Political Notebook

Franken to be sworn in

Former Saturday Night Live Comedian Al Franken will be sworn in at 11: 15 a.m. central time in Washington, D.C. as the state's junior senator.

He is expected to be escorted to the Senate floor by fellow Minnesota DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former Vice President Walter Mondale. He will also be sworn in on former Sen. Paul Wellstone's family Bible. Franken has credited Wellstone with being an inspiration for him getting into politics. Wellstone died in 2002 in a plane crash.

Once he is sworn-in, Franken said he expects to be focusing on efforts to overhaul the nation's health care system. He said he will be looking to Mayo Clinic for some reform ideas. And while he said he is inclined to support a government-run public plan, he said he is more focused on looking at other reforms to help improve patient care.

"Mayo really is a leader in patient-centered care, and there is a lot of political discussion about the public option and things like that, but there is a lot of stuff in health care reform that has to do with creating the kind of model that Rochester has created," he said.

Coleman concedes race to Franken

Republican Norm Coleman this afternoon conceded the U.S. Senate race to Democrat Al Franken. There had been much speculation that he would appeal the state's Supreme Court decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. But Coleman has decided not to appeal the ruling.

At a press conference outside his St. Paul home, Coleman said, "The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results."

Court rules for Franken, locals react

The Minnesota Supreme Court this afternoon released a unanimous ruling in favor of Democrat Al Franken. The court determined that Franken should be certified the winner of the Senate race. What remains to be seen is whether Republican Norm Coleman will appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Local Democrats welcomed the court's decisions.

"The people of Minnesota spoke last November and finally seven months later they are being heard. It is time for Sen. Franken to do the work that the people of Minnesota elected him to do," said Olmsted County DFL Chair Lynn Wilson.

Meanwhile, Republicans voiced disappointment at the court's decision. Linda Kopecky, co-chair of the Republican Party of Olmsted County said the court failed to address voting inconsistencies brought to light during the election. She said she believes Coleman should appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I think he should because of the fundamental principles that were neglected — the fairness, the honesty, the deception that is out there that happened in this election. For all those reasons, I believe that this was an unfair election," Kopecky said.

Here is a link to the court's ruling.

Republican blogger seeking ballots in Olmsted

Republican blogger Michael Brodkorp announced today that he is filing a data practices request so he can do his own ballot count relative to the 2008 U.S. Senate general election.

Brodkorp said his request will ask for copies of the front side of all ballots contained within rejected absentee ballot envelopes in certain cities and counties — including Olmsted County. For more on his plan, visit his blog at Minnesota Democrats Exposed. Other counties he is requesting include Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Sherburne and Washington along with the cities of Edina, Minnetonka, Orono and Plymouth.

This comes as the Minnesota Supreme Court is weighing former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's appeal in the long-running Senate race with DFLer Al Franken.

Pioneer Press reporter Rachel Stassen-Berger has an interesting interview with Brodkorp, who is also the communications director for the Minnesota Senate Republicans. On the Political Animal blog, she notes that by not requesting the ballot envelopes, it will be impossible for him to know whether the voters complied with basic absentee ballot requirements.

Brodkorp says he plans to post the ballots on his blog once he gets them.

Franken acting like a senator?

Al Franken made a stop in Rochester yesterday, meeting with city and county officials to discuss their budget concerns and the federal stimulus package. This was just one of his stops as Franken travels around the state to meet with officials for these economic round tables.

But the trip is drawing heavy criticism from Republican Norm Coleman's campaign. A spokesman for the campaign called the Democrats visit "a publicity stunt."

In an e-mailed statement, spokesman Luke Friedrich wrote "While Al Franken tries to play senator for a day, his lawyers are in St. Paul fighting against counting the votes of the same Minnesotans Al Franken claims he wants to represent."

Franken's staff has begun referring to him as "senator elect." During his meeting with local officials, he was asked about whether he plans to open a Rochester office. Franken said he would probably ask Sen. Amy Klobuchar if he could share space in her office, opening his own office in Mankato.

As for the Coleman campaign's criticism, Franken said he is trying to make sure he is prepared to assume senate duties once the legal case is wrapped up. Officials emphasized that the biggest challenging is figure out how to access the stimulus dollars.

Franken told local leaders "It seems like the number one message that I am getting is, for myself anyway, that part of my job is to help communities figure out how to access the package."