Political Party

House DFL jumps into unallotment lawsuit

Minnesota House Democrats voted this morning to wade into the legal fight over Gov. Tim Pawlenty's unilateral budget cuts this summer.

Members of the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee voted in favor of filing a friend of the court brief in a lawsuit brought by six Minnesotans who are suing Pawlenty over his use of unallotment. The vote was on a party line basis — 14 to 8.

Meanwhile, Rochester Democratic Rep. Tina Liebling has said she thinks the legislature is not going far enough. She said she supports the idea of the legislature suing the governor.

"I believe that there is a very strong legal basis for it. I believe what the governor did was illegal and possibly unconstitutional and needs to be challenged in court," Liebling said.

Here is a link to that story.

Kelliher touts her rural roots

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher today headed back to the family farm in Mankato to announce her candidacy for governor in 2010. The Minneapolis DFLer is clearly trying to position herself as a candidate that understands rural issues.

An eight-minute video posted on her campaign Web site devotes plenty of time to Kelliher's childhood on the family farm. It features family video of her riding horses and cleaning cows. Her mom also vouches for Kelliher's work ethic, noting her daughter had to feed the cows and clean the pens. The video also shows images of Kelliher's children suited up for hockey and her husband says, "We think we need to take the label hockey mom back" — a clear reference to former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

In the video, Kelliher emphasizes the importance of education when it comes to Minnesota's future. She says the state cannot afford to have "an opportunity gap" between rural and metro Minnesota. She also takes some digs at current Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

"The way that (the session) ended is exactly why I am running for governor because no Minnesota governor should walk away from negotiations with the legislature or turn their back on Minnesota," she said.

It will be interesting to see if this focus on her rural roots ends up winning her support in outstate Minnesota. The Republican Party of Minnesota has jumped on Kelliher's attempt to appeal to outstate Minnesota. The party sent out a press release entitled "Kelliher not fooling anyone with Mankato makeover."

The party chairman Tony Sutton is quoted in the release as saying, "As an out of touch Minneapolis liberal, Kelliher has voted to raise the gas tax, the metro wide sales tax and income taxes. People in Greater Minnesota and the suburbs need to be aware of this tax and spend wolf in sheep's clothing." 

Senators to get a show in Mantorville

Members of the Senate Capital Investment Committee will not likely forget what awaits them in Mantorville today. Residents have planned an elaborate welcome complete with people dressed in 19th Century costumes riding on horseback. Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, said he will be getting a to ride — along with a few other lawmakers — in a horse-pulled stagecoach.

For Mantorville, it is all about making a lasting impression on lawmakers that will have a key hand in determining the state's public works borrowing bill for 2010. Dodge County is looking for $2.7 million to build a "Stagecoach Trail" that would connect Owatonna to the Douglas Trail in Olmsted County. There has also been talk about using the trail for stagecoach tours that would run from Mantorville to historic Wasioja.

This is not the first time that the residents have employed these tactics. In 2007, the put on a similar show that wowed committee members. They ended up getting $550,000 toward the project in the 2008 public works bill. But Senjem told me that organizers have said that was just a "dress rehearsal" compared to what lawmakers can expect today. I'll be there to check it out and post some pictures.

The committee will be in Rochester this afternoon to learn about the proposed Mayo Civic Center expansion, the Southern Rail Bypass corridor and the National Volleyball Center expansion. I have a story today on the long-running quest to finish the volleyball project.

New survey finds Minnesotans want better return on tax dollars

A new survey released by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Tunheim Partners finds that the majority of respondents do not want state government to raise taxes. According to the survey, 63 percent advocated cutting overall government spending to balance the state budget. But interestingly enough, 6 out of 10 of the respondents also said they would be willing to personally pay more to improve services like K-12 outcomes, long-term care and ensuring Minnesota's infrastructure.

The poll also concludes that Minnesota is a "purple state" with voters evenly divided among Independents, Republicans and Democrats. When it comes to the 2010 gubernatorial election, the poll found that neither Democrats or Republicans have an advantage. It also found that Democratic and Republican legislators have a 59 percent disapproval rating. Meanwhile, Gov. Tim Pawlenty's job approval rating was 49 percent. Half of those surveyed said the next governor should have real-world experience and not be a career politician.

The random telephone survey of 602 respondents was conducted Aug. 4 to 6. All participants were screened to be likely November 2010 voters. The margin of error is plus-minus 4 percentage points. To learn more about the survey, click here.

Food on a stick and politics

Once again it is time for the Great Minnesota Get-Together. And while the latest new foods on a stick usually grab the limelight, it is worth noting that the fair is also a key political event. Gubernatorial candidates are swarming to the event for the chance to schmooze fair goers and build key support.

The Minnesota DFL has posted a list showing when gubernatorial candidates will be at the party's booth. You can check that out here. In the case of the Republican Party of Minnesota, it looks like it will be more of a hit-and-miss scenario for people looking to chat with a particular gubernatorial candidate. The party's spokesman Mark Drake said GOP gubernatorial candidates will be at the booth but there is not a set schedule as to when they will be there.

However, former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert has already tweeted that he is the only gubernatorial candidate with his own booth.

In addition, state lawmakers can be found at both the House and Senate booths. Click here to Download Memsched09 and here to 

Download Senators_attending

Not many southeast Minnesota lawmakers appear to be making the trek. House Assistant Majority Leader Andy Welti, DFL-Plainview, was at the fair today. House Assistant Minority Leader Randy Demmer, R-Hayfield, will be there from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 2 and Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, is scheduled to be there from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 6.

Dems to tour local colleges, talk unallotment

Members of the House Higher Education committee, led by its Iron Range DFL Chair Tom Rukavina, will be visting eight colleges and universities in southern Minnesota over the next two days to discuss the impact of $100 million in cuts as part of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's unallotment.

Here is the intinerary for Thursday.

9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Southeast Technical College in Red Wing
11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. in 106 Maxwell Hall at Winona State University
2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Rochester Community and Technical College
3:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. at Riverland Community College in Austin

Some local DFL lawmakers are planning to join in the discussions at the schools within their districts. They include Rep. Gene Pelowski of Winona, Sen. Ann Lynch and Rep. Tina Liebling both of Rochester, and Rep. Jeanne Poppe and Sen. Dan Sparks, both of Austin.

It should be noted that Rukavina is among about a dozen Democrats considering a run for governor in 2010. The colorful lawmaker has developed a reputation over the years for outspokeness. Politics in Minnesota recently reported that Rukavina had a campaign slogan suggestion for Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2012 if he runs for president — "Let me screw up the country like I screwed up Minnesota." Hmmm....somehow I don't think that slogan will win T-Paw's favor.

Pogemiller wants Dems to get own WCCO radio segment

Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller is none too happy with WCCO News Radio. He recently sent a letter to the station voicing concern about WCCO not only continuing Gov. Tim Pawlenty's weekly radio show but also expanding the amount of time he is on air as a fill-in host.

Pogemiller writes, "Occasionally affording some airtime to someone from the opposing party is not sufficient to counterbalance the Governor's partisan messages and ongoing cultivation of his public persona."

So Pogemiller is asking that "in the interest of fairness and more fully informing your listening public" that the station provide a periodic segment following the governor's show for Democrats to offer their point of view. He ends the letter stating that "A publicly licensed station such as yours should be interested in ending the ongoing monologue and embrace a dialogue of the ideas and issues facing our state."

Guess we'll have to wait and see how WCCO responds.

Two more Republicans eye governor's race

The GOP candidate pool for governor just keeps getting more and more crowded. The Associated Press is reporting today two Republican state senators are also considering a run. They include Sen. David Hann of Eden Prairie and Sen. Mike Jungbauer of East Bethel.

They join a large pool of conservative leaders that have already committed or are thinking about running for the state's top post. Some of those on the list include House Minority Leader Marty Seifert — who is planning a campaign stop in Rochester next week — and former House Speaker Steve Sviggum. Former Congressman Jim Ramstad has said he is thinking about getting in. Others include Rep. Paul Kohls of Victoria, former state auditor Pat Anderson and state Rep. Paul Koering of Fort Ripley.

Meanwhile, current Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty is in Colorado today for the Aspen Ideas Festival. Pawlenty will be a panelist on Friday with the title "How to Get Great Teachers Into Every Classroom.

The event is drawing some big names includes former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker III, columnist David Brooks, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, author Thomas Friend man and CBS "Face the Nation" moderator Bob Schieffer.

Lawmakers set to grill finance commish

DFL lawmakers are expected to be asking some tough questions of Minnesota Management and Budget Office Commissioner Tom Hanson at a legislative hearing this morning.

The Legislative Advisory Commission is expected to convene at 10 a.m. at the state Capitol to discuss Gov. Tim Pawlenty's $2.7 billion in proposed cuts to balance the state budget using his executive authority of unallotment. To watch the hearing live, go to The Uptake.

Pawlenty recently tweaked his unallotment plan, limiting cuts for chemical dependence programs and increasing the level of cuts to mental health grants and community block grants. But overall the plan is pretty much the same. It involves cuts to health and human services, local government aid and higher education.

Taxpayers League scorecard not kind to Roch Democrats

The Taxpayers League of Minnesota has released its annual legislative scorecard. The scores are based on whether or not lawmakers voted for legislation deemed by the organization to be unfriendly to the taxpayer. In many cases, that involves whether or not a lawmaker supported bills with tax increases.

The report card did not have a favorable view of most DFLers — especially in Rochester. On a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 considered a perfect score, no Rochester Democrats received a rating above 13. In southeast Minnesota, the lawmaker with the lowest score was Sen Steve Murphy of Red Wing who netted a 0. 

Rep. Gene Pelowski of Winona was the highest ranking Democrat with a score of 47. That is in large part due to his voting against the DFL tax increase proposals. 

The report heralds Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former House Minority Leader and potential gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, as the "2009 Heroes of the Taxpayers" for standing up against tax increases.

Here is a look at ratings for Southeast Minnesota lawmakers. To look at the Taxpayers League's full list, go here.

Senate

Sharon Erickson Ropes, DFL-Winona — 21

Ann Lynch, DFL-Rochester — 7

Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing — 0

David Senjem, R-Rochester — 57

Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin — 14

House

Robin Brown, DFL-rural Austin — 7

Greg Davids, R-Preston — 80

Randy Demmer, R-Hayfield — 80

Steve Drazkowski, R-Wabasha — 87

Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing — 87

Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester — 13

Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester — 13

Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona — 47

Jeanne Poppe, DFL-Austin — 27

Andy Welti, DFL-Plainview — 13