Political Notebook

Tea Party forum? Local DFLers say thanks but no thanks

All of Rochester's DFL incumbents signed a letter declining to participating in a candidate forum sponsored by the Rochester Tea Party Patriots. In the letter, the lawmakers thank the group for hosting the forum but add that they hope their members will take advantage of one of the "neutral forums" being held. The lawmakers declining to participate are: Sen. Ann Lynch, Rep. Tina Liebling, Rep. Kim Norton and Rep. Andy Welti. Also choosing not to go is the District 29A DFL candidate Doug Wunderlich. Click here to  Download Letter from DFL candidates

One DFL candidate is going to participate. Senate District 29 candidate Greg French, of Byron, has said he plans to attend. The Republicans who have said they will attend are Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem, former state Rep. Carla Nelson, House District 29A candidate Duane Quam, House District 29B candidate Mike Rolih, House District 30A candidate Charlie O'Connell and House District 30B candidate Mike Benson.

Rochester Tea Party Patriots Chair Cindy Maves said the group does not endorse and candidate or party "but endeavors to educate the voters and provide opportunities for them to make the own informed decisions." The group does urge its members in its e-mail news updates to help elect conservative candidates.

The event starts at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 23 with a buffet dinner at Godfather's Pizaa, 1611 16th St. N.W. in Rochester. The forum runs from 7 p.m.t o 8:30 p.m. All candidates will have five minutes to introduce themselves and they will then answer questions from the audience.

Goodhue vets sponsor candidate meet and greet — not debate

Goodhue County United Veterans is sponsoring a candidate meet and greet on Monday, but don't say it's a debate. Heidi Krause with the Goodhue County Veterans Service Office said they were surprised to hear that the event was being reported by some media as a gubernatorial debate. Far from the case. Rather, it is a chance for county, state and federal candidates to introduce themselves to voters and answer a couple of question.

The meet and greet will be at 7:30 p.m. on Monday at the Cannon Falls VFW/American Legion. So far, only DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton has said he will attend. The group has not heard back yet from Republican Tom Emmer and IP candidate Tom Horner.

2nd District Republican Rep. John Kline has said he will not attend. His DFL challenger Shelley Madore is planning to be there. Other candidates who have confirmed they will be there are: DFL Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and GOP rival Dan Severson; Senate District 28 DFL candidate Joe Fricke and GOP candidate John Howe; House District 28A DFL candidate Jerry Roth and GOP Rep. Tim Kelly; House District 28B DFL candidate Mark Schneider and GOP Rep. Steve Drazkowski. Senate District 36 DFL candidate Steve Quist; and House District 36B DFL candidate Sigrid Iverson.

Murphy endorses Fricke for his seat

Veteran DFL state Sen. Steve Murphy said he is backing recent law school graduate Joe Fricke  for his seat. Murphy is retiring after 18 years in the legislature.

Two Democrats are vying for the endorsement. They are Fricke and retiring Lewiston-Altura Superintendent Bruce Montplaisir. Fricke has said he will emphasize creating jobs and rural development. Montplaisir said his biggest concern is education and making sure that schools have stable, reliable funding.

The endorsing convention will be June 19 at Red Wing Public Library.
Murphy said he has tremendous respect for Montplaisir and his knowledge of school funding. But he said he is throwing his support behind Fricke because he believes Fricke has the time and energy needed to be a successful lawmaker.

"Joe is a recent graduate of law school and has a tremendous work ethic behind him," he said. "People want real leaders, and I believe we've got a leader in the making."

Whoever wins the DFL primary in August will face Republican-endorsed candidate John Howe, the mayor of Red Wing. Howe is already campaigning and announced that he has distributed 40,000 copies of a six-question survey to voters in the district. Topics include the state budget, taxes, job creation, education, transportation and the Prairie Island nuclear plant.

DFL delegates will also endorse a candidate for the House District 28A and 28B seats. The DFLers in each of these races do not face a primary challenger. Running for District 28A is Jerry Roth, a multi-machine operator at Cannon Equipment in Cannon Falls. He will take on GOP Rep. Tim Kelly of Red Wing. The District 28B DFL candidate is Plainview Area Chamber of Commerce director and farmer Mark A. Schneider. He is challenging incumbent GOP Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa.