Political Notebook

GOP gubernatorial race getting nasty

With the Republican State Convention a little over a week away, Marty Seifert's campaign is attacking attention rival Tom Emmer for his two prior DWI arrests.

An e-mail sent out by Seifert's campaign this afternoon includes a letter from Republican activist and state delegate Sandra Berg whose husband and son were badly injured after their car was struck by a drunken driver last year.

In the letter, Berg writes,

"Our choice for the next Republican endorsee for governor is an extremely serious matter. It is important that we delegates are aware of important, relevant facts before the Republican state convention. To hold these facts back and instead allow the Democrats, the Star Tribune or other news media to air out the facts in a general election campaign would be a supreme disservice to our party.
The fact is one of the major candidates asking for our endorsement for governor has been arrested for drunk driving. Twice."

Click here to Download Berg Letter

A quick Google search shows that Emmer's DWI record has already been reported on by several media outlets. Here is a Star Tribune story from March 29. According to the article, Emmer received a DWI-related ticket in 1981 and faced DWI charges again in 1991 when he was 30. Emmer pleaded guilty to careless driving and the two DWI charges and a license plate violation were dropped.

Berg's letter goes on to criticize Emmer for supporting legislation that would soften the state's DWI penalties.

Seifert's campaign issued the following statement:

"Republican activist and state convention delegate Sandra Berg’s family was victimized by a drunk driver.  As a result, she was moved to share important information with fellow Republican state convention delegates about Tom Emmer’s record:  two past DWI arrests; his efforts in 2009 as a legislator to weaken the state’s DWI laws and cover up the fact he broke them; and not sharing this information when asked about a possible “October surprise” at a recent candidate forum.

Sandra’s letter provides factual information about a vital issue for the delegates to consider: the electability and credibility of candidates.  At her request, the Seifert campaign distributed her letter.

While there is much in common between Marty Seifert and Tom Emmer on the issues, there are differences too.  Marty will continue to run an issues-based, substantive campaign to lead Minnesota forward."

Emmer's campaign responded by accusing Seifert of reaching a "new low" in campaigning.

“We’re all used to October surprises by the Democrats, but we never thought Marty would sink so low to launch this April surprise against a fellow Republican at the last minute before the convention,” said Rep. Mark Buesgens, Chairman of the Emmer for Governor Campaign. “The fact is that Tom has been upfront with delegates about this issue. They were the subject of a newspaper article last year and Tom has been very forthcoming about his actions to anyone who asked.”

Tea Party questionnaire highlights differences between Demmer, Quist

UPDATE:

As noted in the comments below, a couple of candidates decided to post their answers to the Rochester Tea Party Patriots questionnaire on their own Web site. I'm not sure what the deadline was for answers to be submitted, but GOP candidate Jim Engstrand tole me he was still on active duty when it was due and could not turn it in by the deadline. To view Jim Engstrand's answers, go here. For Independence Party candidate Steve Wilson, go here.

The Rochester Tea Party Patriots have posted on their Web site questionnaires filled out by candidates running for the 1st Congressional District and for governor. It is interesting to note that when it comes to the congressional race, only two candidates responded — Rep. Randy Demmer of Hayfield and former state Rep. Allen Quist of St. Peter. You can view these questionnaires by clicking here. There are three other GOP candidates running: Jim Engstrand,  Jim Hagedorn and Frank McKinzie. Also running for Democratic Congressman Tim Walz's seat are Independence Party candidate Steve Wilson and an independent candidate with no party affiliation Lars Johnson.

It is interesting to look at where Quist and Demmer differ on the issues. For instance, Demmer said he supported the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 passed under President Bush whereas Quist opposed the measure. The $168 billion bill provided tax rebates of $600 to $1,200 to most taxpayers.

They also disagree on whether or not the U.S. should pull out of the United Nations. Demmer says "no" and Quist says "yes." Demmer does not agree with eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and Quist backs the idea. They both say they do not agree that global warming is man made.

When it comes to the gubernatorial candidate, no DFLers responded. The two GOP front runners Tom Emmer and Marty Seifert did fill out the form. Also filling it out was Republican candidate Phil Herwig, Independence Party candidate Joe Repya (who ended his campaign) and Constitution Party candidate Harley Swarm.

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

Seifert vows to push for veto on tax bills

House Minority Leader Marty Seifert paid a visit to Rochester yesterday, showing up at a networking event for Rochester Area Builders at afm Countertops. Post-Bulletin Business Editor Jeff Kiger was there and was kind enough to share his notes and a photo. (Joe Weis, owner of Weis Builders, is standing behind Seifert)

The Marshall Republican made clear he will recommend a veto on any tax proposals brought forward by Democrats.

"We're not going to gouge you for money that you don't have in the sock drawer for government programs," he told the crowd.

Seifert also vowed to fight two measures that have drawn concern among builders. The first involves bills that would make it easier for homeowners to pursue warranty claims against builders. He also pledged to fight any measures that would require business of all sizes to provide paid sick leave. In fact, Seifert said he would recommend the governor veto both those measures.

He added, "I can tell you that my caucus is very firm in believing some very basic principles. Number one is that we ought to live within our means, just as you do as a business."