Politics in Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 2, Issue 28 - 1/03/2007

In this issue: Let The Session Begin; The 2006 Politics In Minnesota Politician Of The Year; Keith's Quran Plan; A New State Animal? The Star Tribune Sale; The Bottom Feeder Scenario; The Breeder Scenario; Bits & Pieces; Lobbyist Watch

Let The Session Begin

The most frequent speculation at the Capitol on opening day is how the mood compares to other years. This year's answer: Subdued and somewhat sober. Sure there is excitement about and among the freshmen for making it to the Senate and House floors. House Democrats are wired because of their new and solid majority. And, even jaded observers are excited to see how the completely new roster of legislative leadership plays out.

Back to subdued and sober...both of which are good. Perhaps the collective mood seems subdued because since 1999 when Jesse Ventura was sworn in and the House Republicans took the majority, partisanship permeated everything. Certainly the mood is sober because key players recognize that people got tired of it and voted accordingly. After years of bitter partisanship, people almost seem relieved. Maybe this year the policy will come before the politics.

Strikes us that much of what drives all this good sentiment is that key players are ever mindful of what brought them to the dance. GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty knows and respects that but for 21,000 voters, his Minnesota political career probably would have been finished, and definitely any national possibility would have been out of the picture. DFL House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis) also seems to know and respect that but for about 4,400 votes cast in the right districts of the two million votes cast for House races, Democrats would still be in the minority. There was no partisan mandate from voters in the 2006 elections. The state is still evenly split but leans slightly to the left.

Friendly amendment to this year's answer about the mood at the Capitol: Subdued, and somewhat sober with growing optimism that we can return to the old days where divided government does not have to mean war.

The 2006 Politics In Minnesota Politician Of The Year

Time magazine got us to thinking...and perhaps cheating. We all got our fifteen minutes of fame when Time said "You" with a shiny Mylar rectangle are "Person of the Year." As we looked back, we weren't struck by one person but rather a whole gender. The 2006 "Politician of the Year" is all the elected women.

First and foremost, is DFL U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. The long-time DFL rising star not only rode a wave but led it in 2006. She fended off a tough challenge from Sheryl Ramstad Hvass in 1998 to win the Hennepin County Attorney's seat. Although she didn't get much political traction with the office, she spent years attending every political and civic event around the state. Not only did she scare off others who might have been interested in the DFL nomination, she also met a lot of regular people who got to know her as a regular person. Now she'll get noticed as a formidable and focused politician. In what was supposedly the nation's most contested US Senate seat, Klobuchar simply clobbered what could have been a formidable Republican in former Rep. Mark Kennedy.. Klobuchar ran a calm and concise campaign, and it appears she will govern in the same manner. Somewhat moderate, but very Minnesotan. She leads the cast.

Next up is Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis). She is the second female Speaker in Minnesota, and like Klobuchar she is a moderate. She deserves more credit for the wherewithal and capacity to not only take the majority, but echoing Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel's national strategy at the DCCC, investing in races that people didn't think the DFL could win, despite doubts from some in her caucus. In particular, DFL sweeps in Woodbury and other suburbs come to mind, but also the pickups in out state races. Since then, despite a couple speed bumps, Kelliher has done an impressive job of keeping the large majority in line. They say it is easier to govern with a small majority than a large one. Kelliher will be tested this year, but we think her tone and demeanor, with a broad personal history, spanning a dairy farm childhood into her adult life in Minneapolis, will serve her, and Minnesota, well. Finally we have heard nothing but praise from Republicans in how she has treated them in staffing and committee assignments.

Then, there's GOP U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. In 2006's surging Democratic wave, she won the Sixth District handily. She stayed focused on core pocketbook issues, and despite nasty advertising interference by out of state interest groups, she ran an effective campaign against the iconic Patty Wetterling. Lately Bachmann has been quiet. Perhaps she's overshadowed by all the media attention given to Democratic U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison. Perhaps it's serving in the new U.S. House GOP minority. We're betting that Bachmann stays quiet until she learns the ropes and then, "watch out, Washington!"

Finally there's the impressive and decisive victory earned by incoming DFL Attorney General Lori Swanson, Minnesota's first female AG. Minnesota women are the politicians of the year. Not because it was a DFL sweep, not just by being in the right place at the right time, but simply because women won at the ballot box, as impressive politicians in their own right. Combine these four women leaders with the number of new women in the Legislature (42.9% of today's freshmen class), and no doubt the number of female staffers with Rep. Betty McCollum, and Minnesota now ranks third nationally in female elected officials. This was noted by a piece by Pat Lopez in last week's Star Tribune.

Keith's Quran Plan

The Washington Post's Reliable Sources column reported this morning that incoming U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison will use a historic Quran in his individual swearing-in ceremony. Minnesota 5th District native Mark Dimunation, chief of the Library of Congress' rare book and special collections division, will provide Ellison with a Quran once owned and initialed by Thomas Jefferson. Ironically, the Post observed that Jefferson was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, which is currently represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, who sparked controversy when he denounced Ellison's plan to use a Quran two weeks ago. The entire House of Representatives will be officially sworn in simultaneously by incoming Speaker-designate Pelosi and Ellison will use Jefferson's Quran at the subsequent, purely ceremonial event. According to the Post, Goode had no comment Tuesday.

By the way, Ellison's historic Quran moment has been huge fodder in the national blogosphere. Ellison's Quran plan was featured on the popular leftie site DailyKos this morning (with 289 comments), and the conservative National Review blog The Corner noted it as well

A New State Animal?

One of your publishers knows several people who live in the suburbs who sometimes stick shotguns out their windows to shoot squirrels raiding bird feeders. There are also other people (even liberal Democrats) who live in the city and capture squirrels in cages and drown them in toilets. What do squirrels have to do with Minnesota politics? Today, this same publisher came across a citizen who was releasing a squirrel next to the State Office Building. This citizen, who chooses to remain anonymous, routinely dumps his squirrels around the Capitol complex. "I know this is more work than just shooting them, but I think the squirrels are happy here." he said. But this time the citizen was coming to the Capitol, anyway, to get one of Kenny the Capitol Barber's fine cuts. [Shameless plug for Ken Kirkpatrick: You can book a haircut with him by calling 651-291-1600.]

The Star Tribune Sale

The news that McClatchy Corporation sold the Star Tribune to Avista Capital, a private capital venture firm, shocked Minnesota's journalism world. In the coming months, the big question becomes will the sale shock if not big-time rock Minnesota's political landscape? We think that all depends on whether, in the words of New York Times media columnist David Carr, the new Avista Capital owners are "bottom feeders or breeders."

The Bottom Feeder Scenario

Avista guts the paper. Sell some land to Zygi Wilf to build a Vikings stadium. Streamline the business operation. Figure out how to substantially reduce the 380 bodies in the newsroom. Get a better return. Resell the paper a few years hence.

For Minnesota politics, this would be a disaster. One of the historical "givens" in our state's politics is that the foundation for virtually every twist and turn is the news coverage provided by our state's largest two daily newspapers, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Star Tribune. Much has been written elsewhere about the emerging importance of blogs and news found elsewhere on the Internet. That's a conversation PIM will have another day. But despite the "new media," the two twin cities newspapers not only document but shape the agenda and the public's perception of public policy personalities. The agenda shaping happens in myriad ways: Reporters find and write the stories that interest them; several layers of editors determine story lengths and headlines; some one or team then determines where the story goes in the paper. And, don't forget that the broadcast media rely heavily on the Star Tribune both for content and story importance.

Another historical given is that all previous owners of the Star Tribune have recognized that the Minnesota population, usually highest in the nation for voter turnout, is civically engaged and many people are very interested in politics. To date, the Star Tribune has always recognized that and has consistently, heavily invested in covering politics and government. We're betting Minnesota civic-mindedness--and maybe even good journalism--aren't on many private venture capitalists radar screens. Avista will prove no different.

The Breeder Scenario

Avista executive board member and soon-to-be Star Tribune chairman Chris Harte really is interested in good journalism. Maybe he's even bought into the line of thinking that the future of newspapers is in upping the ante on local coverage, given reprinted news service stories are mostly old news in the instant news age. Avista breeds even better coverage of politics and government. We bet not much changes in state and local coverage but the February 1 closing date of the sale forces big decisions on how to cover Washington. No more McClatchy news bureau. One of the better decisions outgoing editor Anders Gyllenhaal made was to create a Washington section, in which Kevin Diaz, Gregg Gordon and Rob Hotakainen have been given ample space to scrutinize the Minnesota delegation. Losing that would be a shame.

On to the editorial side. Several issues back we wrote about the "insularity" of the Star Tribune's editorial board. First things first. Certainly writers on those pages seem to have the same world view and universally think closer to the left end of the Democratic spectrum. However, we were sorely remiss in not noting that some of those writers spend a ton of time out and about at businesses, schools and elsewhere. Notably and deeply regrettably we failed to single out weekly political columnist Lori Sturdevant, who probably spends way more time at the Capitol than either of your publishers during legislative sessions, and for sure has been a keen observer of Minnnesota's political scene much, much longer. In her weekly Sunday column, Sturdevant almost always nails the information and angle that didn't make it or wasn't appropriate for the news sections.

Sturdevant's good work flags the real problem with the current Star Tribune editorial pages. That is the commentary pages are dominated by syndicated columnists who write only about national stuff and very rarely have something interesting to say. How and why this happened, we're not sure. We do know that submissions from people on the right have been rejected. That word travels and nobody bothers to spend the time and effort to write anything. We also know that we have rarely heard, "did you see what so-and-so wrote in the Star Tribune? in recent years in political circles.

Avista could shine as breeders in radically changing the op ed pages. Completely can all the nationally syndicated columnists. [Many people who like the columns running have already read them online, anyway.] Give another writer or two a column and leeway to be provocative. Beg from all sides of the aisle and walks of life to write. Post them and allow for comments on startribune.com. Make those pages conversation starters.

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

Former St. Paul Pioneer Press media columnist and talk radio host Brian Lambert has started a new blog on the media called (and appropriately, we bet), "Lambert to the Slaughter." It's housed on the Rake magaizne web site. Lambert has written good stuff for the printed publication the last few years. Look for his profile of Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten in the February issue. Making Lambert a permanent fixture at the magazine was a smart move for publisher Tom Bartel.

Last Wednesday the New York Times started a new, occasional series of articles about our state government entitled "As St. Paul Goes...", which will track into the Republican National Convention. The RNC will be held just a few hundred yards from the Capitol in a mere 607 days. The Times' first entry, "In Minnesota, Case Study for Political Shake-Up," was a solid account of the transition, and the quirky political environment we know so well. Everything from Minnesota State Fair campaign swag to commentary from PIM co-founder Wy Spano pops up in the story. After noting legislative innovations spawned in St. Paul, as well as our improbable recent political history, Times reporter Kirk Johnson adds that "some political scholars say that much of the nation's next political direction could be forged here." We wouldn't have it any other way.

Former GOP House Rep. Tim Wilkin has taken a job as an assistant commissioner in the Department of Human Services. Former GOP House Rep. and AG candidate Jeff Johnson is rumored to be considering a similar position at the Department of Health.

Call it a coup, but we shouldn't be surprised. The Department of Education's leadership has tapped Donna Swanson to direct the agency's lobbying efforts as "government relations coordinator'" The politically astute and policy-wise Commissioner Alice Seagren, and politically brilliant Deputy Commish Chas Anderson recruited Swanson, a former teacher and current aide to St. Paul City Council member Dave Thune, to help move solid education reform through the DFL-controlled Legislature. Swanson, who has long been well thought of, ran for City Council in 2003, and ran for former Minority Leader Matt Entenza's seat last year. She's the former local president of the teachers union in White Bear Lake, and is married to former DFL House Caucus executive director Steve Ververka.

Are blogs dying? Well, not really, but their potential decline this year is something certain to affect politics. The good ones will of course continue to gain attention, but less frequently updated ones are apparently starting to lose popularity according to the tech firm Gartner, Inc. See Jon Tevlin's piece in the Star Tribune. Tevlin cites Rex Sorgatz, the proprietor of the popular local MNSpeak.com website, as a dissenting voice: "I'm honestly no blog triumphalist, but when did 100 million people involved in contributory media become a disappointment?"

Jockeying for jobs to organize and run the Republican National Convention is on in earnest. The coveted top job, now held in interim by Jeff Larson, is rumored to be highly competitive, with top people in the mix. The list includes former Pawlenty aide and campaign strategist Tom Mason and Minnesota Wild Vice Chairman Jac Sperling.

A local connection to the passing of President Gerald Ford is former Secret Service agent Larry Buendorf, a Wells, Minnesota native who saved Ford's life in Sacramento when Squeaky Fromme, a member of the Charles Manson family, aimed a .45-caliber handgun at the late president. Buendorf stepped between Ford and Fromme, seizing the gun and wrestling her to the ground. The Mankato Free Press detailed the story.

The roster of positions for the incoming DFL House Majority Caucus has familiar names and faces from the last time the DFL controlled the House. Mike Charboneau leads the staff as executive director, Glen Fladeboe is now director of public affairs, and Joel Johnson becomes director of media services. A notable hire by House Assistant Majority Leader Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm) is the savvy and smart John Pollard, the long-time top-aide to outgoing Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson.

Paul Cassidy continues to build an impressive lobbying team at Leonard, Street and Deinard. His latest hires includes associate director of government relations Kelly Wolfe, former leadership assistant to Dean Johnson. Andrew Chelseth, who most recently was a government relations assistant for the University of Minnesota's crack lobbying team, has recently joined the practice, and will be their legislative coordinator.

Attention lobbyists. The Minnesota Government Relations Council is still looking for volunteers to be lunch companions this Friday at the MGRC Youth in Government luncheon. MGRC tries to have at least two lobbyists per table so that each student is engaged in conversation. Call 651-636-4158 to sign up.

Youth in Government, by the way, is the reason not much is happening this week in St. Paul (during last year's partisan traumas, the Jan. 3 start date was set in a moment of political petulance. For those who don't know, Youth In Government is a program connected with the YMCA in which some 1500 high school students spend a few days a year acting as legislators, lobbyists, judges, lawyers, cabinet members, leadership corps members and journalists. They use the State Capitol, the State Office Building, the Minnesota Judicial Center and the Minneapolis Hilton. [Don't tell any parents but one of the perks participating from around the state enjoy is exploring Minneapolis' labyrinth of skyways.

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

• New lobbyist registrations:
• Scott Allen for Education Minnesota
• Gary Botzek for the Stearns County Board
• Mark Bring for Otter Tail Power Company
• Kari Cruz for Education Minnesota
• Maryann Dorsey for Education Minnesota
• Sonnie Elliott for The Next Frontier, LLC
• Richard Forschler for The Next Frontier, LLC
• Phillip Griffin for AREM/The Mentor Network
• Nancy Hylden for The Next Frontier, LLC
• Cynthia Jepsen for the Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund
• Nicola Kieves for Excelsior Energy
• Kendal Killian for the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE)
• Roger Moe for the NW Minnesota Service Cooperative 1 & 2 and Southwest/West Central Minnesota Service Cooperative 6 & 8
• Mary Nienow for the Children's Platform Coalition
• David Ybarra for the Minneapolis Building Trades Council
• New lobbyist terminations:
• Brian Bergson for the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE)
• Thomas Berkelman for Minnesota Cable Communications Association
• Robert Brick for the PACER Center
• Robert Elconin for Central States Life and Health Company of Omaha
• Brian Halloran for American Iron & Supply Company, Inc.
• Daniel Knuth for the Minnesota Professional Towing Association
• Patrick Martyn for JMBNA Corporation
• Forrest Nowlin for the Warren Shade Company
• Lawrence Redmond for American Iron & Supply Company, Inc.
• Travis Reese for the Minnesota State University Student Association
• Kathy Larson Saltzman for Schools for Equity in Education
• Michael Berge for The CenterPoint Energy Resources Corporation (d/b/a CenterPoint Energy Minnesota Gas)
• Ellen Watters for the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce
• Lance Yohe for the Red River Basin Commission