Political Notebook

Carlson and Penny to speak out against Voter ID in Rochester

Former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson and former congressman and Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tim Penny are both planning to visit Rochester this month to speak out against the proposed Voter ID constitutional amendment.

Carlson plans to talk about his opposition to the amendment at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Century High School, 2525 Viola Road N.E. in Rochester. Penny, president and CEO of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, will speak at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at the Rochester Senior Center, 121 N. Broadway.

Both events are free and open to the public. They are sponsored by the League of Women Voters, AARP, the Rochester Senior Center, AAUW and Our Vote, Our Future.

Mondale leads tripartisan group calling for independent redistricting commission

Former Vice President Walter Mondale will be joined by a well-known Republican, Democrat and Independent tomorrow calling for an independent commission to draw Minnesota's congressional and legislative districts.

Joining Mondale will be former DFL Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, former 1st District Congressman and IP candidate for governor Tim Penny and former GOP Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum. Every 10 years, the legislature is tasked with redrawing the political boundaries. In years past, these redistricting plans have ended up in the courts. Often the charge is that political parties draw the boundaries to benefit their candidates.

Right now the GOP-led Legislature is in charge of coming up with a plan. It would need to be signed off on by DFL Gov. Mark Dayton.

The press conference will be at 10 a.m. at the state Capitol. Participants are expected to argue it is an inherent conflict of interest for legislators to be choosing their own voters by drawing their own district lines. Related to this, the League of Women Voters Rochester on Thursday is hosting a screening of a documentary film called "Gerrymandering," which looks at when politicians abuse the redistricting process.

Penny takes Walz to task over TV ads

Former DFL Congressman Tim Penny used his radio show on Friday to criticize DFL 1st District Rep. Tim Walz for running attack ads against his GOP opponent Randy Demmer that Penny said are false.

On his radio show, Penny said that "I personally like Tim Walz, but I am disappointed by his recent campaign behavior."

In particular, Penny said he was dismayed to see a Walz ad that accused Demmer of wanting to privatize Social Security.

"That is a tactic used by Democrats every two years in order to frighten seniors into voting for them. The fact is neither major party would do anything to affect current retirees," Penny said.

He also alluded to an MPR analysis that concluded the Walz ad fails the truth test.

But Penny said that "I am even more alarmed by the latest Walz ad because it is not based on a public policy issue but is rather a personal attack."

That is an ad that criticizes Demmer for taking government subsidies. Penny said those subsidies include U.S.D.A. payments for Demmer's farm operation — something farmers across southern Minnesota get. He said that the ad also exaggerates by a factor of 10 how much Demmer received in tax-increment financing to establish businesses in Minnesota.

"My grandpa always told me if something is a half truth it is not the truth. To me, neither of these ads passes the truth test," he said.

Penny added that during his six terms representing southern Minnesota, he never ran a TV ad that attacked his opponent. To listen to Penny's radio commentary, go here.

Rochester Horner supporters turn out for endorsement

This morning, former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson announced his endorsement of Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner at the Rochester Art Center. In his endorsement speech, Carlson told a crowd of about 100 that Horner is the candidate offering the most sensible budget solution.

"Who has done the best job of creating the evidence that leaves us to conclude that he is prepared to redesign government? It's not the tax-your-way-out-of-it crowd, it's not you-shrink-the-body-until-death crowd, it's the Horner crowd," Carlson said.

Horner supports a mix of raising taxes and cutting to solve the state's projected $6 billion budget deficit. His plan includes lowering the overall sales tax rate by 1 percent but expanding the sales tax base to include clothing and personal services. DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton's budget solution includes raising income taxes on wealthier Minnesotans. Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer has vowed to solve the budget entirely through cuts.

One of the most interesting things about Horner's visit is which area residents are turning out to support him. Roughly 50 people showed up for a breakfast at the Rochester Art Center before Carlson's endorsement. Among those speaking out was Rochester businessman Al Tuntland who has previously supported Republican candidates. Tuntland said he believes that Dayton's proposal to raise income taxes on couples making over $150,000 a year would be a "job killer."He said if that level of income taxes had been in place when his business Schmidt Printing was getting start, the company "would be half as big as it is today and 200 jobs would not be there."

Tuntland said he also thinks Emmer's stance of not raising any taxes is too extreme given the budget situation.

Also turning out in support of Horner's campaign was former Republican state Rep. Dave Bishop of Rochester and former DFL Congressman and IP gubernatorial candidate Tom Penny. Republican Senate candidate Carla Nelson also turned out — although she said she is not endorsing Horner. Rather, she said several of the people backing her campaign are supporting Horner and she wanted to hear from him. She added that she liked a lot of what he had to say.

Mayo-UM genomics partnership takes a hit

The budget bill that passed out of the House and Senate today includes sizeable cuts to the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Genomics. The partnership, which is a joint venture between Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota, will lose $427,000 in this budget cycle. It includes a permanent $427,000 cut per year into the future.

I talked with Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester, shortly after the House vote. She decided to vote "no" on the budget bill in part due to this provision. She said that the House version of the bill included language that the genomics partnership could not be cut beyond those levels. But that language got stripped out of the bill, opening the door to possibility of more cuts in the future made by the university.

"They keep going in and balancing their budget on the genomics partnership and I am just tired of it," Norton said.

The partnership generally expects to receive $8 million per year. That money is used to fund research projects that can lead to commercialized projects and/or significantly improve human health. Dr. Eric Wieben, Mayo Clinic project leader for the partnership, said the funding cut will likely mean one less funded project per year.

"That is an opportunity lost, but on the other hand this is a difficult budget year and we understand that the legislature is doing their best to balance all the state's priorities," he said.

The bill passed solves one-third of the state's nearly $1 billion budget deifict. It now heads to Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty who has said he is open to signing it.

Penny says he lacks "fire in the belly" to run for gov

Former First District Rep. Tim Penny is ruling out a run for governor.

"Bottom line, I am certainly not thinking of any sort of a run for public office — governor or anything else for that matter," he said.

As speculation has swirled around potential Independence Party candidates for the 2010 governor's race, Penny's name has continued to pop up. But Penny, who now heads the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, said he is enjoying his job and has no interest in jumping back into politics.

"I don't have the fire in the belly to get into politics at any level right now," he said.

In 2002, Penny ran for governor as an Independence Party candidate, losing in a three-party race. He previously served as a DFL congressman representing the First District from 1982 to 1994. He also served in the Minnesota Senate.