Political Notebook

Drazkowski warns of 'extreme environmental advocates' pushing more regulation

In an email to constituents on Sunday, Rep. Steve Drazkowski warns of an effort by government officials and "extreme environmental advocates" to increase environmental regulations that will "undoubtedly include the killing of even more Minnesota jobs."

The Mazeppa Republican is critical of a report recently competed by the Environmental Quality Board that recommends beefing up the board's staffing and improving its transparency. Drazkowski notes in his email that legislation was introduced last session to eliminate the board because its usefulness "has been almost non-existent." He also warns that a series of Environmental Congress meetings around the state are simply a way to legitimize the board.

"As far as I can tell, the efforts by our state government to notify farmers and other business owners throughout the state, about these meetings, has been extremely limited. This may have been by design.  I encourage you to attend one or more of these sessions to represent common sense in the discussions.  Please notify your friends and neighbors in other parts of the state, as well," Drazkowski wrote.

The Rochester meeting is tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to noon at Wood Lake Meeting Center. It appears the Rochester Tea Party Patriots are also skeptical of these Environmental Congress meetings, writing in their weekly newsletter that "this will likely be a put up job with a predetermined outcome."

Ellen Anderson, senior adviser to the governor on energy and environment, said Drazkowski's assertion that notification about the meetings has been limited is "completely false." She said the board has sent out hundreds of email invitations to various stakeholders including farm groups, chambers of commerce, mining groups, environmental groups and energy groups — just to name a few.

 

 

 

 

Rochester election may lead to election-law change

Rochester DFL Rep. Kim Norton is considering drafting legislation aimed at addressing a problem uncovered by this year's Rochester City Council election.

Longtime Rochester City Council President Dennis Hanson's name remained on the November ballot even though he passed away on June 27. The issue is that state law does not allow a candidate's name to be removed from the ballot in a nonpartisan race — even if the candidate has died since filling to run. State law also did not allow for a re-opening of the filing period. That left one other living candidate — Jan Throndson — on the ballot. Another candidate, Jeff Thompson, launched a write-in campaign.

Hanson's family and friends ended up mounting a campaign urging people to vote for Hanson to force a special election. They were successful, with Hanson winning 51.4 percent of the vote. A special election is expected to be held in early April to fill the seat, which is expected to cost between $50,000 to $60,000. But the price tag could climb to $120,000 if a primary election is needed.

Norton said she wants to see if a change could be made to help avoid this type of situation in the future.

"We shouldn't have to spend this kind of money to do this. There should be a process in place," she said.

Dayton to Vikes: I supported a People's Stadium, not a Rich People's Stadium

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton is none too pleased with the Minnesota Vikings. The governor fired off a letter to the football team's owners Mark and Zygi Wilf today warning them he will fight any efforts to make season ticket holders pay part of the cost of building the new $975 million stadium.

"This private contribution is your responsibility, not theirs. I said this new stadium would be a 'People's Stadium,' not a 'Rich People's Stadium.' I meant it then, and I mean it now," Dayton wrote.

This comes after recent media reports that the Vikings emailed surveys to season-ticket holders to see if they would be willing to pay more for personal seat licenses in order to get the rights to certain seats. Dayton vowed he would urge the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority to block the sale of those licenses and "if necessary, I will go to the Legislature next January and urge that the authorization be rescinded."

Dayton also made clear he is not pleased with the Vikings' eagerness to play home games overseas. He said that when the Vikings intially announced that one of their 2013 home games would be played in London, the team said it should not count towards their three-game limit of overseas games over 15 years because the final agreement had not been signed.

Dayton said after his "strong objection," the team reversed course and said it would count as one of the three games, but he noted that the team is already talking about a second home game that would be played overseas.

"The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority and the Vikings are supposed to be working together to build a new $975 million stadium. It would be far more helpful, if the Vikings focused public attention on a desire to play home games there, rather than elsewhere," Dayton wrote.

Local residents will get their chance to weigh in today on plans for the stadium's design. The Vikings and Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority are hosting a listening session with the stadium architect at 6:30 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Rochester.

Click here to Download Dayton's letter to the Vikings

Democrats elect their new leaders

Two days after their massive electoral comeback at the polls, legislative Democrats elected their new leaders. In both the House and Senate, DFL members on Thursday rewarded the individuals that helped them reclaim control of both chambers.

Senate Democrats elected Sen. Tom Bakk of Cook to be Senate Majority Leader. He had served the past two years as minority leader. In the House, the DFL caucus named current House Minority Leader Paul Thissen of Minneapolis as their choice for Speaker of the House.

No southeast Minnesota lawmakers got picked for the other key legislative positions. Here's the list of other lawmakers getting the leadership nod. In the Senate, Sen. Katie Sieben of Newport was elected assistant majority leader and Sen. Sandy Pappas was chosen as the next president of the Senate. Sen. Rich Cohen, of St. Paul, was named chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and Sen. Rod Skoe of Clearbrook will be chairman of the Senate Taxes Committee.

In the House, members chose Rep. Erin Murphy of St. Paul as majority leader. She played a key role in helping recruit candidates for the election.

Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester, said she did have some concerns about the top House leadership spots being held by two metro-area lawmakers. Rep. Paul Marquart of Dilworth also ran for the post. But in the end, Norton said she expects Murphy will do a good job.

"I was just concerned with the two Twin City representatives at the top, and I would have much preferred having geographical balance," she said.

Senjem reacts to the GOP losing the Senate

I have left a couple of message for Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem to talk to him about Tuesday's election results, but have not heard back yet. Today, he issued a statement expressing his disappointment at Republicans losing control of the Senate two years after he helped them reclaim it after a 38-year drought.

Below is a copy of the press release.

GOP Leader Senjem comments on Senate Election Results

(ST. PAUL) – After Republicans retained the 28 of seats in the Minnesota State Senate, the current Senate Majority Leader David Senjem (R-Rochester) said he is “disappointed by the elections results” but remains “hopeful for our state.”

Senate Republicans won 28 of the 67 state senate races. Democrats occupy the remaining 39 seats.

“Politics can be very challenging at times. Some very good people lost their election bids on Tuesday night. We are thankful to our friends, families and neighbors who have supported us throughout this election. I am proud of our accomplishments over the past two years. We governed responsibly, made difficult decisions and helped put Minnesota on the right track,” Senjem stated. “I am obviously disappointed by the results of the election. I think Republicans deserved another chance to lead our state. It is important to note that we are leaving the Democrats with a $1.2 billion surplus. Two years ago they left us with a $6.2 billion deficit."

Responsible spending and sensible fiscal management were cornerstone themes of the Republican re-election effort. When Republicans took the majority in January 2011, lawmakers faced a projected $6.2 billion budget deficit. Senate Republicans balanced the budget without raising job killing taxes by making tough decisions, controlling spending, and setting priorities for our state. A subsequent budget surplus allowed the state to fill the depleted cash flow and budget reserve accounts and begin to repay the money borrowed from Minnesota’s schools as a part of past budget agreements.

In addition to balancing the budget deficit, Republicans passed legislation to streamline the permitting process for job growth, provide education accountability reforms and increase integrity in our electoral system.

“In the next biennium, Senate Republicans will continue to focus on growing the economy and fostering a positive environment for job creation in the private sector. We will also work to reform health care and educational systems to help empower citizens – not government bureaucracies – to make decisions that work for them. We wish our DFL colleagues well as we strive to work together for the best interests of Minnesota,” concluded Senjem.

 

 

 

 

Franken offers up some campaign humor during Roch rally

Since winning election to the Minnesota Senate, DFLer Al Franken has downplayed his comedic roots. But during a DFL rally in Rochester on Friday, the senator's get-out-the-vote speech ended with what felt like a stand-up comedy routine, delivered in his classic deadpan style. It began after Franken urged a crowd of DFL volunteers to make sure they don't wake up Nov. 7 with regrets about having not campaigned hard enough in the final four days of the campaign.

"I know some of you have responsibilities. Some of you have families. Ignore them," he said to laughs. "Let me tell you something. This is a fact. An 8-year-old can operate a microwave, OK? Chef Boyardee makes these frozen ravioli things, and you just pop them right in. And kids love nothing more than when their parents leave and they can eat ravioli and watch TV, and that's what kids really love.

And here's another fact — and this is very important. An 8-year-old can teach a 4-year-old to use a microwave. That is a fact. That is a known, known fact. They love it. They love it. Four days is nothing. You can check in on them once over the four days. They'll be just fine."