Politics in Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 3, Issue 26 - 1/11/2008
Mark On The Mark
Kudos to DFL Secretary of State Mark Ritchie. His office is set to launch a brilliant and extremely helpful new tool: A precinct caucus finder.
This is no small feat. Minnesota precinct caucuses are held in myriad places like schools, churches and town halls, and many of the locations change at the last minute. Notes Ritchie, "We had fabulous cooperation from all the political parties, big and small."
Starting next Tuesday, anyone can go to the SOS home page and punch in an address. The search engine will deliver a drop down menu listing the parties that are officially having caucuses with their locations. The political parties holding caucus are the DFL, the GOP, the Constitution, the Green and the Libertarian. The Independence Party is having its caucus online, so the SOS site will have that link. The Independence and Green parties are also organizing differently, and the SOS site will provide clear direction.
Ritchie thinks the caucus finder will go live with "99.9% accuracy," but his office will work to incorporate all the changes that are sure to follow in the coming weeks before the big day, February 5.
To the best of our ad hoc phone calling and web surfing, it appears that Minnesota is the first state that will have a caucus locator online. It's the kind of "access to democracy" thing that makes Minnesota proud and nation-leading. Way to go, Mark, the SOS staff and all the political party staff who helped the SOS staff.
Class Act In Politics In Minnesota
Last week we named Senator Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) as PIM's Politician of the Year. But we were remiss in not thanking our many readers who submitted nominations, so thanks very much for them.
One person who was nominated struck us a person much more than just a "politician of the year," but rather a "class act of the year."
That person is Senator Linda Scheid (DFL-Brooklyn Park). Here's what our nominator (one of the state's finest lobbyists) wrote: "Linda Scheid - she stands up for what she believes is right - often against her own caucus. For example, against the trial lawyers, Senator Tarryl Clark (St. Cloud-DFL, and Assistant Majority Leader) and most of her caucus against the insurance "good faith" provisions. All the while, enduring weekly chemotherapy treatments for ovarian cancer, but still carrying more than her share of a legislative agenda." We concur.
We award our first ever "Politics in Minnesota Class Act" award to Senator Linda Scheid for adroitly carrying on the business of governing under the extreme duress and fatigue that is a serious cancer. [We'll name future PIM Class Acts as they arise, not by the year.]
Keeping The Faith
The insurance "good faith" provisions we referred to in the previous story will likely be back this year. The issues are complicated, but here's how we understand them to be.
The "bad faith" debate centered on a proposal that would have created a new class of lawsuits against insurance companies. These lawsuits would be filed in addition to whatever legal action was already underway on an insurance claim, thus the title the "Double Lawsuit" bill. The proposal would have allowed second lawsuits to be filed under a disputed insurance claim. These second lawsuits weren’t about the claim itself, but rather how the insurance company 'handled' the claim. These second lawsuits would have unlimited ability to gain punitive damages and attorneys fees.
The trial lawyers say the bill was needed to ensure consumers would be treated fairly by their insurers. The insurance industry say the bill was really only about guaranteed fees to attorneys and that passing the bill would give consumers no new protections that they don't already have (the Commerce Department can do basically what the attorneys were seeking to do under the bill) but would have racked up lots of punitive damage awards and fees that would have been passed along to consumers in the form of higher premiums.
DFL U.S. Senate hopeful Mike Ciresi started running ads this week. It's an unprecedented move -- running general public ads in a DFL endorsing contest between Ciresi and Al Franken (with two other candidates in the race). In case you missed them, the ads are here and here.
Looks to us like Ciresi is taking some not quite so subtle shots at Franken. One shot, highlighting successfully suing tobacco companies, points to Ciresi accomplishing something that positively affects other people (compared to Franken). The other shot goes to the ability and the experience to accomplish change.
The latter is much more problematic for Franken, and it's only being exacerbated in the presidential race with Barack Obama repeatedly calling for change to bring people together, and that we should be the United States, not red states and blue states. Try to picture Ciresi saying the same thing. Easy. Now try to picture Franken saying the same thing. Impossible if not ludicrous.
One super-inside baseball note about Ciresi's ads. Franken said he was going to air ads first, this week, before Ciresi actually started airing his. Smart, seasoned candidates never promise something during a campaign they are unable to deliver.
Capitol Coverage
Greater Minnesota legislators and other politicos beyond the metro area know something their metro area counterparts don't: Forum Communications is a powerhouse. The company's seven Minnesota daily papers along with its 28 Minnesota weekly or biweekly publications now reach more readers than the St. Paul Pioneer Press and is second only to the Star Tribune in circulation.
That makes the Forum Communications public affairs coverage team an important factor in Minnesota politics. Leading that team is highly respected Don Davis, who has been with Forum since 2001, when also highly respected John Sundvor joined the lobbying firm of Flaherty & Hood. Scott Wente also reports for Forum, and joining Davis and Sundvor this year is Marisa Helms, she of former MPR and current MinnPost byline fame. Helms will focus more on enterprise stories as opposed to the daily doings at the Capitol.
On a related note, don't miss TPT's Mary Lahammer when she joins WCCO AM's Eleanor Mondale and Suzie Jones every Thursday at 9:30 a.m. The three dish on the week's political events, soccer-mom style.
Capitol Credentials
Here's an issue the Minnesota Legislature might confront. In Colorado, party activists are posing as journalists to get credentials that grant access to state House and Senate chamber floors. "Traditionally-minded Capitol-based reporters" aren't happy about that and "they have formed a group designed to recommend to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate President which reporters and news organizations that cover the Capitol are legitimate -- and which are not."
To date, the Minnesota Legislature has only credentialed "traditional" reporters. We doubt any party activists will pose as journalists, here, but the issue does flag how the Minnesota Legislature will handle the plethora of new media. Certainly it would seem reasonable to credential some of Joel Kramer's MinnPost crew and perhaps Steve Perry's from The Daily Mole, but what about others like MinnesotaMonitor which are funded by major left wing donors ? And what about the strong cadres of Minnesota bloggers?
[When three Minnesota bloggers tried to get into the media headquarters in Des Moines during the caucuses without any credentials, they asked one of the organizer/gatekeepers what counted as a legitimate news organization. They conceded that 9/10ths of it consisted of 'calling ahead of time.']
Trocaderos Fights For Your Right To Party -- And Wins!
Downtown's residential population has surged in recent years as baby boomers flee the suburbs and try urban living. Trocaderos, a restaurant/lounge at the seam between the downtown core and the North Loop (3rd Ave N. & 1st St. N.), has quickly become a hot venue for a wide variety of musical acts, as well as something of a boomer-friendly retreat. Trocaderos has been a popular spot for GOP functions, DFL barn burners like the U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL-MN5) victory party, country music, and hip-hop. Surely it wouldn't be that last one that ticked off the condo dwellers. Despite their demand for quiet, the Trocaderos block appears to be zoned C3A (Community Activity Center District) and B4C-1 (Downtown Commercial District) (here's the city zoning PDF).
Some local residents have become offended by the ambient noise coming from Trocaderos, and the city tried to pull their right to amplify music, according to Downtown Journal. While some might argue that residential areas should be more quiet, the city's 2003 Downtown East/North Loop Master Plan says:
"the intermingling of commercial and residential uses is critical to establishing a city that has activity, vitality, and safety at all times of the day and week. It is essential that there is always somebody coming and going – whether it is to and from their job or to and from their home. For this reason it's important to overcome the temptation to think of one part of downtown as the place where people work, another part as the place where people are entertained, another where people live, and so on. One issue that could inhibit neighborhood development... is the potential for emerging NIMBYism. With each new housing unit filled, the possibility grows that community residents, current or future, will oppose development that comes after them. ...This problem could hold the Project Area back from realizing the densities called for throughout the plan.... In other words, neighborhoods are not static entities; they grow, change, and evolve over time. That sort of dynamism must be understood and embraced as the number one reason that cities – particularly downtowns – are exhilarating places to live."Trocaderos, in turn, accused the city and North Loop Councilwoman Lisa Goodman of defamation, a charge permitted to advance by Hennepin County District Court Judge Denise Reilly. Reilly also agreed that the city noise ordinance had been applied subjectively, and banning noise that "disturbs the peace and quiet" of local residents is unconstitutionally vague. Trocaderos contended that Goodman told locals to dial 911 to attack their liquor license, and she also declined to meet with them. Briggs & Morgan, representing Trocaderos, has subpoenaed local residents for emails about local bars, including "any talk about the race of individuals patronizing Trocaderos and other clubs," according to the Journal.
There's a common-sense rule of thumb to try here: Do you live within three blocks of the infamous Deja Vu strip club (i.e. within a 'zesty' part of town)? If so, how can you possibly justify complaining about noise? Reminds us of those guys who fought putting condos on top of Calhoun Square, effectively killing development.
There's no NIMBYism like Minneapolis NIMBYism.
Bully For Gregg
The House GOP Caucus is losing Gregg Peppin, the lead staffer who organized key GOP victories, including achieving the majority in 1998. In our book, Peppin was and is an-all star and he's sure to enjoy enormous success in his new venture, a new GOP direct mail and political consulting business to be called P2B Strategies. Joining Peppin are Jeff Bakken, former Republican caucus media writer and press secretary to the Speaker, and Dax Bennett, who has done lots of work for the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC).
P2B Strategies will be a one-stop shop for political communications needs for Republican candidates, conservative clients and center/right organizations, among others. Specifically, the firm will design and create campaign or grass roots literature, direct mail, websites, logos, newspaper and radio ads, and assorted miscellaneous campaign necessities such as lapel stickers and t-shirts.
Writes Peppin in an email to GOP friends, "Rest assured, the House Republican Campaign Committee is in solid shape. Ben Golnik, my replacement, is a top tier Republican strategist with extensive campaign experience. Republican Leader Marty Seifert has a firm dedication to recapturing the majority for House Republicans, and in just one year as leader has set new HRCC fundraising records with the excellent assistance of Joey Gerdin."
Congratulations, Gregg, on many an election well done!
Wal-Mart Watch
This week the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank released the results of its study of Wal-Mart's impact on local economies. The Fed concluded that counties that have a Wal-Mart store don't differ much in jobs, income or growth from counties than do have a Wal-Mart. That reminded us about a story we wrote several years ago where we tracked the political parties representing districts that have Wal-Marts (on the dicey, but politically fun, theory that one would expect more Republicans than Democrats to have Wal-Marts in their districts). Since 2006 was a blow-out year for the DFL, we updated the list here, and we compare the number of Wal-Mart stores before and after the 2006 election:
| 2007 | 2005 | |
| Senate DFL Wal-Marts | 33 | 36 |
| Senate GOP Wal-Marts | 27 | 33 |
| House DFL Wal-Marts | 31 | 26 |
| House GOP Wal-Marts | 29 | 35 |
Bits & Pieces
For the record, we think GOP party chair Ron Carey pulled a stupid move when he endorsed Mike Huckabee for the GOP endorsement. The best analysis of the reasons why was given by Pat Shortridge, a former aide to U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy. Shortridge notes that it might conflict Carey in his day-to-day operational and organizational decision-making roles as state party chair (Carey takes a salary unlike his immediate predecessors Ron Eibensteiner and Bill Cooper). Second, as "Host Chairman for the 2008 Republican Convention, you’d think Ron Carey would be doubly cautious about picking winners and losers and more interested in rolling out the welcome mat." Third, "In politics as in life, timing is everything. Chairman Carey’s announcement, coming only days after a humiliating Republican defeat in a State Senate special election, will cause many to wonder if his focus is in the right place." Concludes Shortridge, "Things are not going well for Minnesota Republicans.There has been very little good news. For the Party Chairman to distract himself with a side gig that puts him directly at odds with large segments of his party seems to be ill advised in the extreme." Here's the whole post.
How's the Minnesota race for GOP endorsing delegates going? The only clue we have is that Mitt Romney's campaign has organized two youth groups. We're betting that means there are lots of other organized groups for Romney in our state, so, for now, we'll predict Minnesota Republicans pick Romney.
Condolences to the family and friends of DFL lobbying powerhouse Bill Brooks, who died at the age of 81. Not only was Brooks a legend at the Capitol, he always had interesting observations about the world at large. Details on the service are here.
Smart move, St. Paul Chamber of Commerce. The group has hired Susan Kimberly to be its new vice president of economic development.
Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry Commissioner Steve Sviggum is headlining the January 22nd Humphrey Institute panel event, "The State of Minnesota's Republican Party and Conservative Movement." Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, this free event aims to define the character of conservatism, and to discuss whether Minnesota's Republican Party is still a vehicle for the conservative movement. Joining the commissioner of Labor and Industry are: Bill Cooper (former chair of the Minnesota Republican Party), Rep. Mary Liz Holberg (R-Lakeville), and Jeff Blodgett (executive director of Wellstone Action). For more information, click here.
True connoisseurs of the fruit of the vine know that fine wine gets better with time - but only under the correct conditions. Taxpayer's League founder Mike Wigley has built an impressive reputation as the watchdog of citizen's tax dollars, and this year he wants to be the watchdog of your wine. Wigley is the principal owner of, "Wine Storage, LLC," the Twin Cities' first temperature-and-humidity-authenticated commercial wine storage facility. For those whose in-home, long-term storage is found wanting, one can pay $2 per month per case to have their bottles join Wigley's personal stock. For more information, email mikewigley@aol.com. Add "store more wine!" to Mike's "no new taxes" mantra roster.
The Minnesota Women's Consortium will be honoring the "Dreamers & Doers," those Women whose dreams have made Minnesota a better place. The event will take place Thursday, January 31st at the Science Museum of Minnesota. For times and ticket information click here.
The Independence Party of Minnesota is having its state convention on Saturday, January 26th at the Bloomington Civic Plaza and Center for the Arts unless there is severe weather. (Also, MPR reported this week that the IP is getting feelers to join a national organization that would support New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's possible run for President. We recently heard a rumor that Bloomberg will launch a campaign in the next few days by writing himself a billion-dollar check.)
Here at PIM we use the free Drupal content management system to run our website, and it's becoming an increasingly popular platform around the state. The Science Museum of Minnesota, the Daily Planet, and now Rake Magazine all use Drupal to serve their sites. [The Rake designers at Gorton Studios wrote an excellent, detailed story about how they rebuilt the magazine's website from scratch.] It's only fitting that the Science Museum will host a Drupal workshop from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, January 27th, presented by Twin Cities Open Circuit, a quickly growing new community group that "working to demystify computers" while fostering the technical advancement of community organizations. Open Circuit is very interested in introducing Drupal to non-profits in the metro, email them for more info.
Media-savvy techno-hipsters take note: Miro 1.1, an open-source video player, has just been released with new ways to offer HD-quality video clips and blogs. Independent producers, including political campaigns, can combine Miro and a web platform (Drupal or Wordpress work well) to offer everyone high-resolution, easily updated video over the Internet. If that doesn't sound like a good prospect, you haven't been paying attention! [Miro also offers BitTorrent-driven HD video distribution; this is a perfect example of how a threat to cable TV monopolies, commercially viable independent HD video, gets squelched by Comcast's controversial new BitTorrent jamming system.]
The Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs welcomes feminist blogger Jessica Valenti to speak about "Why Feminism Matters." Jessica, who holds a Masters Degree from Rutgers University in Women's and Gender Studies, will be speaking and signing copies of her book Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters at 2 p.m. on January 18th. For additional information check the Humphrey Institutes website.
Ms. Valenti will also be emceeing an event celebrating the 35th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The event will feature Dr. Joyce Elders former Surgeon General for the Clinton administration. Tickets are $35 and can be reserved by visiting the Minnesota Choice Coalition's website.
Ramsey County is looking for an Intergovernmental Relations Specialist, which pays up to $92,438 "plus excellent benefits." Only four years' experience in intergovernmental and legislative affairs is required, so check it out. See GovernmentJobs.com or contact Barbara Lawrence at Ramsey County Human Resources (651-266-2718) for more info.
The U of M Law School will hold "A Celebration of Women in Law" at Dorsey & Whitney in downtown Minneapolis, featuring a panel led by U Prof. Carol Chomsky. Socializing and networking are on tap for January 31st. RSVP to Mark Swanson at 612-624-0097 or email.
There will be a special screening of "The Jewish Americans" at the Twin Cities Public Television Studios on Wednesday, January 23rd from 6-9 p.m. The PBS documentary explores 350 years of the Jewish American experience. Space is limited. RSVP to Ruth at 612-388-7816.
Minnesota's Sesquicentennial Cookbook is still soliciting recipes that represent our flava'. Despite the the powerful hotdish lobby in the state, the book is looking for culinary delights that better represent the treats of the many ethnic groups that make up the heritage that is Minnesota. Also highly desired are the Minnesota stories that go with the recipes. Entries can be emailed to cookbook@mn150years.org or sent via snail mail to Sesquicentennial Cookbook, c/o James J. Hill House, 240 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55102.
Calling All Helpful Hearts
For years your publisher officed in the downtown St. Paul Rossmor Building before it went condo. During that time, she spent a lot of time at Keys Cafe, where she got to know many of the wonderful people working there, including owner Carol Hunn Gregory and chef/cook Patrick Young. Pat has been with the Keys Cafe family for 20 years. He was recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Politics in Minnesota is helping to organize a benefit to help Pat and his family. If any of our readers have something to offer for a silent donation, please email sarah@politicsinminnesota.com or call 651-293-0949. And then think about attending the event and bidding on cool stuff while at the same time helping Pat and his family. It will held Thursday, January 31st, from 5-10 p.m at the Ideal Hall, 1494 Dale Street, St. Paul. With three bands booked so far it should be a great night.
Lobbyist Watch
From the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board:
Morning Reports
