An August 20 post on the North Star Project's Facebook page--a post since deleted --shows the escalating bitterness in the Cunniff-Franson race for Minnesota House 8B. According to a Facebook message exchange between state representative Mary Franson and North Star Project chair (and Cunniff volunteer) Aaron Ley, Ley removed the entire post when she asked that he remove a comment by a Lizard-related pseudonym disclosed the address and number of children of a Franson supporter.
Reading the thread in Google cache (entire sequence accessible to BSP posted below the fold), Bluestem can only conclude that both the North Star Project and Franson campaign have decided to embark on vote suppression strategies.
With the potential for small-i independent voters turning away after reading this bickering, each party could use its voter files to just rally the base during GOTV.
The thread was posted and deleted just five days before a vandal or vandals stenciled "Don't Feed The Animals" on a number of Franson's lawn signs in Alexandria, Minnesota. The words recall the tempest that erupted after Franson used a conservative internet staple in Republican House Caucus constituent video. The "joke" compares feeding animals in national parks with feeding people with food stamps.
The North Star Project per diem post
On August 20, the North Star Project posted a staple attack on incumbent legislators, the per diem debate. In absence of the legislator not showing out during legislative business hours (see Randy Demmer) having campaigned against per diem payments, or just being Mike Parry, the strategy has a questionable successful rate, political hands tell Bluestem.
The post chastises Franson for taking generous payments while not authoring successful legislation because her proposals are "too extreme" even for her Republican colleagues:
Did you know that in 2011-2012 Mary Franson received $113,921 in total salary, per diem, and expenses: http://extra.twincities.com/car/perdiem/perdiem.htm. (Our calculation assumes that legislators received the full $31,140 per year salary). That is the second highest figure among Freshmen legislators for 2011-2012, with Rep. Schomacker, who lives 246 miles from St. Paul, receiving the highest figure ($115,226) among the Freshmen. Mary Franson lives 100 miles closer to St. Paul so you’d think that she would have something to show for that $113,921. That is sadly not the case (or some might count it as a blessing). While her colleague Rep. Wardlow (R-Eagan) ushered through 8 bills in his first year, Mary has been the chief author of 36 bills that have been too extreme to pass even though her own party is in the majority! Stay tuned, we are currently conducting analyses of several legislators throughout Western Minnesota…
The Pioneer Press's per diem compensation database shows that Franson took $34,912.73 in per diem, lodging, mileage, travel and other expenses in 2011 in addition to her $31,140 salary. So far in 2012, she has received total payments of $16,729.48 for per diem, plus the portion of her salary that has been paid to date. The NSP figure is relatively accurate, though the author of the post didn't make it clear that the amount was for two years' salary and per diem/expenses to date.
Franson campaigned on cutting costs
In their rush to brand Franson as an expensive extremist, the Bros at NSP miss a few talking points. As Briana Bierschbach noted in April 2011 in Republican challengers blasted per diems in 2010 – and all but one claim them now:
But within the first three months of the legislative session, all but
one of the GOP freshman legislators in both the House and Senate took
per diem payments in addition to their $31,000 per year salaries. (All
seven freshman DFL legislators have claimed per diem reimbursements as
well.) Some GOP legislators who campaigned heavily on cutting government
spending, including Rep. Mary Franson and Senators Gretchen Hoffman and
Dave Thompson, have taken the maximum per diem payments allowed through
the period covered by currently available records [emphasis added].
The North Star Project post did not cite the PIM article nor any attacks on spending that Franson made while campaigning for the open seat in the 2010 election.
And Franson's payments cut against a well-publicized effort on the part of Speaker Zellers to create the appearance of reduced spending. Earlier this month, the Pioneer Press reported in Minnesota legislators' daily expense pay dropping (the article to which the database is attached):
So far this year, the
amount of per diem -- daily expenses state senators and representatives
can claim -- has dropped dramatically. With the session over, the
numbers are not expected to grow much by year's end.
In the House alone, the total paid in 2012 so far is 41 percent
less than 2011, and 27 percent less than 2010. Capitol observers say
2010 is the more relevant number because even years are bonding
sessions, which are typically shorter. . . .
"Republicans felt if they
were going to ask other agencies or departments to hold the line on
spending, they needed to reduce it themselves," said Steve Sviggum,
spokesman for the Senate Republican majority. . . .
. . .Whether the legislator
travels hundreds of miles to St. Paul, or lives a few blocks away, the
daily amount is the same: $86 for senators and $66 for representatives.
House members, so far this year, were paid an average $5,625.77 per diem, about $2,120 less than the average in 2010.
Franson's on the high end of that--and one suspects that after seeing the bill for 2011, Kurt Zellers or his staff might have suggested that Franson do a bit of belt-tightening.
Representing and rewards: Franson v. Otremba
With that target in sight, the NSP Bros miss some low hanging fruit by failing to compare Franson's total payments with those received by DFLer Mary Ellen Otremba, who retired in 2010.
For the two years for which the paper loaded total payment figures in the database while the retired rep still served, Otremba received her highest total payment in 2009, when she took a total of per diem and expenses of $26,367.60. (Expenses beyond per diem are not provided in the database for 2007 and 2008).
The House lowered the per diem from $77 to $66 when the Republicans took control in 2011(h/t to Mary Franson for correction) in July after the session was over (only the senate took cuts in January 2011) according to a December 2011 Mark Summerhauser article in the St. Cloud Times, 28 legislators reimbursed during state shutdown:
Both the House and Senate reduced their daily per diem rates this year.
The House reduced its per diem in July to $66 a day from $77 a day. The
Senate dropped its per diem in January to $86 a day from $96 a day.
The House suspended payment of per diem during the state government shutdown, Rick Neumeister noted at his Open Secrets blog. According to the City Pages, Franson took her salary during the shutdown, as she was not on the list of those who declined their pay check.
It's clear that with $23,003.73 total expenses alone, and $34,912.73 total, Franson in 2011 grabbed significantly more cash than did Otremba took in a non-bonding session.
The comparison of Otremba's bonding year 2010 is more problematic, since Franson may still receive some additional payments in the months remaining in 2012. So far, her total payment, including the reduced-rate per diem, is $16,729.48, of which $6,402.00 was per diem. Otremba ended her career with in 2010, receiving total payments of $22,844.34, of which $8,547.00 was per diem at the higher rate. Otremba received much higher travel payments (used within the district) as well. That accounts for the large parts of the differences.
The jury is still out--and one might suspect that Franson's 2011 payment raised eyebrows among those in her own caucus who were concerned about the appearance of personal parsimony among those serving in the new majority.
NSP post debate goes south fast
Whatever the merits of the original North Star Project post, the comments go south fast, with Franson herself lighting some matches in the online flame war.
A sock puppet called "Alex Rezz" (Alex Resident) immediately shows up to defend Franson, and Franson herself attacks the messengers:
Apparently you want your public servants to not get a
salary or travel reimbursements. Well if that happens all you would get
is retired teachers and other retired public sector people working. Oh
wait, Bob is a retired teacher so seeing
how he receives a pension - if elected - he would have no need to
collect a salary or expenses. Hope he puts that in writing. Poor Aaron
Ley - so bored and not enough to teach at the College so you decide to
mangle facts and truths to fit your agenda. I feel bad for you, Ole Ole
Olson aka Noventator (read some pretty racist and hate filled rants
written by you, yikes). You talk about so called sock puppets but you
both "hide" under them. . . .
A Franson supporter suggests keeping it civil, prompting Olson to cite allegedly disqualifying conservative "Likes" on the supporter's Facebook page. The fight continues, with Cunniff supporter Olson citing examples of conservative sock puppets in other discussions, while asserting that conservatives hold some sort of exclusive franchise on sock puppetry. Olson excused conservatives of lying, stealing and othr such malfeasance, while throwing down the "extremist" label. Another Franson supporter claims that Ley was in a local bar fight. Each side accuses the other of bullying, racism, and so forth. It's a regular troll flame-throwing convention.
Will this sort of discourse--along with creative sign painting--persist until November? Bluestem has heard tell of far worse things being said offline in WOM campaigns. This one looks like a corker.
Franson should detach herself from online flame-wars, period. This doesn't speak well for her judgment. As for NSP, the role of PACs like it is to be pot-stirrers. Bluestem can only recommend learning to delete and ban those commenters who post personal addresses and information about minor children. It's unfortunate that the entire selection was deleted, but we are grateful for Mr. Google's hoarding tendencies.
Photos: Mary Franson (above); Mary Ellen Otremba (below).
Related post: Signs don't vote--and vandalism wins no votes
The google cache of the free-for-all below the fold.
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