Politics in Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 1, Issue 13 - 7/29/2005

In this issue: Hatch Announces...Kinda, Pawlenty? in 2006, Shake-up in Sen. Republican Leadership, Do 71 New Cops Win an Election?, Now who runs for Attorney General?, Minnesota Ambassadors Past and Future, More on Anonymous Mailings to DFL House Districts, Bits from the Blogosphere, Bits & Pieces..., Lobbyist Watch, The Coming Week In Other Media, Setting The Record Straight

Hatch Announces...Kinda,

It's official. Well kind of. DFL Attorney General Mike Hatch is getting into the Governor's race. But he's not going to do it until after Labor Day. Hatch addressed a specially assembled group of Democrats who gathered at the Lexington Tuesday night and said he is running.

And what an "assembly" it was. Those who attended included: his two predecessors, former DFL Attorneys General Skip Humphrey and Warren Spannaus; former DFL Party executive director Jerry Smargia and his father Joe; lobbyist Andy Kozak; PR executive Kathy Tunheim; former DFL Governor Wendy Anderson; Rep. Tom Rukavina (D-Virginia); Sen. Richard Cohen (D-St. Paul); former DFL House Speaker Phil Carruthers; former DFL U.S. Congressman Bill Luther; former DFL Sen. Doug Johnson; and Sen. David Tomassoni (D-Chisholm).

This is what most people would call the "DFL Old Boys Club," and it is the group that Hatch has had in his corner in the past, and needs in his corner to get off to the right start. The real test may come among the "DFL New Kids Club" that recently elected Brian Melendez as party chair.

The meeting could be viewed as preemptive. Speculation about Hatch was starting to drift, with most people figuring that he wasn't going to jump in. Many people believe he had to say it to his closest allies, or the doubts would continue. But, it's also decisive. Hatch could be Attorney General for life, and until recently, Pawlenty was very popular and thus considered tough to beat.

While Hatch immediately becomes the front-runner on the DFL side, his history with the activists and the endorsement process is rocky. As a challenger for an open seat, Hatch has never honored the DFL endorsement. In 1990, when he was serving as Commissioner of Commerce in the Rudy Perpich Administration, Hatch challenged his boss. Hatch was one of the reasons Perpich was so damaged going into the general election that year. In 1994, Hatch almost won the DFL primary against endorsed candidate John Marty, and in 1998, he beat DFL-endorsed Ember Reichgott Junge in the primary to be Attorney General.

Bucking the endorsement is never popular, but many say that he has worked to earn the support of delegates, and the current group of State Central Committee members--many of whom are relatively new--may not know or care about his past on the issue of endorsements.

Hatch's entry gives reporters and observers the brawl they have craved. To say there is no love lost between Hatch and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty is, well, a gross understatement. Meanwhile, many people won't believe Hatch is really running until he formally announces.

Pawlenty? in 2006

For the record, we have not talked directly to Lt. Gov. / Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau about this story. However, we've received so many firsthand accounts of conversations with Molnau, from credible legislative and staff sources, that we wanted to flag this story: Molnau may withdraw as Gov. Tim Pawlenty's reelection running mate. Why? Molnau hasn't agreed with some high profile Pawlenty Administration positions, not the least of which are supporting the now-funded Northstar Corridor Commuter Rail Project, or making increasing transportation funding a higher priority. But also, Molnau may withdraw for personal reasons. Her life is pretty good without public service (and she's already had a stellar career as a public servant). Molnau and her husband bought a new farm in southwestern Minnesota several years ago (they sold their farmland in now suburban Chaska). Plus, there are the Molnau children who are providing Molnau grandchildren to attend to, and on which to dote.

One interesting question is whether Molnau would want to remain MnDOT Commissioner. And, another. If she resigns as Lt. Gov., would Pawlenty keep her in the transportation job? But perhaps the most interesting question is who would Pawlenty choose as his 2006 Lt. Gov. candidate?

Capitol insider speculators muse that the person must be rural. In alphabetical order, here's a consensus list of the "already in public life" possibilities, along with consensus opinion of what each candidate brings to the ticket:

Deputy Commissioner of Health and former Rep. Lynda Boudreau from Faribault. She carried the conservative social agenda as a legislator.

Department of Employee Relations Commissioner and former Republican Rep. Cal Ludeman. He was an unflappable stalwart in the government shutdown. Ludeman knows agriculture and has deep roots there. He was the 1986 Republican gubernatorial candidate and the 1990 "candidate in waiting" if beleaguered Republican-endorsee Jon Grunseth withdrew under the so-called "swimming pool" scandal.

Rep. Maxine Penas (R-Badger). She is considered to be a "tell-it-like-it is" rural firebrand. A former Democrat and high school biology, chemistry, and physics teacher, she might be a good middle-of-the-road poster child.

Sen. Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont). She knows agriculture and business. Rosen made a splash as the first MN pol to take on the meth epidemic.

Rep. Marty Seifert (R-Marshall). An admissions counselor at Southwest State University-Marshall, Seifert is one of the smartest and most politically savvy members of the House Republican Caucus. It's unclear as to whether his career is best-served by staying in the House Republican Caucus where he is on a serious leadership track, or jumping to a statewide gig.

Sen. Carrie Ruud (R-Breezy Point). She has fought some wars with outdoor recreational vehicle users and she held her ground.

Rep. Torrey Westrom (R-Elbow Lake). A notable lawmaker who happens to be blind. Capitol insiders know that has had zero impact on his ability to be a good legislator. Westrom is popular in west-central Minnesota.

But Capitol insider speculation overlooks a lesson learned by Pawlenty when he was a key advisor to Republican gubernatorial nominee Jon Grunseth in 1990. The lesson was that a previously unelected rural person could provide great value to the ticket. In 1990, Grunseth chose Sharon Clark, then head of the MN Corngrowers Association, to be his running mate, and she greatly enhanced the ticket. [Clark went on to serve with distinction as Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture before she retired earlier this year.] In addition, with half the state living in suburban/exurban Minnesota, the "rural" addition to a ticket may not matter, as much, anymore.

Shake-up in Sen. Republican Leadership

Sen. Minority Leader Day (R-Owatonna) recently fired Sens. Michele Bachmann (R-Stillwater) and Chris Gerlach (R-Apple Valley) from his Sen. leadership team. Both moves signal a return to the management style that almost cost him the leadership post--keeping the major power cards to himself. Dismissing Bachmann is somewhat understandable because she is focused on running for Congress in the Sixth Congressional District, not on the Sen. Minority Caucus. She made a smart move in telling her constituents that the loss of the leadership post allows her to focus on them. Gerlach is more of a mystery. He was ably working on the caucus' 2006 election efforts. Day has now assigned election duties to Sens. Mike McGinn (R-Eagan) and Pat Pariseau (R-Farmington).

Do 71 New Cops Win an Election?

Last week, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak announced that he was going to use all the new local government aid (LGA) money that Minneapolis was going to receive, as well as money freed up from paying off debt, to hire up to 60 new police officers in the next year. On Thursday he upped the number to 71, when he rolled out his budget for 2006. It's the first issue that has gotten much attention in the mayor's race, and Rybak's team did a nice job of rolling it out to the press.

Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, was there to respond. Public safety may have been the one issue on which McLaughlin could beat Rybak, but Rybak may have stolen back the issue.

This was a strong and savvy move by Rybak to bolster a weakness. This plus the power of incumbency could be the first step in Rybak winning handily in November. All Rybak has to do is campaign on more cops. That's it, nothing more, nothing less.

The move to hire 71 new cops was very smart, and could mean that McLaughlin is going to have trouble getting traction more than ever before. McLaughlin called the budget, "too little, too late" but that isn't the alternative he should articulate. Politicians are allowed election year conversions, especially if they communicate it over and over, so the "normal" people who aren't paying attention in July or August hear about it in campaign commercials.

Rybak's campaign manager John Blackshaw will be savvy on this issue. The work of Jeremy Hanson, Rybak's new communications director, can be seen in the cops event last week and the budget rollout this week. Meanwhile, McLaughlin's more junior campaign manager, Darin Broton, didn't get his release out until late Thursday night, and hasn't shown the tenacity or proactive challenges he showed last year when running the Teresa Daly campaign.

Now who runs for Attorney General?

If Mike Hatch truly is in the race for Governor, there will be a large wave of candidates positioning for his current Attorney General's office. State Representative Jeff Johnson (R-Plymouth) has already announced on the Republican side, and will likely get a challenger, possibly in the name of former State Representative Charlie Weaver, who is currently head of the Minnesota Business Partnership. Weaver lost to Hatch in 1998.

On the DFL side, it will be a free for all. House Minority Leader Matt Entenza (D-St. Paul) is the most rumored candidate. But, many wonder that since he is within two seats of taking back the majority in the House, if he would dare miss an opportunity to be Speaker, and put the DFL back in control. He has run ads touting his "watchdog" position as a lawyer, and been heavily criticized for his contributions to a 527 last year, but we know he'd be itching to be the next pit bull in the AG's office.

Others on the DFL side could include David Lillehaug, who is ever present in the press, especially as the attorney who got the conceal and carry bill thrown out, an issue the DFLers fine particularly attractive. Former State Senator Ember Reichgott Junge, would also likely give it a run, considering she lost to Hatch in 1998, as the endorsed candidate, and has worked very hard to keep up a profile in the media since.

But many inside the Hatch operation think the choice should be Lori Swanson, the Deputy Attorney General, and someone we have heard Hatch has personally been grooming to run. Either way, this gives us one more hotly contested race, something we are sure to enjoy watching.

Minnesota Ambassadors Past and Future

Last week, we flagged that President George Bush is about to name a Minnesotan as a U.S. ambassador. Our lips are still sealed as to who that is, although an announcement should be coming any time now. Meanwhile, we asked readers to send us names of Minnesotans who have served as U.S. ambassadors. Thanks to the close to 200 readers--from Granite Falls, MN, to Singapore--who responded. Last week we also named a short list off the top of our heads, but failed to mention perhaps the most prominent Minnesotan to have served as an ambassador: Former Vice President Walter Mondale who represented the United States in Japan (apologies, Fritz, last week's heat wave crippled our memories). Here's the list of Minnesota ambassadors, culled from our e-mails.

• President Harry Truman - Eugenie Anderson, Democratic activist (Denmark) [The United States' first female ambassador.]
• President Dwight Eisenhower - Joseph Simonson, former pastor of Christ Lutheran Church (by the State Capitol) (Ethiopia)
• President John Kennedy - Eugenie Anderson, Democratic activist (Bulgaria) [Anderson was actually "minister" because the United States didn't have an ambassador at the time.]
• President Lyndon Johnson - Karl Rolvaag, former U.S. Rep., Lt. Gov and Gov. (Iceland)
• President Ronald Reagan - Sidney Rand, former president of St. Olaf College (Norway)
• President Bill Clinton - James Hormel, businessman from Austin (Luxembourg) & Former Vice President Walter Mondale (Japan)
• President George W. Bush - ???

Some other notes. We didn't include Minnesotans named to United Nations commissions. For example, Rudy Boschwitz, former U.S. Sen., was appointed by President Bush, and is currently serving as ambassador to the UN Human Rights Commission. One reader flagged Koryne Horbal, a "founding mother" of the Minnesota DFL Feminist Caucus, who was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the UN Commission of the Economic Status of Women. Finally, we're not sure if this is a testament to the integrity of our readers or PIM's publishers: Not a single e-mailer or anyone we encountered this past week asked us to divulge the name of the new ambassador.

More on Anonymous Mailings to DFL House Districts

Last week we noted that many House Democrats received mystery mailings in their home districts just before the special session ended. Thanks to Rep. Al Juhnke (D-Willmar) for sending us the details of what transpired in his district. As best Juhnke can tell, he received the mailing, as did his campaign staff and local DFL party officers--the names and addresses of whom are on record at the Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board. Their collective thinking is that the mailing (which told legislators they better vote for the Republican cigarette tax/fee increase) was designed to make DFL insiders call their legislators and tell them to vote for the budget deal or lose the next election. Juhnke also notes that the printer used for the mailing on pink paper (a "pink slip") was shoddy...and suspiciously similar to legislative fund-raiser invitations used by his opponent last election. Says Juhnke, "This was nothing more than a mean spirited GOP hack job via Karl Rove."

Politics in Minnesota: Bits from the Blogosphere
--News from the Blogs--

Readers have been sending many good news items from blogs. Unfortunately, we can't use them. We'll get to our blog policy, but first, some background. For the most part, your publishers love blogs. There are some really good ones out there, but there are many more partisan hack jobs. We think it's no coincidence that, as a general rule, the best blogs seem to be written by people who openly reveal their identities. Besides opinion, there are some bloggers who are digging up facts and writing stories we think are worth telling--and worth crediting as sources--to our readers.

Most of our readers don't have time to cut through the blog chaff to get to the wheat. That's something we'd like to do for you. And, we don't want to flag mostly opinion blogs. Many others do that. However, as the 2006 cycle begins, we think our readers would highly value a weekly "news from the blogs" feature. Tell us what you think at staff@politicsinminnesota.com.

Meanwhile, here's the official (but a work in progress) PIM blog policy: We're happy to reference a blog and new news--but only if we can attribute the blog to an identifiable person.

Politics in Minnesota: Bits & Pieces...
--Tracking people and events--

Legislative rematch notes. Former Republican Rep. Bill Kuisle, just had a rousing fund-raiser and will run against Rep. Andy Welti (D-Plainview). In 2004, Welti beat Kuisle, 51.3%-48.7%. Former Republican Rep. Doug Lindgren will run against Rep. Brita Sailer (D-Park Rapids). Last election, Sailer beat Lindgren, 50.8%-49.1%. And, former Republican Rep. Stephanie Olsen will run against Rep. Melissa Hortman (D-Brooklyn Park). Hortman beat Olsen 50.9%-49.0% in 2004.

The well-respected lobbying practice at the law firm of Lockridge Grindal Nauen, led by Ted Grindal, lured a big name away from the Pawlenty Administration. Deputy Commissioner of Health and former Republican House member Doug Stang will be joining the firm.

Best wishes to Jim McGreevey who is moving to Washington DC, and leaving Larkin Hoffman Lindgren and Daly for life inside the Beltway.

Coleen Rowley's Finance Director Ellen Stankiewicz was quoted in The Hill saying that she wasn't sure that Rowley would take money from unions or PACs. Rowley, of course, is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. John Kline.

Running against a woman who was on the cover of Time is a financial boon.

Expect John Kline's fund-raising report for third quarter to increase significantly now that he has Coleen Rowley as an opponent. It was tough for him to raise money after he beat Teresa Daly so decisively in what was supposed to be a closer race last year.

A DFL insider who recently met with real estate developer Kelly Doran was impressed with his presence and confidence. Things that go a long way in a U.S. Sen. race. Doran also has billboards up and down 94 "heading to and from the cabin". Billboards are a good way to raise name ID, something Doran needs to be competitive next year.

The latest sense from insiders is that Attorney Mike Ciresi is not running for the U.S. Sen..

Patty Wetterling scored a major coup this week. At a Capitol Hill press conference announcing stricter legislation against sex offenders Wetterling was pictured standing with her previous, and perhaps future, opponent Mark Kennedy, as well as with Dru Sjodin's mother. The photo ran nationally.

OpenSecrets.org has a great summary of federal political donations to date to Minnesota candidates from both Minnesotans and out-of-staters. Most notable is that the Republicans have out raised the DFLers with 60 percent of the contributions.

Top donors by company so far for the 2006 cycle are American Crystal Sugar and the Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Co-op. No doubt a result of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) the U.S. House of Representatives passed this week

CAFTA could become an issue for next years' Sen. race. The Seventh Congressional District and Southwest Minnesota are places in which the Republicans have done well in the most recent election cycles. However, Mark Kennedy voted for the trade agreement, something many people feel will hurt the sugar business, a major industry in this part of Minnesota.

Combined, Democrats Amy Klobuchar and Patty Wetterling have out raised Mark Kennedy, and as of June 30 Klobuchar had more cash on hand than Kennedy. One major fund-raising event that was post June 30 was the event Vice President Dick Cheney had for Kennedy last week.

Air America's Janet Robert has lost a second very experienced and savvy radio veteran, Joe Palen, who had been at the Minnesota News Network and KFAN. Last year, she lost Rocco Bonello, who had been at WCCO-AM and has since returned.

We were right when we assumed that Patty Wetterling had to spend a lot to raise money via telemarketing. According to the June FEC report, Meyer Associates of St. Cloud was paid, $170,972.34 for telemarketing. That is of the $389K that the campaign spent, or 43 percent of all funds spent in Q2.

Politics in Minnesota: Lobbyist Watch
--Who is working what issues--

From the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board:

• Newly registered lobbyists:
  • James Clark and Tom Poul, of Messerli & Kramer for the Guardian Angels of Elk River.
  • Brian Halloran and Larry Redmond, for American Iron & Supply. Environmentalists: Quit gasping. The Kondirator is not back. For our younger readers, the Kondirator was the name a German company gave to its massive steel-crunching machine which American Iron wanted to put on the river in north Minneapolis. The issue dominated politics at Minneapolis City Hall and the Legislature in the 1990s.
  • Ryan Kaess, for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities.
  • Cheryl Luria, for Amylin Pharmaceuticals.
• Recently terminated lobbyists:
  • Michael Mahoney and Kevin Walli, of Fryberger, Buchanan, Smith & Frederick, P.A., for Crestview Corporation, Moravian Care Ministries, and Presbyterian Family Foundation, Inc.
  • Former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice A.M. (Sandy) Keith, for the Minnesota Operators of Music & Instruments and the city of Rochester.

Politics in Minnesota: The Coming Week In Other Media

[Publishers Note: Please e-mail staff@politicsinminnesota.com to tell us about other media we are missing.]

Access to Democracy: Hosted by Alan Miller and produced by BECT TV (Burnsville/Eagan Community Television; Channel 15 in those areas).

Almanac. Hosted by Erik Eskola and Cathy Wurzer. See what's on this week's show. Airs live at 7:00 p.m. Fridays on TPT Channel 2. Rebroadcasts are Saturday mornings at 1:00 a.m. and Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. on Channel 2. You can also watch the current and past shows:

• Dominic Papatola stops by with a summertime monologue.
• Minneapolis Police Chief Bill McManus looks back at his first year on the job.
• J. G. Preston plops down in front of the old rabbit ears and chats with Fran Corcoran, the woman who walked every mile of Minneapolis over the past three years.
• Larry Fitzgerald gives us his take on Opening Day of Vikings training camp, Twins facing the World Champ Boston Red Sox this weekend, and the NHL returning to an ice rink near you.
• National Night Out is next week, and we'll talk with the Minneapolis organizer of this big community-building event.
• An inside look at a student photography project in the Frogtown, Mount Airy and Capitol neighborhoods of St. Paul.
• Shifting smoke patterns? Hennepin County is re-thinking its smoking ban in restaurants and bars. We'll take a look at bans around the state.

At Issue with Tom Hauser. Broadcast at 7:00 a.m. on Sundays on KSTP Channel 45 and at 9:00 a.m. on KSTP Channel 5. Coming this week:

A recap of the week's political news.

• Political analysis with former DFL Governor Wendy Anderson and PIM's Sarah Janecek.
• Face-Off with DFLer Ember Reichgott Junge and Republican and AM 1500's Dave Thompson.
• Air America Minnesota: The Wendy Wilde Show. 950 AM. Every Thursday morning around 9:00 a.m. The Minneapolis Observer Publisher Craig Cox will provide comment and insight on the week's city news.
• WCCO Radio: The Pat Miles Show. 830 AM. Every Thursday morning about 9:30 a.m., politicsinminnesota.com publishers Blois Olson and Sarah Janecek check in with Pat to discuss the week's hottest political news.

Politics in Minnesota: Setting The Record Straight

Several readers took great exception with our "excellent" characterization of WCCO reporter Pat Kessler's "Reality Check" segment on pork in the final budget deal. Our readers are right. The $350K for the fishing program for seniors is money well spent. Who can argue with funding a program that takes seniors out of nursing homes and hospice care for what may be their final fishing trip? Not us. Also, the $175K for wine research was vetoed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. A fact not noted in Kessler's report--or ours.