Politics in Minnesota: The Weekly Report - Vol. 3, Issue 2 - 6/28/2007
Happy Fourth Of July!
This is a particularly joyous 4th for Minnesota, with our 2600 National Guard members all scheduled to return home by August 1. Before lighting that spark plug or diving into the potato salad, say a prayer for their safe return home. And, take a longer pause and make a longer prayer for the families of the 60 Minnesotans who have sacrificed their lives in the war on terror.
As a reminder, we won't be publishing the Weekly Report next week. Morning Reports will continue all week.
Mandernach's Morass: Don't Shoot The Messenger
This week's intense grilling of Department of Health Commissioner Dianne Mandernach over her decision to withhold information about cancer deaths among Iron Range miners yielded no new information. As first reported in the Star Tribune, "Mandernach said that releasing the findings without having a plan for further studies could 'excite and cause tremendous concern before you have all of your ducks in a row.'"
Understandably, Iron Range legislators were outraged and called for Mandernach's resignation. For a few weeks, the theory (a plausible one, at that) floating around was that GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty's office was responsible for suppressing the information before the election (on the theory that DFL candidate Mike Hatch would have had a field day with the information in the campaign). Turns out the Governor's office didn't know about the extremely troubling 35 deaths resulting from mesothelioma, the asbestos-related cancer, until mid-February of this year.
Certainly withholding that information was a mistake, and one most politicians would never make. But the decision was made by a former nun turned health care executive. Mandernach appears to be somewhat of a wreck about the decision and grilling her for four hours at the hearing this week seems like piling it on. Despite the outcry, Pawlenty has no intention of asking Mandernach to resign. Politically, that would be the easy thing to do. But you have to admire Pawlenty; he isn't willing to throw Mandernach -- and her career and reputation -- under the bus over one bad call.
And with good reason. We stopped by the hearing this week but couldn't sit through it because it was just plain uncomfortable. Mandernach made a bad decision, but with the best intentions in mind. Heated badgering by Iron Range legislators is certainly understandable. Lives were lost in an industry that's part of the political and cultural psyche of that part of the state. But badgering by other legislators, particularly the metro area ones, struck your GOP publisher as political grandstanding at the expense of a deadly serious issue--the 35 cases of the always fatal mesothelioma.
We believe that all the piling on should be directed toward the mining companies. Specifically, when did the mining companies first learn of the deaths and what steps did they take to try to alleviate the asbestos threats?
There's another hearing set for tonight on the Range. That will probably be even more intense, with many family members of those who lost their lives likely to testify. Hopefully, Iron Range legislators will steer the grief and anger to where they belong, to the mining companies. Mandernach's merely a messenger (albeit a botched one). Shooting her for partisan gain achieves nothing. A much better use of everyone's emotional energy ought to be directed toward figuring out what the state can do going forward.
One interesting sidebar. At the hearing, the Governor's health care policy person was questioned about whether the office had any sympathy for the miners and their families. That person, Carolyn Jones, surprised everyone by referencing her own battle with cancer. Most people didn't know Jones has breast cancer, just that she's extremely competent in her job and an asset to Pawlenty. Now they know she's bravely battling cancer with class. [Prior to the Governor's office, Jones worked at the Minnesota Chamber, and eons ago, she was an intern for your publisher.]
Parsing Par
Avista should tell Par Ridder, hasta la vista. Now.
Avista Capital Partners, of course, is the private equity firm now
There's been great coverage of the story by Jennifer Bjorhus at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Matt McKinney at the Star Tribune, and Brian Lambert at The Rake magazine's media blog. We won't repeat all that good writing and thinking here, but rather stick to the angle relevant to our mission: the impact of this story on Minnesota public affairs. And, make no mistake, that impact is huge. The Star Tribune is in a free fall. That's a public affairs crisis. Never mind the bloggers and newspapers as a dying industry. The Star Tribune remains the newspaper of record, the arbiter of what stories get told, the fodder for talk radio, the facts upon which public policy gets decided.
The publisher of a state's largest newspaper is by definition, a significant figure in that state's public affairs. What happens when that person becomes a joke in a series of events so comically unbelievable that it wouldn't clear reality TV standards? We don't know but we're about to find out.
We don't know Par Ridder and so we're reluctant to pile on, but come on. Here's what we know. 37-year-old Ridder comes to town as publisher of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Never mind his light resume, the name alone reinvigorates the reporting troops at that paper. Avista lures him to the Star Tribune. Ridder brings with him St.Paul Pioneer Press advertising spreadsheets along with a laptop and also grabs his noncompete agreement from the file. Ridder says that the spreadsheets were of no value and that Daddy, Tony Ridder, didn't need to grant his son permission to void the noncompete agreement.
Judge Higgs won't rule until the end of the summer, but meanwhile, Ridder has lost all credibility, in political and business circles, along with the newspaper ones. The remaining troops at the Star Tribune are demoralized. That doesn't bode well for solid public affairs reporting.
Your publisher swung by the court room this week for a couple of hours. Joe Soucheray covered the water bottle angle. All those lawyers and newspaper executives did look ridiculous with those water bottles. [When did a courtroom become like tailgating where you bring your own cooler of water bottles?] As others have noted, the small intimate courtroom was packed. Inadvertently, your publisher ended up sitting next to Ridder's wife, Sara Ridder. Not only did you have to pity Par, you had to pity her. To ease the awkwardness, the conversation turned to dogs. Mrs. Ridder was surprised to learn that former KARE 11 anchor God Paul Majers, who once owned the house the Ridders just bought, let his black Labrador swim in the pool and the dog hair used to clog the drains. The Ridders' golden retriever won't be allowed swimming privileges.
Perhaps the most salient testimony offered by Ridder that day related to how he approached former Pioneer Press executive and now Star Tribune vice president of operations Kevin Desmond to jump papers. Ridder wanted a clandestine place to meet. What place did Ridder choose?
The Byerly's in Eagan.
Maybe that's all we need to know about the judgment of the guy who is the publisher of the Star Tribune.
Cohen Has The Last Laugh
At this time exactly twenty years ago, the Star Tribune was across the river in a Hennepin County courtroom, defending its decision to out Dan Cohen, a GOP operative who provided information to the paper under the condition that the paper keep his name out of it. The paper did not, and in a lengthy battle that went all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, Cohen won. Cohen's lawyer, Elliot Rothenberg, was, like Rep. Steve Sviggum (R-Kenyon) [see story below], another member of the House class of 1978 freshmen. [link to Strib editorial on class of 1978) Cohen copies us on an email he sent to the Star Tribune, that the paper, we assume, will never print. Writes Cohen:
To the editor,Sayonara, Steve Sviggum
Your list of distinguished members of the class of '78 omitted the only member who tried -- and won -- a case decided by the United States Supreme Court. That member was Elliot Rothenberg, a brilliant lawyer, who represented me in Cohen v. Cowles Media, my successful lawsuit against you. The case stands for the proposition, astounding as it seemed to you, that, like ordinary mortals, you are subject to laws of general applicability. Get caught breaking your word, as you were in your dealings with me, you pay the price. Does it occur to you that this general rule of human behavior might have some application in light of your publisher's current difficulties and how it reflects upon the rest of you? How strange it seems, that a publication which ordinarily seems so eager to cast the first stone, hasn't seen fit to hold forth on the subject in one of your opinion pieces, an editorial, a commentary, a column. Considering all the people whom you have trashed, reviled and demonized, how is it that you seem to have lost your voice when it comes to a question of your own conduct?
Since you have always postured yourselves as standing on higher moral ground than the rest of us, why don't the rules apply to you? Perhaps it's because you have always seemed to aim your shots at people who weren't likely to shoot back. Perhaps it's because you refuse to recognize your own imperfections. Perhaps it's because you are aware no one would believe any opinion you have on the subject. Or maybe you are just waiting for it all to go away. Whatever the reason, whatever tiny little snippet of moral authority you think you have is gone. A few years ago, the New York Times referred to you as perhaps the most widely ridiculed paper in the country.
Compared with your current condition and disgraceful silence, that would almost be a badge of honor.
Dan Cohen
That's Sayonara to Rep. Steve Sviggum (R-Kenyon) and congratulations to newly appointed Commissioner of Labor & Industry Steve Sviggum.
Sviggum leaves behind a 29-year legislative career in which he toiled in the minority trenches in the 1980s and 1990s, served as his caucus' minority leader for six years and brought the House Republican Caucus to the majority party dance in 1998 until 2006. That made Sviggum the second-longest serving House Speaker (Lawrence Hall, a St. Cloud conservative, served the longest, logging 10 years). Sviggum's legacy is one of running fair floor sessions and "governing to the balance," as he puts it. Sviggum figures he was hitting the policy sweet spot when both the far right and the far left were ticked at him. Sviggum also sought out new political talent and gave them wings to fly. GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty owes much to Sviggum, as does current Minority Leader Rep. Marty Seifert (R-Marshall).
Sviggum's Seat
Gov. Tim Pawlenty is expected to announce a special election to be held before Labor Day. Certainly the Republicans have a lot more at stake in keeping Sviggum's seat, given a Republican has held it all these years and the House GOP can't afford to lose a single member in their 49-member caucus (the DFL has 85 seats). The 2006 numbers bode well for the GOP. In that horrifically bad GOP year, Pawlenty beat DFLer Mike Hatch, 52.7% to 40.6%. While U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) beat GOP candidate Mark Kennedy, 52.2% to 42.9%, the GOP Congressional candidates (this district, number 28B includes both First and Second District Congressional territory) beat their DFL counterparts, 51.7% to 45.7%
Early reports are that Jeffrey Flatten, the DFLer who ran against Sviggum in 2006, will run, again, in the special elections. Flatten lost to Sviggum in 2006 by about 20 points. Republicans expect a heated contest on their side of the aisle, with about half a dozen candidates likely to vie for the GOP nomination.
Who's On First?
Several weeks ago, we wrote about what's happening in the race to be the Republican who runs against first-term Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN1). To date, there are three Republicans in the contest for the GOP endorsement: Rep. Randy Demmer (R-Hayfield), Sen. Dick Day (R-Owatonna) and businessman Mark Meyer. Some things we wrote were just plain wrong. First, long-time Day Capitol aide Sara Amaden is not running Day's campaign. Former GOP Senate Caucus communications director Erica Ulstrom is doing that job -- and doing it very well from all we have observed. [Ulstrom, by the way, took six months off between jobs to travel solo in Africa and Europe.]
Second, our assertion that Day might be at a disadvantage in Rochester was simply stupid. Day was born and raised in Rochester. His older brother was mayor of Rochester. Day grew up blocks from the Mayo clinic, has been a member of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce for years and has worked on every Rochester project and issue that has come before the Legislature. But perhaps our most glaring oversight was in neglecting the fact that Day represented Olmsted County for 12 years before redistricting, including Hayfield, Demmer's hometown and what we called "the blue collar union town." Also worth noting is that prior to running for the Legislature, Day was an IBM sales rep. whose territory included southern Minnesota.
Finally, we wrote that Demmer might be "more ideologically in line with [GOP endorsing party] activists." The reality is that Day's conservative credentials actually put him at an advantage with the GOP endorsing crowd. Day scores notably higher than Demmer on lifetime ratings with the Taxpayers League, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota Family Council. Day has a 100% voting record rating with the MCCL and he has always been endorsed by the NRA.
What we didn't write at the time but do note here is that Day is probably the most formidable opponent for Walz. We don't know Meyer, and Demmer is a good solid legislator, but besides all the above, Day has the gift of gab. Make that Everyman's gab. The kind of plain talk from a regular guy, not a politician, that helped Walz defeat former GOP U.S. Rep. Gil Gutknecht in the first place. And, don't forget Day is the guy who fixed the meters on the freeway ramps. Voters won't, if reminded.
Moonlighter Madness
Congratulations to former Minnesota Democratic Congressman Gerry Sikorski. The Washington Post named him "Moonlight of the Week." Notes the Post:
"Congressman-turned-lobbyist Gerald E. Sikorski (D-Minn.) spends his weekdays advocating for the likes of Thomson Corp. and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. On weekends, he sculpts.
He has painstakingly crafted hawks, owls and other animals out of marble, all with the idea of creating beauty as well as some inner peace -- neither of which he gets much of on K Street. 'You put your hand on a piece of stone, and you can feel something,' the 59-year-old Holland & Knight partner said. 'If you carve it, it becomes something; there's a spirit of the matter there.'
If that sounds Zen-like, it is. Sikorski has been offered many thousands of dollars for his artwork, but he has refused to sell. 'If it changes over into that dynamic, what happens is you calculate all the hours and effort you put into it and it cheapens the thing,' he said. Instead, he gives his sculptures away, mostly to relatives, and revels in the process of creation free of deadlines and mercenary concerns. Working outdoors for 10 hours at a stretch, he is able to concentrate on something besides his day job. 'It gives you a chance to clear your head,' he said. 'The hamster stops spinning in a circle.'"
How neat that Sikorski won't charge for his work...although we find that hamster imagery vis-à-vis lobbying Congress to be somewhat disturbing!
Politics in Minnesota: Bits & Pieces
We've been remiss in not noting that Star Tribune's political blog, "The Big Question," lives on post-Eric Black, a 30-year Star Tribune reporter who took the buyout and now blogs at minnesotamonitor.com. Star Tribune political editor Doug Tice continues to post, and other Star Tribune reporters are guest-posting. Check out Mark Brunswick's analysis of the political contributions made last fall by the family of Vikings owner Zygi Wilf. This is exactly the kind of blogging the paper should have allowed and encouraged its reporters to do years ago.
Speaking of Mark Brunswick and the Star Tribune, what a shame that the paper didn't send him back Iraq to cover the 2600 members of the Minnesota National Guard during their 16-month deployment. Here's some irony we didn't know. The Minnesota National Guard replaced the Georgia National Guard when their tour was over. Georgia's newspaper of record, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, devoted enormous resources to covering their troops abroad. They had at least one reporter in Iraq the entire time, along with other reporters and photographers on occasion. [We'll skip the obvious cheap shot about the Star Tribune's need to use its resources to pay for lawyers.]
The House Republican Caucus is sponsoring a Presidential Straw Poll on August 22 at the River Center in St. Paul from 5-8 p.m. It's sort of a fundraiser. Pay $100 to the caucus campaign committee to cast your vote. GOP Presidential candidates are being invited. At this point, expectations are low about candidate attendance; however, expectations are high for a good turnout. Minnesota Republicans have always been frustrated that their collective opinion never matters in Presidential contests. Such an event, held in the dog days of summer in the same venue where the RNC convention will be one year later, might generate national press. Here's more information, though their website is on the fritz today. Lucky for the House Caucus, the straw poll is being organized by Joey Gerdin, the super organized former volunteer coordinator/organizer for the Bush-Cheney Minnesota reelection effort who then went on to do the same job for GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kennedy. Gerdin now works for the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC).
Republicans have grumbling about GOP U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman's votes on the immigration bill, which many conservatives detest. Coleman's back in their good graces, today, after voting to end the matter and kill the bill.
Minneapolis public affairs gurus Chuck Neerland and Mark Oyaas have awarded their "Firecracker of the Year" award to Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin. That's a great call, as is giving a "Lifetime Achievement Firecracker of the Year" award to recently retired Star Tribune St. Paul columnist Joe Kimball.
This is the kind of thing that tarnishes the lobbying profession.
Here's what happened to former Duluth News Tribune Publisher Marti Buscaglia. The Orange County Register fires a publisher for resume enhancement 30 years ago while Avista Capital keeps Par Ridder at the Star Tribune...
Put this in the "never in Minnesota" category: Wisconsin lawmakers have racked up almost $400K in legal bills to defend their ability to keep drafts of bills hidden from the public.
The next official gathering of the Twin Cities chapter of the Minnesota Organization of Bloggers (MOB) is scheduled for Saturday July 14th at Keegan's Irish Pub in Minneapolis. Writes an organizer, "The fun starts at 6 p.m .and ends when Mitch Berg and David Strom start a barroom brawl over who really is Minnesota's biggest feminist." MOB events have become important for GOP candidates. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN6) always made it a point to attend them, which probably helped her become the conservatives' favorite over the other GOP contenders for the endorsement, former Reps. Jim Knoblach and Phil Krinkie.
The Loring Park off-leash dog play area opens today, bringing much relief to downtown dog owners. Two other dog parks are planned around downtown Minneapolis with the help of a recently formed non-profit organization, Dog Grounds. PIM web guy Dan Feidt volunteered to design the DogGrounds.org website on the free Drupal content management system. We'll have more about how non-profit, volunteer and community groups use new web technology to reach their constituents in the next issue of the Weekly Report.
Morning Reports
