any bonding bill the Republican-led legislature backs will likely be around $400 million to $500 million.

"You really have to say "no" to the vast majority of them just based on the numbers," Senjem said.

Are Dayton and Parry going to "bury the hatchet?"

Looks like DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican state Sen. Mike Parry's may be headed for reconciliation after their latest spat.

Dayton has invited Parry over for breakfast at the Governor's Mansion next week "to discuss the ways in which we can continue to work constructively together." Parry has agreed to have breakfast with Dayton Thursday.

This comes after Dayton abruptly cancelled a meeting with Parry and Mazeppa GOP Rep. Steve Drazkowski scheduled for today. The governor was angry about a fundraising email sent out as part of Parry's 1st Congressional Campaign in which the Waseca Republican wrote that labor unions bought the governor's mansion and that "in the past few months, the governor began to return the favor, most recently by trying to help unionize some of Minnesota's in-home, private child care providers."

Dayton said he would no longer meet with Parry in person and would only respond to him in writing. Parry then sent a letter to the governor suggesting they meet for breakfast and "bury the hatchet." For a full run down of the dispute, check out my earlier post.

It's worth noting in Parry's fundraising email that he plans to go after DFL Congressman Tim Walz for his support of unions. Here's what the email says:

"Like Governor Dayton, Congressman Walz has been an unabashed supporter of expanding union control. I can't wait for the coming campaign when I can teach Congressman Walz the same lesson that we taught this week: you can't force hard working Minnesotans into a union."

Dayton vows to no longer meet with Parry

A fundraising email sent out by GOP state Sen. Mike Parry for his 1st Congressional District campaign proved to be the final straw for DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. The governor promptly canceled a meeting scheduled for today with Parry and Mazeppa GOP Rep. Steve Drazkowski. In an email to the lawmakers, he blasted Parry calling his fundraising email "inaccurate and deeply offensive."

Parry's email has to do with Dayton's order that in-home daycare providers vote on unionization. A Ramsey County judge recently blocked that vote after some daycare providers and conservative groups filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the election. A hearing is set for mid-January and Dayton plans to contest the judge's decision.

In his email, Parry writes "It's no secret that the labor unions helped buy the Governor's Office for Mark Dayton. In the past few months, he began to return the favor, most recently by trying to help unionize some of Minnesota's in-home, private child care providers."

Dayton responded in his email saying it is one thing for Parry to criticize his position on the issue. But the governor wrote "It is entirely different, however, to make malicious, false accusations about someone, who is not even up for re-election, for your own crass political purposes. I will not meet with you and provide further fodder for your political activities. If you have questions of me, submit them in writing, and I will respond in writing to them."

It should be noted that Dayton apologized to Drazkowski and offered to reschedule a meeting with him.

Parry, chair of the Senate State Government Innovations and Veterans Committee, responded by writing a letter to Dayton saying he is "disappointed" by the governor's remarks. He added, "We must not let our political differences get in the way of the progress we have made and can continue to make."

He suggested they have coffee and "bury the hatchet."

This is not the first time Parry and Dayton have butted heads. The two fought over the impact of proposed budget cuts for veterans programs. Parry also called for Dayton to resign following the state government shutdown.