Political Notebook

Walz wishes SPAM a happy 75th birthday

  

1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz took to the U.S. House floor on Wednesday to honor that iconic meat-in-a-can called SPAM.

Clutching a can of SPAM in his hand, Walz spent over a minute praising Hormel Food's world-renowned product. He recounted how Jay Hormel came up with the idea in 1937 for canned spiced ham, which would become SPAM. Since then, more than 7 billion cans have been sold. He also praised Hormel Foods for providing good jobs in southern Minnesota and for their efforts to support medical research by partnering with the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota to create the Hormel Institute.

"SPAM is an important part of our history. It played an essential role in feeding our troops, creating jobs and has become an iconic American product," Walz said. "So today I honor Hormel's past and look forward to their future. Happy 75th birthday SPAM."

Parry campaign says time for Quist to "man up"

The gloves are definitely off in the 1st District Republican primary. State Sen. Mike Parry's campaign sent out a press release today filled with controversial statements made by his opponent Allen Quist in the past.

"Now Quist claims his controversial statments from the past are a 'total invention,' total fabrication,' and 'total bull.' Widely reported at the time, Quist's controversial statements would be devestating in a general election campaign today,"said Parry campaign political adviser Ben Golnik.

He adds, "Will Quist come clean and take responsibility for his previous comments? It's time for perennial candidate Allen Quist to man up and explain what he meant by these outrageous comments."

 The campaign then dredges up comments Quist has made in the past based on newspaper articles. That includes a statement that he believes "the husband should be the head of the household" from a 1994 Star Tribune article. The press release also cites a St. Paul Pioneer Press article from 1993 that says Quist did an undercover investigation of an X-rated bookstore. To see the full press release, go here.

Quist's wife and campaign manager Julie Quist said all the Parry campaign has been doing in recent weeks is launching negative attacks.

"It would be really good for him to put something out that was a little positive about what he intends to do and what his issues are," she said.

Parry and Quist are set to square-off in the Aug. 14 primary. The winner will take on DFL 1st District Rep. Tim Walz. Wonder if these latest attacks will come up in Friday's debate between Parry and Quist on TPT's Almanac show?

Quist touts Valeriano during fundraiser

Republican House candidate Melissa Valeriano joined other supporters of 1st District GOP candidate Allen Quist at a fundraiser in Rochester last Friday featuring 6th District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. At one point during the event, Quist made a point of introducing Valeriano, who is running against Rochester DFL Rep. Kim Norton for the House District 25B seat.

"Getting to know Melissa has been a joy. We are philosophically on the same page, and what I see is total commitment, incredible talent and total dedication to turning things around in our state and our country," Quist said.

Valeriano said she "absolutely" shares Quist's philosophical beliefs and is determined to beat Norton.

"We decided (Norton) has worked hard enough for the northwestern part of the city, and she should have a rest come November," she said.

Quist is running against fellow Republican Mike Parry in the Aug. 14 primary. The winner will take on DFL Rep. Tim Walz in November. On the campaign trail, Quist has emphasized the need to cut government spending and solve the federal budget deficit within 5 years.

Rochester Democrats to host town hall on election law

Two Rochester Democrats are hosting a town hall meeting Monday night to talk about ideas for changing state election law to deal with the problem created by the sudden death of Rochester City Council President Dennis Hanson.

Hanson died unexpectedly June 27 of a ruptured brain aneurysm. A 2011 change in state election law prevents Hanson's name from being removed from the ballot. One other candidate, Jan Throndson, is running for the four-year term. That leaves three options: Thronsdon wins the seat, Hanson wins and the city council calls a special election or a write-in candidate wins.

Rep. Kim Norton and Rep. Tina Liebling say it's clear there is not enough time to change the law before this fall's election. But they said they want to brainstorm ideas for ways to change the law so that other communities aren't faced with this situation.

"Sometimes out of tragedy you can kind of heal by taking a bad situation and making some positive progress come out of it,” Liebling said.

The lawmakers have invited the Rochester City Council, Olmsted County Board, Rochester School Board, other local legislators and local leaders to attend. It will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Olmsted County Government Center.

The Democrats say this should be a nonpartisan issue and they want to work with their Republican colleagues on a solution. Norton added they wanted to hold the meeting now before the campaign season really ramps up and legislators' schedules become too crowded.

But at least one local Republican was skeptical about the timing of the event. Rep. Mike Benson, who serves on the state's Election Integrity Task Force, said he thinks it's too soon to be holding a town hall on the issue.

“I think it’s more election year politics to have a hurry up (approach) when there’s really no immediate need,” he said.

Fundraising, light rail & Bachmann: A CD1 primary race update

The political wrangling between 1st Congressional District GOP candidates Mike Parry and Allen Quist continues heading into the Aug. 14 primary. The two are battling for the chance to take on 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz in November. Here's a quick recap of the events of this week so far.

Parry, who is trailing in the campaign money race, sent out a fundraising letter yesterday to supporters asking for donations and citing Quist's willingness to put $1 million of his own money into his campaign.

"My opponent has not won an election since 1986 — his views are out of the mainstream and voters have tried, tested and rejected him the last five times he's run for office. But he won't be stopped as long as he's willing to write himself a check for up to $1 million," the letter states.

This letter comes out as Quist gears up for a fundraiser featuring former presidential candidate and 6th District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in Rochester on Friday. The former state representative from St. Peter has also started airing TV ads across the 1st District — including in Minnesota. The ad features his granddaughter Lucia climbing red steps that turn into a graph of the nation's soaring deficit. In the ad, Quist says "Let's balance the budget and leave a better world for our kids."

Meanwhile, the Parry campaign is continuing its attacks on Quist's record. The latest attacks center on Quist's views on light rail. At his Rochester town hall last week, Quist said his view on light rail has always been that he supports building it as long as no government subsidies are used. Parry's campaign says that's not true. They sent out what they called a "fact check" saying that Quist has "backed light rail boondoggles for years." As evidence, they cite debates from 1998 when Quist said he supports light rail.

Last but not least, Parry will be getting plenty of media coverage on Friday. The state senator from Waseca wants answers from state officials about the decision to change the names of two constitutional amendment ballot items. Parry has called a meeting of the Senate Government Innovation and Veterans Committee, which he chairs. Testifying before the committee will be Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and State Attorney General Lori Swanson. Ritchie recently announced he was changing the titles of an amendment to ban gay marriage and one to require voters to show photo identification. Conservatives who support those amendment have blasted the secretary for making the change, arguing it is up to the Legislature to determine the ballot question titles.

Nelson calls for transparency in DEED grant decision

UPDATE: I just got off the phone with Sen. Carla Nelson and she said she did not mean to come across as blasting the governor. She said her concern has been to make sure the process is transparent and that members of the public know that there is a set list of criteria that must be used to determine which projects should get funded.

"I just know that as a citizen sitting in southeast Minnesota and reading not just what the governor said and the media around this in general, I was left with the impression this could be a gubernatorial decision, she said." 

Below is what I initially posted based on the senator's press release. Click here to Download Nelson press release

 

Rochester Sen. Carla Nelson blasted DFL Gov. Mark Dayton today for saying he will make the final decision on which projects should be awarded some of the $47.5 million in economic development grant money.

In a news release, the Republican senator said she was "taken aback" by media reports last week that the governor said he would decide how that money should be divvied out.

"It is essential that lawmakers and the public be assured that the removal of legislative earmarks not be replaced by mere gubernatorial earmarks or political pandering," she said.

There's plenty at stake for the city of Rochester in the grant process. The city has requested $25 million from the Department of Employment and Economic Development grant to expand the Mayo Civic Center. That project was among several others that failed to make it into the final $496 million bonding bill. Instead of deciding which projects should get the $47.5 million, lawmakers created the grant program. Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem has said that was a way to get rid of earmarks. Critics accuse lawmakers of abdicating their responsibility to determine how these dollars are spent.

Nelson said she contacted DEED's commissioner on Friday to urge that the grant process be as transparent as possible.

"I want to publicly thank and congratulate DEED Commissioner Mark Phillips for committing to me that once the final selections have been made, all documentation and the rating sheet for each project application will be made publically available," she said.

Nelson, a member of the Senate Capital Investment Committee, has said she played a key role in helping crafting the 11 criteria that are to be used in ranking the projects. They incude number of jobs created, the projected increase to the local tax base and the capacity of the project to attract revenue from out of state.

"The legislative language clearly states that project selection must be based on the highest return in public benefits for the public cost incurred," she said.

 

 

Parry raises $52,000 in 2nd quarter

Republican Mike Parry has the least amount of cash of any of the 1st District candidates, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Parry raised $52,000 during the second quarter and has less than $31,000 in cash on hand. He has raised a total of $102,000 towards his campaign. Fellow Republican candidate Allen Quist meanwhile has $165,000 in the bank -- thanks in large part to donations he made to his own campaign. 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz enjoys a massive cash advantage, with more than $800,000 in the bank.

In a written statement, Parry campaign adviser Ben Golnik said it's important to remember that Parry this quarter more than doubled the total amount he had raised so far in his campaign. He also lashed out at Quist.

"Perennial candidate Allen Quist has contributed nearly $200,000 to his campaign and has only raised $23,160 in additional funds.  No matter how much  Allen Quist spends on slick TV ads, he will not be able to obscure the fact that he is out of touch with taxpayers -- whether it's Quist's vote to raise the gas tax, his support of a sales tax hike, outspoken support of light rail boondoggles, or out-of-mainstream comments about the role of women in society."

Walz boasts massive campaign war chest

As his Republican opponents continue to slug it out, 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz is heading into the November election with a massive campaign war chest.

The three-term congressman raised $237,000 during the second quarter, bringing the total amount of money raised for his re-election to a whopping $1.4 million, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission. He has $808,000 in cash on hand.

Republicans Mike Parry and Allen Quist are squaring-off in the Aug. 14 primary in hopes of taking on Walz in November.

Allen Quist filed his campaign report yesterday. It showed he raised $178,000 during the second quarter with most of that money coming from himself. Quist contributed $170,000 to the campaign. For more, check out this post.

Parry has yet to file his report.

Quist gives big to his congressional campaign

Republican 1st District candidate Allen Quist raised more than $178,000 during the second quarter with most of that money coming from Quist himself.

The latest campaign finance report shows that Quist contributed $170,000 to his campaign. The former state representative from St. Peter is in a fierce primary fight with state Sen. Mike Parry of Waseca. The winner of that Aug. 14 primary will take on 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz in November. Today's the deadline for campaigns to file their second quarter fundraising reports with the Federal Elections Commission. So far, Parry and Walz's fundraising numbers have yet to be released.

Quist's campaign raised $8,230 from individuals during the second quarter. During the 1st District Republican convention, Quist told delegates he was prepared to spend $1 million of his own money on his campaign. So far, he has $165,000 in the bank and is preparing to launch a $100,000 TV ad campaign this week. The St. Peter farmer is expected to get a major fundraising boost on Friday when former presidential candidate and 6th District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann travels to Rochester for a Quist fundraiser.

 

Walz's bill to help veterans find jobs headed to president

Yesterday, the U.S. House and Senate passed a bill sponsored by 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz aimed at making it easier for veterans to find jobs once they come home.

The "Veteran Skills to Jobs Act" streamlines the federal certification process, making it easier for veterans to take advantage of their military skills when looking for jobs at home. The bill directs the head of each federal department and agency to treat relevant military training as sufficient to satisfy training or certification requirements for federal license. The idea is to get rid of redundant training requirements for veterans so they can get back to work sooner.

“We must do all we can to ensure our veterans are finding careers that give them the opportunity to utilize their skills, support their families, and have passion for their work," Walz said in a statement following the bill's passage. "This bill will work to do just that and I’m pleased that both parties were able to work together in bipartisan fashion and send this common-sense bill to the President’s desk to become law. The work does not end here, however, and I will continue to fight for ways to ensure our brave warriors are able to find good paying jobs when they get home.”

The bill is now awaiting President Obama's signature.