Political Notebook

Don't expect to see Parry or Quist with Olmsted GOP float

Republican congressional candidates Mike Parry and Allen Quist have opted not to join the Olmsted County Republicans in this year's Rochesterfest parade. Instead, the two candidates who are set to square-off in the August primary are doing their own thing.

While it's free for politicians to walk in plenty of small town parades, it costs $500 to participate in the Rochester event. Quist said his campaign decided to register for their own spot in the parade after they were unable to get assurances from the Republican Party of Olmsted County they would be able to join them before having to make a decision.

Republican Party of Olmsted County Chairman Bruce Kaskubar said he invited both Parry and Quist to join the party in the parade. Adding to the complications is that the official deadline to register for the parade was April 14. That was before the First District Republicans' endorsing convention on April 21, which ended after 23 ballots with candidates deadlocked over whether to endorse Parry or Quist.

Instead of marching with the Republican party, Parry is walking for free with the "Bell of Honor" float. He said local veteran and Rochester School Board member Terry Throndson approached him and asked him to join them in the parade. The 3,000-pound Bell of Honor is used at funerals and other special events to honor veterans, law enforcement officers and others.

But Parry may run into trouble at the parade. Rochesterfest's Executive Director Carole Brown said politicians are supposed to either walk with a political party unit or pay the $500 to march in the parade on their own. She said the Parry campaign would be violating those rules by walking with the Bell of Honor.

Mayo Civic Center faces steep odds in quest for grant money

A Minnesota state commissioner tasked with doling out $47.5 million for economic development projects warned on Tuesday that the city of Rochester faces tough odds in getting money needed to expand the Mayo Civic Center.

"This is such a big project, this is going to be very challenging. But I'll never say never," said Mark Phillips, commissioner of the Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Phillips was in Rochester on Tuesday speaking to members of the Rochester Rotary Club. He talked about the grant in an interview after his presentation to the club.

So why the uphill climb for the Mayo Civic Center project?

One issue is just the sheer size of the request. The city had asked for $35 million in bonding money to fund the $77 million project. It's possible the city could ask for less money, but it would still end up being a large chunk of the grant money. Then there's the issue of competition. Local governments have until June 26 to apply. Phillips said he's not sure what to expect in terms of the number of applications, but he has received at least 35 phone calls about the grant.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman has already sent a letter indicating that his city plans to ask for $27 million to help fund a new St. Paul Saints stadium. The Metropolitan Council is also expected to apply for dollars to fund the Southwest Light Rail Corridor.

One thing that will likely limit the number of applications is a requirement that grant money awarded for projects be matched dollar for dollar.

Also important to consider are the politics. Phillips said House leaders approached him during the last legislative session to tell him that if they could not get enough support to get the St. Paul Saints stadium included in the bonding bill, they would put aside a pool of money with the stadium in mind. He said some promises were made in exchange for votes for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium.

"There wouldn't be a legislator on the planet that would be surprised if the Saints stadium was funded because of the fact there were a lot of St. Paul votes traded for a Saints stadium," he said. "There is a lot of expectation that the Saints will be funded. Whether that will happen or not, I don't know."

I'll have more about this in a story running in tomorrow's paper.

Minnesotan featured in anti-Romney ads to stop in Rochester

A Minnesotan who plays a prominent role in an anti-Mitt Romney ad will stop in Rochester as part of a statewide tour to campaign for President Barack Obama.

David Foster was the lead negotiator for steelworkers at GST Steel in Kansas City. The company went bankrupt in 1993 after being taken over by Bain Capital while Romney was at the helm. A total of 750 steelworkers lost their jobs. Foster will be taking part in Obama for America's "Minnesota Made" tour and is expected to talk about the importance of a strong manufacturing sector. The tour kicks-off in southern Minnesota with stops tomorrow in Mankato, Rochester and Winona. 

Obama has blasted his Republican rival for his time at Bain Capital and the number of jobs eliminated. Romney has defended his time at the private equity firm, arguing that unlike Obama he has experience in the private sector and is better qualified to fix the economy.

Ventura volunteers to fight marriage amendment

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura said both he and former First Lady Terry Ventura have pledged to do whatever they can to help defeat a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.

"I certainly hope that people don't amend our constitution to stop gay marriage because number one the constitution is there to protect people — not oppress them," Ventura said in a recent interview.

In November, Minnesota voters will decide whether to amend the state's constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

Ventura said the issue is personal for him because when he was a professional wrestler he had a friend who was gay who had been with his partner for more than 20 years. One day, he said his friends' partner got sick and he was unable to be by his bedside because hospital rules only allowed spouse or next of kin.

"And because they are not allowed to be married he's neither. That's cruel," he said.

Ventura said he believes the majority should not be able to make decisions about the civil rights of a minority.

"If you did that, we would still have slavery because the majority isn't going to think about the minority," he said. "You have to have politicians with courage who will stand up and say this is a civil rights issue, and where do we get off that the government should decide who you should fall in love with and marry?"

Obama re-election campaign kicks-off in Rochester

The local push to re-elect Democratic President Barack Obama officially kicks-off in Rochester on Saturday.

Local Democrats will gather at the Obama for America Office at 1107 7th St. N.W. as part of a "Day of Action." The event starts at 10 a.m. with Jeff Blodgett, state director for Obama for America — Minnesota, addressing campaign volunteers. Also expected to attend are Blair Jasper, regional field director for the 1st Congressional District and staffer Nick Coe. The official grand opening for the campaign office will be June 22 and 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz is expected to speak.

After the opening comments, volunteers will hit the streets to start knocking on doors with the goal of getting Democrats elected in November. At 1 p.m., volunteers will celebrate the start of the 2012 campaign season at Rochester's Democratic Party Office for a barbecue featuring burgers and hot dogs. Volunteers will have the chance to talk to local DFL legislative candidates July Ohly, John Vossen, Kim Norton, Ken Moen, Tina Liebling and Pat Stallman.

Walz to call on Congress to extend wind production tax credit

First District DFL Rep. Tim Walz will be join area labor leaders in Rochester this afternoon to urge members of Congress to extend the wind production tax credit.

Walz will meet with the media at the wind energy training center at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 343 facility. He is expected to be joined by representatives from the Minnesota Labor Council and the BlueGreen Alliance. The credit dates back to 1992 and provides an income tax credit of 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour produced from wind energy. Unless a deal is reached to extend the credit, it is set to expire later this year. The 1st Congressional District, which extends across southern Minnesota, ranks fifth in the U.S. for installed wind capacity.

 

Kline attends Red Wing forum as race heats up

Second Congressional District Rep. John Kline will travel to Red Wing today to meet with area business leaders and answer questions. The Republican will attend a lunch hour forum at the St. James Hotel sponsored by the Red Wing Area Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters.

Kline's visit to Red Wing comes at a time when the congressman is expected to face his biggest election challenge since winning the seat in 2002. Thanks to redistricting, the district's boundaries have become more friendly to Democrats. Kline's DFL challenger Mike Obermueller also got a boost this week. The Demcoratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced Obermueller has earned a spot on their "Red to Blue" list of targeted race. That brings with it the potential for financial and strategic help.

But there's no doubt it's still an uphill climb for Obermueller. The Cook Political Report, University of Virginia's Center for Politics and Roll Call all rate the district as "likely Republican" at this point. In 2010, Kline trounced DFL challenger Shelley Madore, winning with more than 63 percent of the vote.

Bills to campaign in Rochester

Republican senate candidate Kurt Bills will be in town on Saturday meeting with voters. He will be doing a meet and greet at Godfather's Pizza, 1611 16th St. N.W. According to the Republican Party of Olmsted County website, Bills plans to talk about his campaign and answer questions from voters.

Bills is challenging DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who was endorsed this past Saturday in Rochester at the DFL State Convention. In 2006, Klobuchar defeated Republican Mark Kennedy for the seat. The former prosecutor dominated in Olmsted County, winning 53 percent of the vote compared to Kennedy's 42 percent. That was a big year for Democrats both locally and nationally. 

Bills is the Ron Paul-backed candidate who won the GOP endorsement a couple of weeks ago in St. Cloud. He is an economics teacher from Rosemount. He is also expected to participate in Pine Island's Cheese Festival Parade on Sunday.