Political Notebook

Quam blasts new political boundaries in Dodge County

Republican Rep. Duane Quam said the special redistricting panel did a poor job when it came to redrawing the boundaries in Dodge County. The county of just over 20,000 people to the west of Rochester has spent the past decade being represented by one senator and one representative. But the redistricting maps released yesterday show the county being carved up among five representatives and four senators.

"That doesn't serve them well," Quam said. "I think it's poor drawing. There is some identity to a county."

Of the House members whose districts will include Dodge County, three are Republicans and two are Democrats. Among senators, three are Republicans and one is a Democrat. So, here is a breakdown of how Dodge County's cities are divided up among incumbents.

— Hayfield and Blooming Prairie will be part of House District 27A with incumbent Rep. Rich Murray, R-Albert Lea. The Senate incumbent is Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin.

— Claremont, Ashland Township and Ripley Township will be part of House District 24B with incumbent Rep. Patti Fritz, DFL-Faribault. The Senate incumbent is Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca (who, incidentally, is running for the 1st Congressional District seat).

— West Concord will be within House District 21B with incumbent Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa. The Senate incumbent is Sen. John Howe, R-Red Wing.

— Kasson, Mantorville and Dodge Center would be in House District 25A with incumbent Rep. Duane Quam, R-Byron. The Senate incumbent is Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester.

— Vernon Township will be part of House District 27 B with incumbent Rep. Jeanne Poppe, DFL-Austin. The Senate incumbent is Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin.

So could these new maps encourage a bunch of politicos in Dodge County to run for office? We'll have to wait and see. For now the only candidate to announce running for the legislature from the county — Kasson-Mantorville Elementary School Teacher John Vossen — will still be taking on Quam.

 

Business coalition launches ad campaign backing GOP budget stance

If you flip to page B5 in today's Rochester Post-Bulletin, you'll see a half-page ad thanking four local Republicans — Rep. Mike Benson, Rep. Duane Quam, Sen. Carla Nelson and Sen. Dave Senjem — for "holding the line on state spending."

The ad states, "Families have to live within their budgets — so should government. Grow jobs, not government."

It's all part of a newspaper ad campaign launched today the Coalition of Minnesota Businesses, an organization comprised of 11 employer groups including the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota Business Partnership. The group is lining up behind legislative Republicans arguing against tax increases and increased spending as part of a budget deal.

The coalition's Communications Director Mark Giga said they are running ads in 33 newspapers across the state specifically thanking 52 Republican lawmakers. Those ads are targeted mainly along the U.S. 52 and I-35W corridors headed up to the cities and Interstate-94 into St. Cloud. Giga said it makes sense to focus on these areas — especially Rochester.

"It's no secret that these are swing districts," he said.

Giga said he did not have an estimate of how much the coalition will spent on the newspaper ads at this point. This is the second part of an ad campaign launched before lawmakers went on their Easter/Passover break. That time the coalition spent roughly $250,000 on radio and internet ads saying the state needs to stop spending more and live within its means.

Other area GOP lawmakers getting praised in the ads are: Rep. Rich Murray of Albert Lea, Rep. Greg Davids of Preston, Rep. Tim Kelly of Red Wing and Sen. John Howe of Red Wing and Sen. Jeremy Miller of Winona. Go here to see what the ads look like.

These ads come as Alliance for a Better Minnesota, a liberal, union-funded group, has launched a TV ad campaign that supports DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's proposal to raise $1.8 billion in income taxes on the state's wealthiest 2 percent.

Area Republicans sign court brief challeging constitutionality of health care law

Several area Republicans joined fellow GOP state lawmakers in signing a "friend of the court" brief challenging the constitutionality of the new federal health care law.

A total of 80 GOP lawmakers signed the brief, including House and Senate GOP leaders. Also signing the brief are North Carolina legislative leaders. The brief was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the 11th District. This comes after Florida Judge Roger Vinson recently struck down the entire health care law. Vinson concluded that Congress exceeded its authority when it passed the individual mandate requiring all citizens to have health care coverage.

Local GOP lawmakers who signed onto the brief are Rep. Mike Benson of Rochester, Rep. Greg Davids of Preston; Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa, Rep. Tim Kelly of Red Wing, Rep. Rich Murray of Albert Lea and Rep. Duane Quam of Byron. Those who did not sign on are Sen. Carla Nelson of Rochester, Sen. Dave Senjem of Rochester, Sen. John Howe of Red Wing and Sen. Jeremy Miller of Winona.

The brief argrees with Vinson arguing that the individual mandate is unconstitutional. It also argues that the law's "ambiguity prevents states from making a clear and informed choice, requiring North Carolina and Minnesota to subject themselves to unknowable and potentially crippling obligations in order to continue their participation in the Medicaid program."

Click here to Download Court brief

Minnesota Democrats filed a "friend of the court" brief last month in the same case defending the constitutionality of the health care law.

Rulings on the health care law have been mixed since it took effect. Some judges have upheld its constitutionality while others have struck down parts of the law or the entire law.

Lawmakers reject proposal allowing logging in Whitewater, Frontenac

Members of the Minnesota House overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would open up Whitewater and Frontenac state parks to logging.

Lawmakers voted 106 to 22 in favor of stripping the language that would allow the logging out of an environment budget bill. Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, proposed the language, which requires the commissioner of natural resources to assess the black walnut and other timber resources in the two state parks and harvest the trees that are suitable. The proceeds from the logging would go to the state.

Environmental groups launched a big push against the proposal arguing it would cause lasting harm to the state parks. The environment budget bill's author, GOP Rep. Denny McNamara of Hastings, sponsored the amendment to take out the logging language.

Drazkowski, whose district includes Whitewater State Park, urged his fellow lawmakers to support logging in the state parks.

"This is another area of state government where an asset of the government is actually rotting and going to waste. This is what Minnesotans are tired of. They are tired of the waste, fraud and abuse in government."

Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing, whose district includes Frontenac State Park, also supports allowing for logging in those state parks.

But several lawmakers, both DFL and GOP, voiced concerns about the proposal. Rep. Lyndon Carlson, R-Crystal, said he used to teach in St. Charles and spent a lot of time at Whitewater State Park.

"That’s a valley that is very sensitive and it is very sensitive to things like flooding and it is also a valley with a lot of history, and I would be very concerned if that was opened up for logging or cutting," Carlson said.

Here's how southeast Minnesota lawmakers voted on the amendment to strip out the logging language. Voting yes were: Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester; Rep. Rich Murray, R-Albert Lea; Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester, Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona and Rep. Jeanne Poppe, DFL-Austin. Voting no were: Rep. Mike Benson, R-Rochester; Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston; Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa; Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing; and Rep. Duane Quam, R-Byron.

Minnesota House to vote on lifting the nuke ban today

The Minneosta House is expected to debate a bill to lift the state's ban on new nuclear plants. This comes after the Senate earlier this month voted 50 to 14 in favor of lifting the ban. In recent years, similar measures won support in the then-DFL-controlled Senate but stalled in the DFL House.

With Republicans leading both chambers, this may very well be the year that a bill scrapping the 17-year-old ban heads to the governor. But DFL Gov. Mark Dayton appears cool to the idea of lifting the ban. In order to support it, he said it could have no impact on ratepayers, it would not increase the amount of nuclear waste and that it would not generate weapons-grade or near weapons-grade plutonium.

Several area lawmakers are on board with the proposal. Co-sponsors of the bill to lift the ban include Rep. Mike Benson, R-Rochester; Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester; Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa; Rep. Rich Murray, R-Albert Lea; and Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing.

If the governor were to veto the bill, it would require some Minnesota senators to switch their votes. Specifically, six senators would have to become "yes" votes to override the veto. The Prairie Island Indian Community in Red Wing has lobbied aggressively against lifting the ban citing concerns that there is not a solution yet to the nuclear waste storage problem. This comes as Red Wing's Prairie Island Nuclear Plant is looking to expand and store more waste on site.

The city of Red Wing has said they want any proposal to lift the ban to include efforts to solve the waste problem. The city would like to see the state attorney general sue the U.S. Department of Energy for its failure to abide by federal law in terms of nuclear storage and to open up the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. The city also wants a comprehensive study looking at the cost of storing nuclear waste for potentially hundreds of years and to take steps to ensure that hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds from lawsuits filed by Xcel Energy are returned to ratepayers.

2011 legislative session kicks off with Republicans in control

The Minnesota Capitol is bustling today with the 201 elected lawmakers and their family and friends as the 2011 session prepares to being at noon. For the first time in 38 years, Republicans will control both the House and Senate. There are also plenty of new faces getting ready to take their seats in the chambers.

This morning, Sen.-elect Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, was ceremonially sworn-in by Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Sandy Keith. A gathering of about 20 friends and family turned out to watch. The official swearing in will be at noon in the Senate chamber.

Other new faces in the southeast Minnesota delegation this year — all Republican. They are Rep.-elect Mike Benson of Rochester, Rep. Rich Murray of Albert Lea, Rep. Duane Quam of Byron, Sen. John Howe of Red Wing and Sen. Jeremy Miller of Winona.

A look at the new House committee assignments

The Minnesota House recently released its list of committee assignments for its members. A couple of area Republicans secured vice chairmanship positions. Two newly elected lawmakers were named vice chairs — Rep.-elect Mike Benson of Rochester and Rep.-elect Rich Murray of Albert Lea. Benson will be vice chair of State Government Finance and Murray will be vice chair of Jobs and Economic Development. Also getting a vice chair position is Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Wabasha on the Civil Law Committee and Rep. Tim Kelly on Education Finance.

Here is a list of all the committee assignments for southeast Minnesota lawmakers.

Rep.-elect Mike Benson, R-Rochester: State Government Finance (VC), Health and Human Services Reform, Transportation Policy and Finance and Higher Education.

Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston: Ways and Means, Taxes (C) and Veterans Division

Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Wabasha: Environment, Energy and Natural Resources, Capital Investment, Civil Law (CV) and Taxes.

Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester: Health and Human Services Reform (DFL lead), Health and Human Services Finance and Judiciary.

Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing: Education Finance (VC), Rules and Legislative Administration, Public Safety and Crime Prevention and Ethics.

Rep.-elect Rich Murray, R-Albert Lea: Jobs and Economic Development, Government Operations and Elections (VC), State Government Finance and Transportation Policy and Finance.

Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester: Health and Human Services Reform, Higher Education, Rules and Legislative Administration and Higher Education.

Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona: Ways and Means, Rules and Legislative Administration (DFL lead) and Higher Education.

Rep. Jeanne Poppe, DFL-Austin: Agriculture, Rural Development Policy and Finance, Redistricting and Higher Education

Rep.-elect Duane Quam, R-Byron: Education Finance, Environment, Energy and Natural Resources, Health and Human Services REform and Government Operations and Finance.

 

Recount confirms Murray defeats Brown

My Austin Post-Bulletin colleagues Kay Fate and Jim Troyer sent in a report this morning that recounts in Mower and Freeborn counties confirmed that Republican Rich Murray defeated two-term DFL Rep. Robin Brown. Here is their report:

A mandatory recount between District 27A candidates Rep. Robin Brown, DFL-Austin, and Murray, the Republican challenger, showed no change in the Nov. 2 results in Mower County. And 22 miles away in Albert Lea, Freeborn County officials found no vote changes either, giving Murray a 57-vote margin.

Freeborn County was the difference for Murray.

In Freeborn County, Murray received 6,889 votes compared to 6,474 for Brown, a difference of 415 votes. Murray trailed Brown in Mower County's tally by 358 votes.

Freeborn GOP leader Al Arends noted that the District 27 vote was close and that Brown’s strong showing in Mower County was predictable. “Mower is more Democratic,” he said. “We are more of a swing county.”

Noting that the Albert Lea High School teacher has held the seat for the past four years, Arends said, “It’s good to get it back.”

Mower's recount of the legislative race took less than two hours Monday morning. It's the third time this election season that local ballot counts have been checked — and found to be 100 percent accurate. Focus then shifted to Freeborn County where it took seven hours.