Politics in Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 2, Issue 39 - 3/28/2007

In this issue: PIM Housekeeping; The Church, The Children, A Chaplain & A Courageous Representative; Happy (Reeningeered) Trails To You; Who Has The Capital At The Capitol? Free At Last...; Battle for Duluth's Mayor; Pioneer Press Goes All Web 2.0ey; The Best Seats Money Can Buy; Bits & Pieces; Lobbyist Watch; Setting The Record Straight

PIM Housekeeping

Happy Easter. Happy Passover. Happy Spring. Friendly reminder number one: We won't be publishing next week. Friendly reminder number two: Don't forget to send us any news you have about people or events in Minnesota public affairs. Email us at staff@politicsinminnesota.com

The Church, The Children, A Chaplain & A Courageous Representative

Religion and politics are always a dangerous combination, whether at the dinner table, while having company, or even on YouTube. But the combination is even more dangerous in state legislatures. And now it appears that politics and religion are mixing in the Minnesota Senate.

In January, Father Kevin McDonough was named chaplain of the Minnesota Senate. McDonough is also a priest at St. Peter Claver Church in St. Paul, as well as the vicar for the Minneapolis St. Paul Archdiocese. He should add lobbyist to his list of titles. A week ago Monday, McDonough was on hand in the Minnesota House when the committee on Civil Law chaired by Rep. Michael Paymar (DFL-St. Paul) debated a bill that would extend the civil statute of limitations for victims of clergy sexual abuse. (The legislation been promoted for the past few sessions.) The fact that McDonough's was present isn't a problem, but the testimony he gave, essentially lobbying against the bill, could be.

During testimony by the bill's chief House author, Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-St. Louis Park), Simon quoted McDonough verbatim from a discussion the priest had with the Representative when he visited Simon in his office. Yes, the Senate chaplain visited Simon in his office about a bill affecting the Catholic church. Sure sounds like lobbying.

Simon deserves a badge of political courage for quoting McDonough.

Some background: Simon had been trying to get a hearing in Rep. Joe Mullery's (DFL-Minneapolis) Public Safety and Civil Justice Committee but Mullery wouldn't hear the bill. So Simon turned to Paymar's committee for a hearing, which later referred it to Mullery's committee. But that's not the real story. The story the local media missed was Simon's testimony that McDonough met with him in his office and straight-out lobbied the legislator on the bill. In addition, others are saying that McDonough also lobbied other legislators on this bill.

The other story, which deserves more investigation, is what McDonough told the Star Tribune in a January 6th Q & A with now-retired religion reporter Pamela Miller:

Despite that public commitment and McDonough's presence at the hearing, Simon stood strong and gave some of the most compelling testimony that we have heard in recent years.

McDonough, while in Simon's office, suggested to Simon that the bill was a bad idea because the litigation only caused rage in the victims. Simon used that quote in the hearing and asked rhetorically if that rage might really be more from the abuse (Simon was more graphic) than from the litigation.

Simon stood up to the church, the gamesmanship of Mullery, and the lobbying of McDonough with testimony that was undeniably passionate. In an era when political jockeying and gamesmanship are the norm, Simon's work is notable. But that isn't why Simon is pushing this bill; he's advocating it because he feels the children who were abused by clergy warrant it.

Happy (Reeningeered) Trails To You

Thanks to a PIM subscriber for passing along a memo that Matt Kramer, chief of staff to GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty, sent to all commissioners about the state of the state workforce. Here are some startling demographic facts: (1) 26.1% of state employees will retire by 2010; and, (2) 47% of state employees will be eligible to retire by 2015. To no one's surprise, a Republican administration views these stats as a fabulous opportunity to "slow down government growth, streamline processes, [and] continue to automate wherever possible." The memo further asks commissioners to reduce the size of the state workforce through retirement attrition. Writes Kramer, "We expect that you will carefully examine every vacancy prior to filling to ensure that the position cannot be combined with others, reengineered, automated or otherwise eliminated."

Those would seem to be fighting words to the state employees union, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), so we checked in with MAPE executive director Jim Monroe. He is happy to report that MAPE business is booming. The group now has about 11,400 members and 30-60 people are joining every month. Must be that threat of being "reengineered, automated or otherwise eliminated." Monroe also said that he seems to spend much of his life doing battle with Gopal Khanna, the State Chief Information Officer. Khanna runs the Office of Enterprise Technology, which Pawlenty elevated to cabinet level the summer of 2005. Khanna apparently is a big believer in outsourcing information-related jobs. MAPE, by the way, now represents employees in 450 different job titles. The group broke off from AFSCME (an international organization) in the 1980s.

To manage the staffing challenges ahead, the Department of Administration has initiated a new program called, "Every Employee Counts!" You have to love a memo about changing government. There will be "Enterprise Workforce Planning" and "Business Process Reengineering" that will include trendy private sector management concepts like "Lean Enterprise" and "Six Sigma." Pretty exotic stuff for government work.

So next time you see your favorite state employee, be sure to tell them, "You Count!"

Who Has The Capital At The Capitol?

As the deadlines pass and the new spending adds up and tax proposals get floated, the question is who, if anyone, has any capital at the Capitol?

Despite winning by only 21,000 votes and not signing the Taxpayers League pledge, the Governor sits at the poker table with a very strong hand. Amazingly, some Democrats think the Gov could be bluffing on signing a new top-tier income tax bracket. We say, not a chance.

Pawlenty remains popular, hovering between 58 and 56% favorable ratings since January, while 38% view him unfavorably according to a KSTP-sponsored Survey USA poll. That compares to his 45% approval, and 52% disapproval just before the election. That's an impressive swing but also shows that voters have put the election behind them and is in line with the conventional wisdom that the Governor is extremely likable. Those two sets of poll numbers suggest that Pawlenty's favorables are volatile and therefore his capital could be diminished if a war with the legislature breaks out.

Without the luxury of poll numbers, the House DFL's position would seem the most precarious. All 134 are up for reelection next year and observers are suggesting that DFLers are just “renting†many seats. That said, their first few policy initiatives are politically strong and sellable at the doorstep:

• More money for education
• Property tax relief
• A few other key funding areas
• All paid for by a new tax tier for the Minnesotans who make over $400,000 a year

That seems like enough capital for Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis) to use to make the governor spend some of his own to veto it and hold up the end of session. Combine Pawlenty's threatened veto of the transportation bill and a few other potential veto's and the House DFL may be able to win the public over on their proposal. If they do, they win the next election and those seat layaways become purchases.

Holding a large majority should mean a lot of strength but the strategy of floating trial balloons as budget targets and proposals has given the Senate a bit of a disadvantage. But you can't ever count Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller (DFL-Minneapolis) out of the game.

With three years before their next election, the Senate can afford to wait out the Governor and the House for a late finish to the session. But having the House in DFL hands means they need to find away to let the House win, while they take second. While the players at the Capitol still await the “real†budget numbers, it seems predictable that the Senate will offer more property tax relief, more education funding, and more with which they can compromise at the end of the session.

Some DFL Senators question whether Pogemiller has the capital to play hardball, as is his history, at the end of the session; if he doesn't, the Senate could have a new leader next session.

Nothing to lose, and a lot to gain. Minority Leader Marty Seifert (R-Marshall) is using all his best quips but his one goal is to uphold the Governor's veto. He can do that on many bills but in the end he is irrelevant if the DFL proposes a deal with which the Governor can live. Seifert has many opportunities to pick up House seats in 2008 but with a Presidential race, and more money for schools and property tax relief as the main campaign factors, he has to risk it all to win now if he is to win next November.

The Senate GOP is the caucus with the fewest chips to play but they are still a factor in the game of veto overrides. If the Senate can override vetos, it applies pressure to the Governor and gives the House more political strength. Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem (R-Rochester) has brought a strong new voice to the Senate GOP, which could sound like a voice of reason when everyone else is trying to cut the final deal. We can't count out the fact that Senjem is the GOP's last remaining Rochester Republican; he has a pulse for moderate Minnesotans and the civil nature to be a deal maker.

Free At Last...

Free at last, free at last, former Speaker Sviggum (R-Kenyon) is free at last. The most civil and respected diplomat of the legislature other than former DFL Senator Roger Moe in the last twenty years appears to be enjoying what many think is his last session as a member of the House. Sviggum is leading on issues that he may not have been able to address as Speaker between 1999 and 2006.

First and most noteworthy is his leadership as a spokesman for medical marijuana. Not only did Sviggum co-sponsor the bill but he has advocated for it on Almanac and testified in committees. That advocacy has had consequences; Sviggum has mentioned that party leaders and activists have taken notice. Another notable vote for Sviggum could come on the gas tax increase. While Sviggum voted against the ten cent proposal on Saturday, he could very easily support what he previously supported, which was a nickel. Add that to his leadership on nursing home issues (for which he has long been an advocate) with a proposal that would cost $53 million, a big spend for a fiscal conservative.

Two recent stories lead us to believe that he is enjoying his freedom. He suggested to Governor Tim Pawlenty that he might like some sort of appointment before the session started, to which the Governor said that he didn't want to lose another seat. And, as confirmed by the former Speaker, when he first thought about running for the legislature it was as a DFLer but local politics prevented him from doing that. Interesting, since he hasn't had a close race since 1978 when he won with 61% of the vote.

Be Free Steve. Be Free.

Battle for Duluth's Mayor

One of the DFL's rising stars has thrown his hat into ring for higher office. This week, Donny Ness announced he is running for mayor of Duluth.

The 33 year-old Duluth City Councilmember has been running in DFL political circles for more than a decade, including serving as Congressman Jim Oberstar's campaign manager.

Ness' youth and energy could provide Duluth a needed boost in morale. Current mayor, Herb Bergson, has been struggling to handle the city's retiree health care crisis and was picked up for drinking and driving in Wisconsin. The question is whether Bergson will seek reelection and who DFLers will support in the race. Bergson, a DFLer, is the brother of Brian Bergson, a former state representative, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees exec, and now communications director for Attorney General Lori Swanson. Brian also has strong ties to organized labor and was one of Mike Hatch's senior staffers during the governor's race. With Ness's connection to Oberstar and Bergson's ability to bring in labor and Hatch, DFLers in Duluth may have a knockout fight on their hands.

As of today, Ness definitely has the early advantage.

Pioneer Press Goes All Web 2.0ey

Just a week removed from our stories on how technology is changing the nature of journalism and the Pioneer Press goes all Web 2.0.

The change couldn't have come sooner. Knight Ridder's web properties have long been extremely painful to use because they all share the same system and the system was designed poorly from the beginning. As a member of the Knight Ridder chain, the Pioneer Press' Internet presence suffered accordingly. We can't tell you how often we've heard people say they'd given up on the Pioneer Press web site because it was too difficult to use. That, thankfully, changed last week when the paper launched their redesign. (See the Kansas City Star for the design the Pioneer Press used previously.)

The front page uses Flash technology to rotate the latest top stories. The top navigation bar separates the sections of the newspaper into tabs with sub-sections directly below the section tab. The default front page tab is Home which, notably, includes a link to the paper's RSS feeds and a link to the site's discussion boards, two features that were buried in the previous design. The prominence of the RSS feeds shows the paper's concession to the new reality that people want their news and information on their own terms. The prominence of a link to the discussion boards is a nod to the fact that debate and give and take with readers is a feature of the new journalism.

The Pioneer Press' online publishing cycle used to occur once a day, about 3 a.m., for stories published in that morning's paper. That cycle is history; the timestamps for individual stories show that the paper publishes stories online throughout the day.

A hallmark of Web 2.0 technologies is giving people the ability to share content. As such, individual PiPress stories include links to popular social bookmarking services like del.icio.us, Yahoo's MyWeb, and Google Bookmarks as well as social editing sites like digg and reddit.

Most significantly, however, is the adoption of the blog culture by including a form at the end of each story that allows readers to post their own thoughts about the piece. That turns journalism into a more cooperative effort.

Much of the theory behind the Web 2.0 technologies that connect people via the Internet and allow them to communicate is the notion of the Wisdom of Crowds. The Wisdom of Crowds reasons that when you have a critical mass of people that are allowed to communicate, you are more likely to arrive at the truth.

For example, in the case of social bookmarking services where users can apply tags, or keywords, to their bookmarks that are available to the entire community, a critical mass of people are more likely to discover the most relevant labels for a given piece of content. In the case of blogs, a critical mass of people commenting on a given story are more likely to arrive at the truth of the topic of the article than an individual journalist possibly could.

Many journalists dismiss blogs as simply the Pilot fish of journalism: Those who feed off the facts that reporters ferret out. There's much truth to that in that very few blogs break news. Perhaps the first real blogger, Matt Drudge, was known for "reporting" on stories that real journalists were at work on but had not yet published. His "breaking news" was that journalist X was working on a story about Y. Most people who blog about the news are commenting on stories that have already been published in the mainstream media.

But dismissing blogs in such a fashion ignores the value the best of them add to journalism. The most obvious example is Powerline's "outing" of Dan Rather's phony Bush documents.

By opening up their stories to immediate comment from their readers, the Pioneer Press is implicitly tapping that wisdom of crowds. The comment feature allows people who may have more expertise than the journalist on a given topic to be able to correct, add to, or better illuminate the topic of the story. The Pioneer Press is taking a risk by allowing people to immediately criticize them when they make the inevitable mistakes any news organization will make, but in the end they will hold themselves to greater account and, as a result, build more trust between their readers.

We welcome the development and will watch with fascination as it unfolds.

The Best Seats Money Can Buy Or
Will The DFL Get What They Paid For?

Your publishers aren't sure which is more astonishing: The amount of money spent on legislative races or the apathy about the numbers. Someone handed one of your publishers a chart tabulating campaign spending in 2006 in the top 43 targeted races. Not surprisingly, the most expensive Senate race was for the seat now held by Sen. Joe Gimse (R-Willmar), who defeated former DFL Sen. Maj. Leader Dean Johnson.

The combined spending by the candidates, their parties and outside groups totaled $421,091.61. That works out to be $5.66 per resident of the district (based on the 2005 population of 74,449), or $13.20 per person who actually voted. Put another way, all DFL spending combined works out to be $18.81 per vote cast for Johnson and the GOP, $7.73 per vote cast for Gimse. The most expensive House seat is the one now held by Rep. Kim Norton (DFL-Rochester), who beat GOPer Rich Decker. The combined spending totaled $297,562.69, which works out to be $7.15 per resident of the district, or $19.29 per vote cast. All DFL spending combined paid $22.59 per vote cast for Norton, and the GOP, $15.96 per vote cast for Decker.

$22.59 for each vote in a Minnesota House race. Wow.

At least the DFL got their money's worth. In the DFL's 43 most expensive races, the party lost only three: Johnson; former Sen. Dallas Sams who lost to Sen. Bill Ingebrigsten (R-Alexandria); and challenger Terry Sluss, who lost to Sen. Paul Koering (R-Fort Ripley). The GOP only won three of their top 43, who also happened to be Gimse, Ingebrigsten and Koering.

Here are each party's top ten:

* Sen. Ann Lynch's (DFL-Rochester) GOP opponent, Scott Wright, didn't take public financing and thus Lynch was able to raise and spend more than the public financing limit.

Who knew that Sen. Don Betzold (DFL-Fridley) is Minnesota's most expensive Senator?! Or that Rep. Kim Norton (DFL-Rochester) is Minnesota's most expensive Representative?! Or that Rochester is the most expensive place to run for the Legislature? Arguably, there are four Rochester seats, Senate District 30 and House Districts 29B, 30A and 30B. The Republicans spent more than $518,000 there, and the DFL, more than $725,000 for a total of $1.234 million. Yowzer.

Other fun facts can be gleaned from perusing the rest of the list. There were another 14 races (all DFL) in which combined spending was greater than $100,000. The DFL Party and the DFL House Caucus didn't spend a dime on four winning DFL House members:

• Rep. Scott Kranz (DFL-Blaine) who beat Brad Biers (R) in former Rep. Andy Westerberg's seat
• Rep. Marsha Swails (DFL-Woodbury) who beat former GOP Rep. Karen Klinzing
• Rep. Ken Tschumper (DFL-La Crescent) who beat former GOP Rep. Greg Davids
• Rep. John Ward (DFL-Brainerd) who beat former GOP Rep. Paul Gazelka

And the DFL only spent $1,215 on Rep. Julie Bunn (DFL-Lake Elmo) and $990 on Rep. Shelley Madore (DFL-Apple Valley).

The GOP didn't spend a dime on four GOP incumbents on its top 43 list:

• Former Rep. Greg Davids from Preston
• Former Rep. Karen Klinzing from Woodbury
• Former Sen. Brian LeClair from Woodbury
• Former Sen. Mady Reiter from Shoreview

Politics In Minnesota: Bits & Pieces...

Here's an interesting perspective that, to date, hasn't been shared in Minnesota public affairs. The Washington County Republican Women have lined up Cheri Pierson Yecke, who is now chancellor of Florida's K-12 education department and was Gov. Tim Pawlenty's first MN Commissioner of Education. The topic is "The Legacy of Jeb Bush...a Ronald Reagan of Our Time." The breakfast meeting will be held on Saturday, April 21, at 9:00 a.m. at the Lake Elmo Inn Catering and Event Center. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. RSVP to pandlatdundee@hotmail.com.

Tim Penny was named the next president of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF). He becomes the third president of the group which was established in 1986 by the McKnight Foundation to foster growth and vitality in southern Minnesota communities. SMIF has provided over $34 million in loans and grants and leveraged over $100 million to support local business and community development.

The 30th annual Frank Premack Public Affairs Journalism awards ceremony is Monday, April 23, at 5:00 p.m. at Coffman Union at the U of M. Some of the 2007 award winners will participate on a panel on the importance of public affairs journalism in Minnesota. They include Karen Boros (professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Thomas University), Bill Hanna (editor of the Mesabi Daily News), D.J. Leary (the esteemed cofounder and editor of Politics In Minnesota, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and Lori Sturdevant (edtioral writer and columnist at the Star Tribune). The event is free and open to the public. Contact mnjrnctr@umn.edu for more information or call 612-626-1723.

Local media consultant Tom Kelly is moving himself and his family to Croatia for a position with the National Democratic Institute.

The Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs will honor the recipients of the 2007 Hubert H. Humphrey Public Leadership Awards at a gala dinner Wednesday, May 16, at the McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. SE, Minneapolis. This year's recipients are Sen. John C. Danforth, former U.S. Senator and Ambassador to the United Nations; Josie R. Johnson, civil rights leader and educator; Eugene C. Sit, founder and co-chair of the Minnesotans' Military Appreciation Fund; and Harlan Cleveland, former ambassador to NATO and founding dean of the Institute. A reception begins at 6 p.m., and the dinner and program, including remarks from the award recipients, begins at 7 p.m. Tickets for the dinner and program are $125, of which $75 is a tax-deductible contribution. E-mail Lars Leafblad at leafblad@umn.edu for tickets to the dinner or call (612) 625-9588.

Setting The Record Straight

Apologies to Lee Birkhold for misspelling her name several issues back. The Senate GOP Caucus scored a coup by taking her from the House GOP Caucus to raise money for campaigns.