The combined haul for Demmer, Hagedorn, and Quist, the three candidates considered most serious? $61,453.
While it's not yet possible to determine what Hagedorn's cash on hand (COH) was for January 1, Demmer retained $10,176.52 and Quist, $30,781.37, for a combined total of $40,957.89. Even if Hagedorn has not spent a dime, the combined total of COH for the three is less than $46,500.
The Walz campaign YE report has yet to post at the FEC web site, but he finished the third quarter with $266,503 COH;. his campaign manager Richard Carlbom tells me that the committee took in considerably more in the last quarter of 2009 than the third. The report is due today. Update 12:27: Walz's report is up now. Walz took in $237941.55, spent $77741.61 and ended the years with $421,203.05 COH. Walz has receipts of $717,745.30 for the 2009-2010 election cycle. [end update]
The lackluster funding across the board for the Republicans stands in sharp contrast with the rumors that ad been circulating about money raised, especially on the part of Quist. One popular narrative among Republicans in the greater Rochester area is that the NRCC has decided to back Quist at the behest of Congresswoman Bachmann, just as an early nod was given by the national committee to Brian Davis in 2008 when he found favor in the eyes of Congressman Kline.
According to one reliable source, the NRCC's approval ordinarily prompts the state party to get in line.
Update: The Post Bulletin issued a correction that Bachmann herself will not be at the Quist fundraiser, as the paper had reported earlier. The paper notes that the error was based n inaccurate information suppled to the paper. Curious to know who supplied the incorrect information and who supplied the correction. [end update].
Other items of interest in the Republicans' reports? While all of Demmer's itemized contributions (those giving $200 or more) live in Minnesota, Quist's report includes a cluster of contributors from Wisconsin.
Randy Demmer's congressional campaign has posted its 2009 year-end report, which covers the last three months of 2009. Demmer announced his bid--his second--on December 1.
According to the report, Demmer took in $19.200 and spent $9155.73, leaving his campaign with $10176.56 cash on hand (COH). The only other GOP candidate to report so far is Allen Quist, who took in $37,103 and ended the year with $30,781.37 COH, as Bluestem reported yesterday.
Reports from Jim Hagedorn and two minor candidates have yet appear on the FEC site. So far, the Republican fundraising in Minnesota's First congressional district might be termed lackluster by the more charitable souls dwelling in Southern Minnesota.
Demmer is seeking the endorsement again, and so I checked Demmer's records at the FEC site
earlier this week to see if he had gotten a jump on the deadline again
in reporting this final quarter. After all, Demmer's committee had
filed its 2008 year-end report on January 13, 2009. At the end of 2008, Demmer's committee reported a cash balance of $99.25, while owing $135,150.00 in debts and obiligations,
according to page 2 of the report. On pages 3 and 4, readers learn that
the candidate loaned his committee $155,150.00 and the committee repaid
him $20,000.
Ordinarily,
amended reports are no big deal, and I nearly overlooked clicking on
the links to the files, but I'm glad I did. The fun begins with the
amended April 2009 quarterly report.
Here's how: at the bottom of page 4 of the amended April 2009 quarterly report, the committee's cash on hand at the beginning of the reporting period, i.e., on January 1, 2009, is listed as $135,249.25.
In
all of the amended reports, the "debts and obiligations" line--loans
owed to the candidate from the 20007-2008 cycle--remains at $135,150.
That's a remarkable jump from the cash on hand that the committee report that it had on December 31, 2008, according to the 2008 year-end report filed on January 13, 2009. As I noted above, that figure was $99.25.
What is going on with Demmer's reports? Will we see another amended report that helps potential contributors, reporters and political junkies understand when and how that outstanding loan was repaid. For now, a mystery passing all understanding
Now that I've caught up with my sleep after posting, tweeting, phoning and doorknocking for Tuesday's special election, it's time to congratulate Mike Parry on his win, then wrap up the news.
The local papers all used the same story, found here at the Waseca County News. The final totals:
Parry captured 43.04 percent of the vote compared to 36.5 percent for
DFLer Jason Engbrecht and 20.32 percent for Independence Party
candidate Roy Srp.
Watching returns come in while looking over the shoulders of friends who had built a precinct-by-precinct model of how well Engbrecht would have to do to win the election, it soon became clear that some DFL-leaning precincts underperformed in terms of turn out, while more conservative areas had higher turn out, and that Srp was taking a portion of the vote that Engbrecht would have had to capture in order to win the contest.
The dust is still settling from the special election for Senate District 26, but the political season is just gearing up.
Tuesday
was a grim night for the local Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and their
candidate, physics professor Jason Engbrecht. Engbrecht lost to
Republican candidate Mike Parry, 43.04 to 36.5 percent. About 20
percent of the vote went to Independence Party candidate Roy Srp.
Engbrecht’s
campaign chair, John Coffey, addressed the crestfallen crowd at the
Elks Club, telling them to keep their spirits up and try again in
November. But the party is not wasting any time on regrets, said Vicki
Jensen, chair of the local DFL.
“I don’t consider it a
regrouping. The work of the DFL goes on all year long,” Jensen said.
“We won’t know really what the next step is until Jason decides if he
wants to run again. In the meantime we’ll go on with regular work.”. . .
Of all the assessments of the results, I thought Jason Hoppin's post at Political Animal, Parry wins, but what does it mean? to be the most judicious. As sample:
. . .to get to the two-thirds number Republicans say rejected the tax and
spend policies of Democrats, you'd have to add Parry's figure (43.1) to
Independence Party candidate Roy Srp's (20.3). That gets you almost to
64 percent. The Democrats could just as easily crow that an
overwhelming majority (56.8 percent) rejected the anti-tax stance of
Republicans in St. Paul, by adding Srp's totals to Jason John
Engbrecht's (36.5).
But there are a number of complicating factors that make this difficult to do any tea-leaf reading in this election:
1) Day, a Republican, held the office for 20 years. He was epoxied
to the seat. This wasn't a situation like Massachusetts where a Kennedy
seemed to have been handed that Senate gavel during his baby shower.
2) Parry's Twitter comments about President Obama being a "power
hungry arrogant black man" and another grouping Democrats with
pedophiles. Had they run a stronger candidate, this race might not have
been even this close (and it wasn't, really).
3) It was a special election that turned out about 30 percent of the voters as in the last SD 26 vote, in 2006.
4) There was a strong third-party candidate. . . .
The seat is up again in November, and then two years later in 2012 because of redistricting. For the moment, however, Senator Parry will focus his attention on lawmaking, having to get up to speed for the opening of the session next week.
If you are one of his constituents, wish him well and let him know what's on your mind. Regardless of whom you voted for (or if you voted at all), he is there to serve the district. (I'll post contact information when the Senate web staff lists it on the body's web page).
Thank you, Jason Engbrecht and Roy Srp for running, and thanks to all the volunteers from all campaigns who gave their time to make democracy work. And a special thanks to Emily Jensen, the Engbrecht field worker, whose humor and hardwork made covering the campaign a pleasure.
With the addition of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann on the marquee, Allen Quist's February 1 health care town hall has generated a lot of buzz for the former state legislator and unsuccessful 1994 Republican gubernatorial candidate.
From the looks of its first FEC report, the Quist campaign needs the shot in the arm. The committee took in $37,103 in receipts, including an outstanding $4000 loan (or contribution, since the data in the report is conflicting) from the candidate, a reimbursed $200 loan from Quist's treasurer Joe Droogsma and only $1803 in small contributions under $200. The campaign ended the year with $30781.37 cash on hand after spending $6321.63.
The largest expenditures went to printing and to Capitol Communications, Brad Biers' consulting firm. Biers, a Sixth district GOP activist and original campaign manager for Brian Davis's 2008 campaign against Tim Walz, serves on the Republican Party of Minnesota's candidate recruitment committee, which met in Rochester yesterday.
The RPM candidate recruitment committee is chaired by P2BStrategies political consultant and former Director of the Minnesota House Republican Campaign Committee Gregg Peppin. Back in December, Peppin served as handler for another Republican aspiring for his party's endorsement in MN-01, Jim Hagedorn.
At a January 21 Republican MN-01 candidate forum in Rochester, Hagedorn, who filed his paperwork with the FEC in early December, claimed that his connections in Minnesota and Washington DC, would allow him the raise the money needed for a bid against Walz. As Bluestem noted at the time, Hagedorn was closing on the purchase of a house in December as well, after 25 years living in the Beltway. It will be interesting to see if the claim plays out in his first report.
Also seeking the endorsement: Stan Gudmundson and Frank McKinzie, neither of whom have yet filed committee paperwork with the FEC.
The Walz campaign committee has yet to announce its fundraising figures for the last quarter of 2009. The campaign had $266503.11 cash on hand at the close of September 2009.
It's Election Day in Senate District 26. Phonebanks and doorknocks for Jason Engbrecht will be headquartered at the following locations in the district:
16 3rd St NE, Faribault, Sheet Metal Workers Union Hall
127 Oakdale St, Owatonna, Jensen Insurance Agency
307 State St. Waseca, East Annex
Southeast Minnesota Area Labor Council President Laura Askelin contacted us about a special event at 11 a.m.:
Mark Dayton
is spending his Birthday helping GOTV for SD26 Special Election. Join
us at the SMWIA hall in Faribault at 11am to sing happy birthday!
Dayton is the latest DFL gubernatorial candidate to campaign for DFL-endorsed candidate Jason Engbrecht, a St. Olaf physics professor and Faribault school board member. Along with Senator Al Franken, former state senator Steve Kelley, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, state representative Paul Thissen, and Mayor RT Rybak have campaigned for Engbrecht.
The Faribault Daily News reports It's Election Day and lists polling places in area. Owatonna and Steele County voters can learn their polling places via the OPP's Election day — Vote! and Waseca area voters can learn where to vote.
At last Friday's ag forum, I learned that the Minnesota Farm Bureau Political Action Committee (MFB PAC) had decided not to endorse a candidate thee Senate District 26 special election.
This development surprised me, since Mike Parry had worked in farm radio, and the organization tends toward backing Republicans--though not exclusively, as this list of 2006 endorsements reveals. A representative of the MFBF said that local Farm Bureau activists had screened the candidates and decided not to endorse.
Nor did the Minnesota Farmers Union FARMPAC--which tends to endorse DFlers--choose to back a candidate. According to local representatives, MFU local activists deadlocked over endorsing Engbrecht and Srp.
Nor did the NRA-ILA, according to Scott Stevens, a legislative aid for the group. After being asked to screen the candidates, the gun rights organization prepared a questionnaire which was sent to the DFL and Republican candidates.
in a phone interview, Stevens said that both Jason Engbrecht and Mike Parry received "A" grades for their answers on the questionnaire and so the NRA declined to endorse. He noted that the NRA does not under ordinary circumstances screen independent or third-party candidates; reached by phone, Srp said that he has not reached a questionnaire.
Finally, a conservative, pro-life friend from Waseca County observed that his understanding was that the Minnesota Concerned Citizens for Life (MCCL) PAC had also made no endorsement in the SD26 special election, since both Mike Parry and Roy Srp oppose reproductive rights.
Since I have not seen any notice from the MCCL, I called the organization to see if this rumor were true. The woman who answered the phone on my first call thought that no endorsement had been had been made since two of the candidates are pro-life. However, she referred me to Legislative Associate Jordan Bauer, who was on the phone. I left a message in Ms. Bauer's voice mail, but she did not respond to it and repeated inquiries,
Frustrated, I called Roy Srp to see if he had any news. He noted that he had been endorsed by the MCCL in 1996 when he ran as a DFL, and had sent the organization a letter early in the special election campaign reminding the organization of its earlier endorsement. He had not heard back.
So I do not know if the organization has endorsed; unlike the NRA_ILA, the MFB-PAC and MN FARMPAC, the MCCL did not answer my inquiries. Perhaps I will learn on Election Day whether the group endorsed or did not endorse.
Each candidate has been endorsed by his respective party. Parry has received the endorsement of the Minn Chiropractic Political Action Comm, while Engbrecht is endorsed by the Minnesota AFL-CIO, AFSCME, and two Carpenters' union PACs. While Srp has screened with several groups, he has not received their endorsements; had he been endorsed, his campaign committee would not have accepted any PAC funds, as the IP's constitution forbids its candidates from accepting PAC money.
A long headline for this post, to be sure. But an accurate quote.
Last week, the Mankato Free Press profiled the three candidates in the SD26 race. Veteran political reporter Mark Fischenich's feature on Parry included the following gem:
He would cut even some of the most popular state spending in rural
Minnesota — programs that directly reduce homeowners’ tax bills, that
help fund rural cities, that pay the costs of running local schools.
He disagrees with efforts to ensure wealthier Minnesotans pay the same
percentage of their income in state and local taxes as middle-class
taxpayers, saying that undermines the state’s business competitiveness
and will cost jobs.
In short, Parry not only wants to defund Greater Minnesota, but wants the middle-class to pay a greater percentage of their incomes than wealthier Minnesotans do.
A Free Press article two days later, LGA issue divides candidates, laid out Parry's answer to those who would want quality schools and services in Greater Minnesota:
And if people don’t like the level of services or the property tax
bills they face, they can move to one of those wealthier cities that
offers more for less, he said.
Staff writer Fischenich pointed out that the handful of state senators who supported this draconian approach represented wealthy suburban districts:
Parry, the Waseca Republican looking to replace former Sen. Dick Day in
Tuesday’s special election, mirrors the position that five years ago
was aggressively pursued only by a few Republican lawmakers from
wealthy Twin Cities suburbs.
Like those suburban Republicans, Parry said LGA is an unfair transfer
of wealth and that it undermines accountability by allowing rural city
councils to spend money they don’t have to tax for.
“LGA to me is nothing but a credit card,” said Parry, who has also called it “a hammock” for city officials.
OWATONNA — Between “Twittergate,” famous party bigwigs and Franni
Franken’s pie, the race for Senate District 26 has been anything but
typical, even for a special election.
State elections in
District 26 are often a sleepy affair, with well-known incumbents
sliding into victory with little contention. Not so this time around.
The campaign trail has been on fire — candidates had just one month to
make their case — and tense, even ugly at times.
I didn't get a chance to attend the January 14 SD26 candidate forum sponsored by the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities and the U.S. Highway 14 Partnership, so I didn't hear what Mayor Srp said about political mud-slinging and Mike Parry's shifting position on selling Maplewood Park in 2005.
But the Owatonna People's Press's energetic reporter Clare Kennedy was there, and she reports in her analysis, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (also appearing online at another chain paper in SD26 in Faribault, but under different headline):
For his part, Srp frequently criticized partisan bickering between the DFL and GOP.
“My
two opponents don’t have a clue as to what’s going to happen to them in
the next week. I do. It happened to me. As we go into the homestretch,
the DFL is going to be saying that Mike Parry is a liar — his tweets
and all that other stuff — you mark my words and watch,” Srp said at a
forum on Jan. 14. “As a matter of fact, Mike Parry wanted to develop
Maplewood Park in Waseca and 1,500 signatures came in saying don’t do
that. I want those 1,500 people to vote for me because he wanted to do
that and after that happened he turned around and said ‘No, I just
wanted to bring attention to Maplewood Park.’ That was a lie. He wanted
to develop it.” [emphasis added]
This is fascinating. While decrying a hypothetical attack by the DFL on Parry as a liar, Srp preempted that move by saying Parry lied about his proposed resolution on Maplewood Park.
That's strong language, stronger than those words I used here on Bluestem when I researched and wrote up the issue after a concerned Waseca resident told me about the incident.
Parry's actions aren't those of a leader--and the Maplewood Park
episode is only one of several incidents that make it easy to conclude
why voters decisively kicked him out of city office after one term.
In the earlier post, From Waseca's back pages: Mike Parry and Maplewood Park, I made a similar point. However, Mayor Srp has worked with Parry and may know him better than a blogger casually observing the scene. Srp and I joked after the first forum about Parry having a "tell" but I'm not sure if any DFL literature or spokester ever said that Parry lies or is a liar. I will look into that.
As for other bloggers using that discourse, none of the political parties has been able to muzzle free speech, nor is it clear any of them wish to do so.
All three SD26 candidates's supporters are sending in letters to the editor to area papers. This one in the Faribault Daily News by Paul and Mary Ellen Bondhus is probably my favorite for Jason Engbrecht, since the writers do a god job of capturing Engbrecht's character.
This is a fair portrait of the person I've seen on the campaign trail:
Here is why we are going to vote for Jason Engbrecht on the 26th: We
met Jason and the rest of his family about four years ago through our
church. We can say that Jason is personable and caring. He is an
excellent listener because he really is concerned about what others are
saying. He and his family go to our church and are very involved with
their children in the children’s ministry activities. He married his
high school sweetheart and is still married to her after 15 years. They
have two young girls, one of whom they adopted from Ethiopia. In the
past four years, we have come to know Jason as someone who cares deeply
about other people and his community. Jason is very informed about the
issues that challenge our state today and understands that there is no
easy solution to these problems.
We have a deaf son and a hard
-of-hearing son. Jason is very interested in helping kids that need
adaptations in the classroom get what they need to learn. He has
visited the State Academies for the Deaf and the Blind. He has talked
with the superintendent of the academies and will openly support them
in St. Paul. From serving on the Faribault School Board, working as a
professor, and as a father, Jason is very intimate with education and
how important it is for our children’s future and the well being of our
economy. He understands that an investment in children today will mean
citizens of tomorrow that will demonstrate leadership, creativity and
critical thinking that will help our state and country compete on a
global level.
Jason understands that we have a very serious budget shortfall in
Minnesota, and we truly believe that he is the best candidate to work
with the other members of the legislature to find intelligent solutions
that work. Now more than ever we need someone who can truly represent
our district with sensible leadership. That person is Jason
In what may be one of the most revealing articles about the issues in the Senate District 26 special race race, Mankato Free Press's veteran political reporter Mark Fischenich reports in District 26 race: LGA issue divides candidates:
LGA traditionally has been warmly embraced by Democrats and most
Republicans in greater Minnesota. Those rural Republicans who haven’t
been outspoken advocates of it have at least supported it.
The reason was obvious: Their constituents benefited from the program
because it transfers money to less affluent cities and towns, allowing
for higher quality services without the large property tax increases
that otherwise would be required.
Parry, the Waseca Republican looking to replace former Sen. Dick Day in
Tuesday’s special election, mirrors the position that five years ago
was aggressively pursued only by a few Republican lawmakers from
wealthy Twin Cities suburbs.
DFL candidate Jason Engbrecht tells the paper how LGA works to lower rural property taxes:
Democratic candidate Jason Engbrecht of Faribault could hardly disagree
more, saying LGA is a crucial program to protect outstate homeowners
from huge property tax hikes.
“What I tell people is to remember why we have LGA,” Engbrecht said. “LGA is a big part of what keeps our property taxes low.”
Without LGA, homeowners and businesses in small towns without a large
property tax base would be forced to pay substantially higher property
taxes for the same level of government services, compared to those in
wealthier towns. The owner of a $150,000 house in the first category
might face a property tax bill that’s twice as high as the owner of a
$150,000 home in towns in the second category, Engbrecht said.
“That wasn’t uncommon before there was LGA,” he said.
Parry''s answer? Voters who want low property taxes and adequate service should leave rural Minnesota:
And if people don’t like the level of services or the property tax
bills they face, they can move to one of those wealthier cities that
offers more for less, he said.
My thanks to the Free Press for helping to flesh out yet another "idea" in Parry's "plan": depopulation.
Fischenich notes that Srp seeks to promote cooperation and consolidation of local government services--similar to the consolidation of school district years ago--in order to prevent a population drain from rural Minnesota.
Next up: Inquiring minds ask whether Parry's "plan" to pay for county and township roads and bridges will land Cal Ludeman behind bars.
Photo: Abandoned farmhouse in rural Minnesota, from LOST Magazine.
Did Mike Parry's treatment of a former Waseca City employee trigger
fears of a lawsuit? Did those fears prompt a large severance
package-and was the episode yet another reason voters ended Parry's
career on the city council after one term?
Did Parry's deletion of emails in which city business was conducted skirt state laws?
Tonight, I'll look more at the circumstances surrounding the $51,000 severance package. News coverage about Leiferman's departure began on August 25, 2008, with the Waseca County news article City in separation talks with community development director:
City Manager Crystal Prentice, however, offered a bit more detailed definition of Leiferman’s employment with the city.
“We’re
in the middle of discussions on a severance agreement,” she said,
confirming that Leiferman left late last week and will not be returning
to his position.
Mayor Roy Srp said he wasn’t pleased with
Leiferman’s departure, and indicated that rifts between Leiferman and
city council members may have in part led to Leiferman’s decision.
“There
was a majority of the council headed toward dissatisfaction,” he said.
“It was decided that in [Leiferman’s] opinion, it was best to move on.
This does not make the mayor happy.”
Srp declined to offer specifically which city council members may have been dissatisfied with Leiferman or why.
Leiferman may have been the first to get a large severance package, but he was not the first to leave, as the WCN reported on September 3, 2008 in Attrition at city hall has some asking questions:
When Mark Leiferman left his job as Waseca’s community development
director in late August, he was the fourth department head to leave
city staff in the past 18 months.
One member of the Waseca City
Council believes there are extenuating circumstances to why Leiferman
separated from the city and that there are some council members that
know what happened.
Before a vote Tuesday night authorizing city
manager Crystal Prentice to negotiate a separation, waiver and release
agreement with Leiferman, council member Al Rose said he is not against
a separation package but he thought it unusual to offer one to an
employee who resigns. . . .
Now gone from Waseca City Hall, Leiferman joins finance director Julie
Linnihan who resigned in May 2007 to take a similar job with the city
of New Hope; city manager Kris Busse who resigned in November 2007 to
become city administrator in Owatonna; and city engineer Fred Salsbury
who retired in January 2008.
Salsbury said while his retirement was planned, he didn’t feel the city staff was really appreciated by the council.
“There’s a feeling that they [the council] know better than anyone else.”
He said while he doesn’t know how to put a finger on it, there was not good team work between city staff and the council.
“That’s changed dramatically in the last two or three years,” he said.
Ron
Purcell, who served on the Waseca City Council for 10 years, said what
he sees from the outside is that good employees have resigned or quit.
“If
they had been fired there would be cause to believe they had not done
their jobs,” Purcell said. “But here we have three or more experienced
employees that have been getting awards from state agencies, like Julie
Linnihan who got an award every year, and Kris Busse who turned things
around for the city council.” . . .
While Waseca residents still do not know the events that led to Mark
Leiferman’s resignation, his separation agreement with the city is now
public.
Leiferman, Waseca’s former community development director, will receive cash payments totaling $51,494 from the city.
As
part of the agreement signed Sept. 3, he has agreed to waive any claims
against the city, to acknowledge that his departure was by mutual
consent, and to agree there was no wrongdoing on either the city’s part
or his part. Both Leiferman and the city also agreed not to speak
negatively of the other party.
On Friday, Leiferman said he “really can’t” talk about either the agreement or the circumstances of his resignation.
While the severance package apparently included a confidentiality agreement, the article notes that questions remained:
. . .Questions about the need to pay severance to an at-will employee were
raised by councilman Al Rose before the vote was taken giving Prentice
that authority.
Rose said later that he got answers to those questions after the meeting, in private because of “legality issues.”
“It
was very unfortunate ... Mark did good work for us and it was a hostile
environment for him,” he said about Leiferman’s departure.
“When someone hands out a severance package of forty or fifty thousand dollars, something is going on,” Rose said. Rose
said there were things happening at city hall that he wanted to know
about, including personality conflicts between Leiferman and some
council members. . . .
Had I, as some wanted me to, let this all go public as a discussion (a
personnel matter), I would not have wanted to be responsible for
personalities and human beings that could and would say things they
should not. Mark could have wound up suing, and rightfully so. The
amount spent in litigation because a council acted in a way they should
not, could have been much more than a severance package. There were
council members and public folks both pro and anti Mark. I thought the
negotiations with the CM were the fair way to go, in my opinion, for
Mark and his family, and the council and our city. So did Mark, and the
majority of the council.
(In a sidenote, one of the commenters on Srp's column is "govtmule," the screen name for Matt Johanson, then a Waseca City Councilmember and now Parry's treasurer. Whether it was proper for a council member to comment on a severance package while using a pseudonym is fodder for another day).
Mayor Srp has to be careful about what he says regarding a personnel
issue - especially one involving a severance agreement - but his
explanation of the Mark Leiferman situation in a column he wrote for
Thursday's paper doesn't do much by way of explaining. Unless you read
between the lines.
Here are a few key quotes that, I think, help us understand the situation just a bit.
"There was even talk of eliminating the[Leiferman's] department and going a different direction."
"The
council could never fire Mark and wouldn’t. The only person we can fire
is the City Manager (we really like her). Mark works for her. She works
for city council."
Take that for what it is, but the rest of
Srp's column is about as clear. He makes it known that he likes Mark
Leiferman and that he's trying to be as fair to taxpayers as possible.
Up in Faribault, Daily News reporter James Warden talks to potential voters in the Senate special election in Jobs, budget top voter concerns:
Ali Ahmed didn’t have any uncertainty about what he thinks is the big
issue of the District 26 special election between DFLer Jason
Engbrecht, Republican Mike Parry and Independence Party candidate Roy
Srp. Ahmed is unemployed and wants someone who will create jobs.
“I need a job. I’m a Democrat. I like Jason,” Ahmed said during a break form watching a soccer game at Banadir Restaurant.
Jobs, the state budget and health care topped the list of issues as Faribault residents prepare to head to the polls Tuesday.
Carla
Dalaska, who works at a group home for mentally handicapped women, said
she’s seen her own health-care rates jump while budget cuts have
reduced funding at the group home. And, of course, all of this relates
to jobs.
“There’s a lot of people who aren’t working because of cuts in the budget,” she said while dining at Boston’s.
Parry's posting and scrubbing of offensive material on his twitter account also bothers voters:
Jill Mithun, a contract worker for the chamber of commerce, said she
hasn’t forgotten tweets that Parry made before he received the GOP
endorsement. The 33 tweets included one where he called Obama a “power
hungry arrogant black man” and another where he seems to make a
correlation between Democrats and pedophiles. He has since erased those
posts from his Twitter account, but Mithun said such language isn’t
appropriate, especially for someone expected to set an example.
“If
you’re trying to teach children how to talk and how to act, you don’t
talk like that,” she said during a visit to the Sweet Spot.
Mary
Boggie, a retired St. Paul teacher who grew up in Faribault and now
lives here, was offended by Parry’s Twitter posts, too. But she said
she also likes that Engbrecht is a professor because it suggests he’s
intelligent.
“I think he’s a great guy,” she said just before a
Lion’s Club meeting at Monte’s Steakhouse. “We need new blood here. We
don’t need a smart mouth guy like Parry. He’s not diplomatic.” . . .
The Republican wants to slice another $5 billion from the state budget,
saying it must be done to protect employers from tax increases.
The Democrat thinks that would be disastrous, proposing instead a combination of cuts and taxes on wealthier Minnesotans.
The Independence Party candidate is willing to add revenue from
gambling to help reduce the magnitude of cuts, but he’s not inclined to
raise general taxes.
In Tuesday’s special election in state Senate District 26, tax and
budget issues — and how they affect the economy and the core services
provided by government — are at the heart of the debate. . . .
I agree with their praise of the local papers' coverage of the forums, and hope that voters take a close look at the discussion and what is known about the candidates.
Yesterday, Minnpost's Daily Glean linked to a Bluestem post from Wednesday, but originally misread the point about the extent of the local coverage of the forums--and the absence of mention of (and links to) these forums in various Republican Party social media (the MNGOP facebook page, saturation retweets and Parry's own media page on his campaign website). Fortunately, the online venue graciously corrected its post and apologized when informed of its error.
While I won't hesitate to call out media--big and small--when it doesn't do its job, it's also important to praise when praise is do. Voters have a wealth of local reportage to turn to--and I hope it will motivate them to get out and cast their ballots on Tuesday.
There's an ag forum today at the Owatonna Elks Club today at 1 p.m. Weather and driving conditions permitting, I hope to attend, as a person (Minnesota Farmers Union member) from whom ag issues have a long-standing concern.
Editor's note: In keeping with this site's focus on Greater
Minnesota outside of the Range, I asked DFL gubernatorial candidate
campaigns to submit statements from non-metro supporters. The writers
were asked to focus on the merits of their candidates for outstate
voters.
The responses are published in the order they were received by Bluestem Prairie.
by Thomas Trehus
This year I will be participating in my first ever-gubernatorial election,
and I am strongly supporting Rep. Paul Thissen. Growing up on a farm in
rural Southeastern Minnesota, I wanted a candidate who understood the
issues facing Greater Minnesota. Too often Greater Minnesota gets ignored.
In the meantime, potholes consume highways and family farms dwindle.
Small public schools like my own in Spring Grove are left with a single
second language offered and declining advanced placement courses. The
resiliency and togetherness of the small Minnesotan community is what
keeps towns like mine going—towns with a population of less than a
thousand, towns with one grocery store, one bank, and a few mom and pop
eateries. I want a governor who doesn’t ignore the concerns of Greater
Minnesota, but embraces them and understands them so we can move forward
with common sense solutions.
There are a number of issues and concerns important to me and to many
Minnesotans that Paul Thissen understands and will fix as governor. Paul
knows that the number one priority of the next governor is to get people
working again. He understands that roads and bridges in rural areas need
to be replaced. There is no exception. Paul knows that in order to moving
the state into the 21st century economy, high-speed Internet access is a
must. Rural schools should be provided with the same technology as schools
in the Twin Cities.
It’s simply not acceptable when families lose their farm because of unpaid
medical bills. Right here in Minnesota, 240,000 families with insurance
pay more than 25% of their income on health care. Paul Thissen is
dedicated to quality, affordable health care for every Minnesotan. As
chairman of the House Health and Human Services committee last legislative
session, Paul authored the Children’s Health Security Act, giving 40,000
children the chance to see a nurse or a doctor. He wants to shift the
focus of doctors and hospitals to preventative treatment, accessibility,
and portability.
As a first year college student, I worry about the enormous amount of debt
I will be left with once I graduate. Paul Thissen is dedicated to making
college more affordable and accessible for all Minnesotans. In the
legislature Paul authored a bill that would make a portion of student loan
payments tax deductible for graduates of Minnesota colleges that live and
work in Minnesota after graduation.
The concerns of Greater Minnesota are far too important to be left ignored,
and Paul understands that a thriving Minnesota means we have a thriving
greater Minnesota. We need a recognized leader and we need Minnesota to
lead once more; Paul Thissen is that leader.
Thomas Trehus, who grew up in Houston County's Wilmington Township, is a freshman at the University of Minnesota.
Photo: Trehus staffing the Houston County DFL booth at the Houston County Fair.
Did Mike Parry's treatment of a former Waseca City employee trigger fears of a lawsuit? Did those fears prompt a large severance package-and was the episode yet another reason voters ended Parry's career on the city council after one term?
Did Parry's deletion of emails in which city business was conducted skirt state laws?
For Bluestem Prairie, how, the incident isn't isolated, but rather serves as a metaphor for the Republican candidate's leadership style and character.
Parry wrote and posted offensive material, boasted about his willingness to be politically incorrect, scrubbed the posts when progressive social media types noticed the troublesome material, denied that, and then finally apologized.
In a nutshell the Maplewood Park story is this: Parry talked to developers, offered a resolution to request proposals for the sale and development of the park, then spun his actions as intended only to call attention to the park's future when hundreds of Waseca residents raised their voices against the "plan."
The final episode that illustrates Parry's record as an elected official is the resignation of former Waseca city Community Development Director Mark Leiferman after tensions with Parry and other council members boiled over.
Leiferman's severance ended up costing the City of Waseca $51,000. Parry's penchant for using his delete key also plays a role in this final episode, and this first post will focus on his deletion of what informed opinion suggests are public records.
At 8:24 a.m. Monday, Aug. 25, the person who answers the phone at
Waseca City Hall was asking what she should tell people who called for
Community Development Director Mark Leiferman and where she should
direct his calls.
The Friday before, Leiferman had returned
from vacation for a two-hour meeting with City Manager Crystal
Prentice. He did not come back to his job again.
While officials
are still not saying exactly why he resigned after 10 years with the
city or why he was awarded a $51,000 severance package, e-mails and
other material obtained by the Waseca County News through the Minnesota
Government Data Practices Act shed some light on his departure.
Council
members John Clemons and Mike Parry both said they had deleted any
e-mails they may have had on the subject, but e-mails to and from Mayor
Roy Srp*, councilman Matt Johanson and Prentice were submitted in
response to the request by the County News.
Should elected officials delete emails in which public business is conducted?
In trainings and advisories, the League of Minnesota Cities recommends against doing so. First, electronic communications between council members such as that described in the Waseca County News article are likely to fall under the state's open meeting law as "serial meetings." A LMC memo [pdf here] outlines the issue:
Although not an obvious meeting, serial meetings also create an open meeting concern if city business was discussed by a quorum. To understand how a serial meeting occurs, imagine that council member A talks to council member B about a city issue, B talks to council member C about that issue, and C talks to A. Serial meetings also can occur through written correspondence, or telephone conference calls. Any of these scenarios could give rise to an open meeting law violation. . . .
Electronic communication makes a serial meeting easier by allowing council or committee members to forward messages from one person to the next, to respond to one another via blog comments, or to chat via social media vehicles such as Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. Imagine one council member e-mailing another to suggest the pros and cons of a particular city decision. The recipient forwards the e-mail to another council member, along with his or her own comments and interpretations.
Even if the last council member to receive the e-mail doesn’t reply to the originator or the council member who forwarded the message, the three members have still discussed city business outside a public forum.
The memo also recommends a model policy for retaining emails on page five:
Classification and Retention of electronic communications • Regardless of whether electronic communication by a council member is taking place on a city-provided computer, home computer or other computer system, classification of information as public, private or other is governed by the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (Minn. Stat. Chapt. 13) and should be treated accordingly.
• Council members should retain electronic communications in keeping with city policies and procedures, whether such communication takes place on a city-provided computer, home computer or other computer system.
Parry said the city’s community development department is specifically
designed to set goals for the Economic Development Authority, the
growth of the city and for the growth of economic development.
“I have not seen any of that in my three and one-half years on the council,” he said.
“However Crystal decides to continue the department, I would hope that would be part of what she asks for,” he added.
As
to why Leiferman was given a severance package, Parry said there are
two ways to offer severance; either the employee has done a “darn good
job or if you don’t want the employee to come back.”
“Crystal made up her mind she was going to offer severance,” he said.
Prentice
said Leiferman’s resignation was the culmination of 10 years of
history, most of which she was not privy to because she was hired in
2008.
Leiferman was offered a severance package, she said,
because it was a mutual parting of the ways and he resigned contingent
on a severance package.
“He didn’t do anything wrong,” Prentice said.
Indeed, Leiferman performance was such that he was hired as Planning and Zoning Administrator by the Waseca County board late in 2008, after severing his employment with the City of Waseca in August.
No one would have guessed it a few months ago, but Mark Leiferman,
former Waseca Community Development director, is now working across
town in the county annex building.
Leiferman, as you may recall, left his job with the city of Waseca in August with a $51,493 settlement agreement. What
led to his departure was not made public, but Leiferman’s position
became a contentious issue during November’s election. A County News
Data Privacy Act request revealed e-mails to and from Waseca city
council members and Waseca’s mayor that showed there was certainly
tension surrounding Leiferman.
That tension need not follow him to the county.
Mr.
Leiferman is able to separate his past experience with city politics in
Waseca enough to take on a job in the same town. For that, he should be
commended.
As county government officials and staff
familiarize themselves with Leiferman as the new Planning and Zoning
Administrator, it is expected that they convey the same level of
respect.
Surely, Mr. Leiferman has a history in this city. His
history, however, stretches far beyond his dealings with a few city
council members. Leiferman’s affect on Waseca stretches from our
historic downtown to our industrial park.
In the coming months
and probably even years, our local government officials are going to
need to do a lot of collaboration to complete the projects our area
needs to grow and prosper. Mr. Leiferman’s experience with the city of
Waseca can only strengthen the partnership between the county and the
city.
. . .While Mayor Srp would only go as far as to say there was some
dissatisfaction among Leiferman and some of the city council members,
voters in Waseca need to read between the lines.
Someone on
city council didn’t like Leiferman and didn’t want him in his position.
That much is clear. Who and why, however, may not be known for awhile.
It’s
ironic that during the same week that filing opens for mayor and three
council seats in Waseca, we hear that the third high-ranking city
employee in less than two years has left his position.
A city
council is only as effective as its city employees. Council members
need to keep that in mind when looking to fill Leiferman’s position.
And voters need to keep that in mind when casting ballots in November. . . .
In the 2008 city council elections, voters in Waseca gave Mike Parry his walking papers. In the next parts of "Waseca Confidential" I'll look more at why my informed opinion has come to be that the tensions between Parry and Leiferman ended up costing Waseca residents--and that the alternative was a lawsuit. Stay tuned.
*After the Faribault candidate forum, I mentioned the Waseca County News story to Mayor Srp, now running for the open Senate District 26 seat. While he refrained from direct comment about a personnel agreement covered by confidentiality agreements, Srp did note that he hadn't deleted any of his city emails, then laughed.
Despite the fact that Mike Parry and Roy Srp are veterans of local political campaigns in the Waseca area (and Parry had launched a campaign this fall against Kory Kath in the House), relative novice candidate Jason Engbrecht has emerged as the fundraising frontrunner in Senate District 26.
Democrat Jason Engbrecht leads his challengers in the race to fill a
MN Senate seat that was left vacant after GOP Sen. Dick Day retired to
become a lobbyist.
Engbrecht's campaign finance report says
he raised $20,645 and has $16,654 left in the bank. The DFL Party also
gave Engbrecht a $1,000 contribution since the papers were filed.
Republican Mike Parry's report
says he raised $16,961 and has $8606 left in the bank. Parry reports
receiving two contributions that total $950 since he filed his report.
Independence Party candidate Roy Srp reports raising $4602 and has $4432 in the bank.
The MPR report also notes the big names from all three parties who has helped out the candidates.
An earlier note here is now gone. Bluestem Prairie is pleased with and accepts MinnPost's correction and apology about this post.
Update 1/21: Sure enough, the MNGOP saturation retweet squad is pimping the coverage of last night's "roundtable." And from the looks of the photo tweeted by the state party's deputy director, the "great crowd" numbered around the same as Jason Engbrecht's solo meet & greet at The Kitchen in Owatonna several Saturday's ago. The press and entourage members added a few extra souls to the Pawlenty event. [ end update]
It's no wonder the Republican Party of Minnesota has had to pull Tim Pawlenty off the presidential campaign trail and divert him to the wind-swept prairies of Steele County for a "small business roundtable" with SD26 Mike Parry.
Instead of news articles like these, visitors to GOP Facebook page only see letters from supporters, endorsements and ads. The Parry media page link to Rotary and to two stories from last year about Parry's endorsement--and nothing more.
It's not like the district newspapers are the "so-called liberal media"--indeed, the papers are fairly conservative.
There will be coverage of the governor's campaign stop, because Pawlenty is governor. Links to these stories will no doubt show up on the Republican sites.
But it's unlikely the MNGOP and Parry will want to share any forum where the public can read about how Parry fares on a level playing field where all candidates are invited, rather than a showcase campaign event like a Pawlenty Potemkin Village "roundtable."
Images: Screenshots of Parry's media page and the MNGOP Facebook fan page section on the special election. Thanks to DJ Danielson for capturing the images at Bluestem's request.
A growing file of local newspaper coverage and letters to the editors are appearing as the campaigns for the special election in Senate District 26 work toward next Tuesday's vote. Meanwhile, the U of M's Smart Politics crunches some numbers about the effect of Independent Party candidates on Minnesota's state legislative races in Will Roy Srp Help to Upend Mike Parry? The Independent Streak of MN Senate District 26.
Eric Ostermeier concludes:
Independence Party supporters may be looking for a strong
performance by Srp to jump-start the Party as it tries to reclaim its
relevance in the Gopher State this fall in the 2010 gubernatorial race.
And why would Srp's appearance on the ballot possibly hurt Parry inordinately more than DFLer Engbrecht?
No doubt Democrats will likely characterize the Srp candidacy as one
that may hinder Engbrecht from picking up the seat for DFL. However, as
Smart Politics documented back in 2008 in an analysis of state House races - the Independence Party need not make any apologies to the DFL:
A Smart Politics study
of 57 Minnesota state House races with IP candidates on the ballot from
2002 through 2006 found that at the district level, the presence of IP
candidates on the ballot is correlated with a stronger performance by
the DFL and a weaker performance by the GOP.
Ostermeier's analysis doesn't factor in local conditions, such as Srp's three successful elections compared to Parry's status as a one-term wonder after getting swept into city council office in 2004 when he ran unopposed. When Waseca's voters had a chance to pick between Parry and other candidates in 1998 and 2008, they chose the "other" candidate by large margins.
An article in the local paper chaim about yesterday's forum at the Waseca High School suggests that Parry wasn't winning the hearts, minds or votes of his young audience. Ruth Ann hager reports in Senate hopefuls field questions from Waseca students:
After the debate, the students had formed opinions about the candidates but still had not made up their minds.
Scott Clevenger thought it was a good debate and said he agrees with Srp that compromise is needed in St. Paul.
“I
agree with Scott,” said Nick Hanson, who considers himself a moderate.
“Roy’s point of view is [from the middle] and not on one extreme or the
other.”
Christian Hall also agrees with Engbrecht and thinks he came across as an intelligent candidate.
“We have to take care of the debt, even if that means raising taxes.”
Briee Mercier liked Engbrecht’s direct answers to the questions and Srp’s position taking the middle ground.
“I liked Srp’s idea of taking the independent ground at the Capitol,” said Nick Hoverstad.
The students all hesitated to commit as to who will get their vote.
Nick
Hoverstad said they will most likely talk about the debate and the
candidates in John Hanson’s political science class Wednesday and that
it will be a good discussion. Nick expects to make a decision on his
choice for the Senate before he gets to the poll Tuesday.
Moderator
Nick Hoelmer, however, said he made up his mind after listening to the
debate and will vote for Engbrecht because he found him to be the most
level-headed and he liked his answers.
Parry? The students' silence speaks for itself. And both it and Ostermeier's analysis may speak to a weakness in the Republican game plan for this election: ignoring Srp's candidacy altogether. Srp and I joked about this after the Faribault candidate forum as we watched the Republican's humorless tracker follow Jason Engbrecht around.
That night, Engbrecht joked about having his own paparazzi, while Srp and I discussed the third party candidate's chances. Srp thought that he would pull a lot of conservative votes in Waseca, where he is quite popular. This prediction not only squares with what Ostermeier's analysis but also with what I'm hearing from Waseca.
Some of the conservative commenters in the local papers are also questioning Parry's ability to lead. In Simple-minded solutions bring disaster, frequent commenter secretsquirrel, who is torn between Srp and Parry, agrees that Parry's "plans" aren't spelled out. It's no wonder Pawlenty has had to step off his own campaign trail for President to spend some quality time with Mike Parry tonight.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Friday that the state should borrow $685
million this year to pay for building projects on college campuses,
repairing bridges and other road maintenance, flood preparation and
other state construction needs.
The bonding bill is a fixture of even-year legislative sessions, as
political leaders capitalize on the state's borrowing power to preserve
state-owned assets and boost local economies. The Republican governor's
proposal is modest compared to his own previous standards — he proposed
$1 billion in bonding in 2008 — and he said Minnesotans shouldn't
expect it to work miracles on a still-struggling state economy.
"To say that this should be the main state jobs strategy — you're
really not thinking clearly," said Pawlenty, adding that the tough
economic times is the main reason for his relatively austere proposal.
In addition to $685 million in general obligation bonds, Pawlenty's
package includes another $130 million in user-financed, highway trunk,
college- and university-backed bonds and cash, for a total of $815
million in projects.
According to the Forum newspaper chain, the ten-year average for bonding bills is $725 million, so the $685 million bill is $40 million less than the average over the last decade, during which either Pawlenty or Governor Ventura ruled the roost.
Not good enough, Senate District 26 GOP-endorsed candidate Mike Parry claimed on Monday afternoon at a forum Owatonna. The local chain of small newspapers reported in Forum brings out issues:
In spite of his tough stance on spending cuts, Parry said he was open to a bonding bill — though he would prefer a smaller one in the range of $400 million. [emphasis added]
What would Mike Parry cut? A new science research facility at the U? Or the additions to the sex offender unit at Moose Lake?
Perhaps Parry can give Governor Pawlenty helpful hints tomorrow during his campaign stop.
Thumbs down: To the tone of the campaign by challengers to U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Mankato.
In a recent speech that can be seen on YouTube, Republican Allen Quist said this:
“Terrorism, yes (but) that’s not the big battle. The big battle is in
D.C. ... Obama, Pelosi, Walz — they’re not liberals, they’re radicals.
They’re destroying our country.”
He also called the health care reform bill the “most evil” legislation he’d seen in his lifetime.
Another Republican candidate in the race, Jim Hagedorn, has a history
of blog comments that include an anti-gay rant filled with sexual
double entendres and one in which he said he hoped the building was
“fumigated” after those attending the Paul Wellstone memorial service
had left.
Campaigns are all about debates and occasional rants. But too many
candidates have focused on anger-filled demagoguery, name calling and
personal attacks.
Voters in the 1st District instead deserve to hear about clear policy and philosophical differences of candidates.
Thumbs up went to local groups like Kids Against Hunger, for their swift response to the suffering caused by the Haitian earthquake and to the Mankato READY! for Kindergarten program, an organization whose mission is fairly self-evident. Pat Robertson gets a thumbs down too, for his hateful remarks about Haiti.
Fair play, a helping hand, cooperation, tolerance. These are the real rural values I grew up with, among people who learned the practicality of respecting others. We never knew who'd pull us out of that snowbank. Just saying.
U.S. Senator Al Franken arrived in town Saturday morning with a special incentive for Jason Engbrecht and his campaign team.
Franken
already offered his endorsement to the Democratic Minnesota District 26
candidate earlier this week, but Saturday he hand-delivered the reward
for Engbrecht’s day of door-knocking: a Franni Franken apple pie.
Franni
Franken became known as the “pie lady” after her apple pies began
raising big money during fundraisers for charity and later Franken’s
campaigns.
“It’s frustrating to me because I get to smell it (baking),” Franken said. “She’s a very good baker.” . . .
. . .Shortly after dark, organizer Emily Jensen said DFL volunteers had knocked on more than 2,100 doors throughout Owatonna.
Southeast Minnesota activist Jacob Grippen was the winner of the apple pie.
Friends at the door knock report that a van with red and white Mike Parry placards on its sides was parked in the Owatonna strip mall lot for the launching site. I'm working to confirm rumors that Parry himself was in the van wearing a black hat.
More on the lurking as details come in. Update: The Steele County DFL chair informs me that Parry had launched his own doorknocking from another business in the area, and that she didn't consider that presence lurking.
Another friend noted that the MNGOP did send a tracker to record Franken's remarks to the Engbrecht volunteer. It doesn't appear that the press covered Perry's doorknocking. No word on a DFL tracker. [end update]
The Owatonna Peoples Press has published Candidates on the issues, the three candidates' responses to the newpaper's questionnaire:
The Owatonna People’s Press and its sister papers in Waseca and
Faribault approached the candidates in the special election for the
District 26 Senate seat to ask them several questions about the issues
facing Minnesota. In addition, we asked each candidate to give a short
biography of himself.
Photos: Inside the launch site, Jason Engbrecht and Al Franken admire a beautiful pie (top, photo by D.J. Danielson). The Parry campaign van on a street in Faribault on January 9; this was the vehicle seen in the parking lot outside of the Engbrecht door knock launch site on Saturday, January 16. (bottom, photo from Parry's campaign Facebook fan page)
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