By Josie Oliver Special to Bluestem Prairie
Reprinted from the 1/23/2013 Clara City Herald
There’s a special story behind every memorial event, a special meaning for those involved, and a special feeling for those who were closest to the one who is being remembered.
Sometimes most importantly, it’s the name of the event that people are
most proud of.
“It’s called the Sharon White Memorial Basketball Tournament,” Sharon’s son Jacob said proudly, sporting a t-shirt made for the event with his mom’s name printed on it.
A Special Olympics basketball tournament will be held Sunday, Jan. 27, at the Willmar City Auditorium in memory of the late Sharon White of Clara City.
“We’ve done the tournament in the past, but have never given it a name. We thought this was the time to honor Sharon for all her work,” said Steve Sharstrom of the Divine House in Willmar and a good friend of Sharon and her family.
On June 24, 2012, Sharon died
from complications of cancer at the
Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar.
Donations were received in memory
of Sharon before and after her memorial in June and a Sharon White
Memorial Fund was set up to receive
donations in her name, given through
the Divine House Special Olympics.
Sharon spent her career working
in support services and most recently worked for the Divine House in
bered by her active involvement with
Special Olympics and as an outspoken advocate for the disabled community.
“She was so involved with all
competitive
Special
Olympics
events,” Sharon’s husband
John
White
said. “But she
was
always
more interested
in the skills part
of the events,
where it wasn’t
always about
winning in the
end.”
The tournament is largely
funded by the
nearly $4000
in
donations
received during
and after Sharon’s
memorial in June, and
sponsors have been added for addi-
tional funding.
“When the idea came up to name
the tournament after Sharon it was
our biggest fear that it would be a
one and done. Having sponsors assured it would be at least a two or
three year thing and we are hoping to
make it an annual event,” Sharstrom
said.
Sharon’s name have a list of the
sponsors of the tournament, including Paffrath & Son Jewelers, Walts,
Minnesota Screen Print & Embroidery Inc., Dairy Queen, Willmar
Elks and Divine House, Inc. The
EF Foundation for
Foreign Study also
donated $500 in
Sharon’s name, as
she shared regional
coordinator duties
for them and was a
host mother to 34
exchange students
in her life.
“We are very fortunate to have the
Elks sponsor the
event. They are
feeding all our athletes and coaches so
they can go to the
Elks Club down the
street, eat and come
back,” Sharstrom
said.
There are eight half-court teams
and two full-court teams registered
for the tournament. The tournament
is bracketed based on skill level, but
it’s not geared for a championship.
All athletes will receive a gold medal. “It’s defined as fun for everyone
to participate, a camaraderie for special needs athletes,” Sharstrom said.
Over 100 athletes and coaches
will participate in the tournament on
Sunday and will receive a t-shirt with
Sharon’s name on it, something that
Jacob thinks is pretty neat.
Jacob receives services from Divine House and has participated in
Special Olympics for a long time,
Sharstrom said.
“This is where she belonged
(working with Special Olympics),”
Sharstrom said. “Sharon was wonderful as a caregiver because she had
a special needs child. She was a special lady and has a really neat family. I take my hat off to a family like
that,” he added.
When remembering Sharon, it
was her patience that was so much
admired by all.
“She had a tremendous level of
patience and was so caring for all developmentally disabled folks,” Sharstrom said.
T-shirts for the event have even
made their way to Denver, Colorado
where Sharon’s parents Carol and
Carlos are.
“I got a phone call from them, I answered and she said ‘Oh this is just
wonderful, thank you so much for
doing this,’” John said.
“Oh, I think it’s wonderful,” John
said.
“It’s a way to thank her for her
tireless work,” Sharstrom added.
Note: This article is reprinted here by request of John White, as the Clara City paper's website doesn't allow easy sharing of content via social media. Today would have been the White's 31st wedding anniversity. Bluestem encourages readers to attend the tournament if they are able and to support Special Olympics in their own communities.
Photos: In front, Sharon White’s son Jacob proudly wears the t-shirt made
for the Sharon White Memorial Basketball Tournament, named in
memory of her. In back, Steve Sharstrom, co-worker, close friend
and planner of the event stands next to Sharon’s husband John,
proudly holding up the t-shirt. Over 100 athletes and coaches will
participate in the tournament on Jan. 27 at the Willmar City Audi-
torium. All participants will receive a t-shirt (top).; Sharon and John White (bottom).
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Today, Minnesota state representative Ryan Winkler and a covey of DFLers introduced HF121, the lower chamber's companion to a state senate bill requiring any individual or group that "drafts, promotes, or distributes model legislation to any public official of this
state with the purpose of influencing a public official to introduce the legislation or vote in favor of the legislation" to register as a lobbyist or principal of the lobbyist.
This is the "ALEC Law" intended to make the origin of legislation more transparent. It matters not if the bill is cooked up by corporate bill factory American Legislative Exchange Council, an environmental organization or a union, Minnesotans would know what cat drug that bird in.
Or maybe not.
Earlier this month, Bluestem noted in "Anti-venom": Cornish bills for college carry & packing pedagogues to get committee hearing that the honorable representative from Good Thunder or thereabouts is threatening to once more introduce a bill that would prevent public postsecondary colleges from banning the carrying and possession of firearms by students on school property ( lawfully possessed guns are currently allowed in cars in campus parking lots).
Cornish first introduced the bill to a chorus of news reports across the land in April 2008, on the first anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings. And from whence came the law?
The proposal by Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder, faces an uphill
climb but reflects a national movement among gun advocates and some
students to overturn prohibitions on students carrying weapons at
college.
Contradicting the prevailing view and policies of
Minnesota universities, the gun supporters argue that trained, armed
students would prevent or minimize violence on campus.
Alex Tripp, a student at Minnesota State University,
Mankato, who is active in the effort to allow students to carry guns,
cited the shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University in
a recent letter to Cornish urging a change in state law.
. . .Tripp, a 21-year-old junior, is a member of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, which claims 25,000 members nationwide.
At that time, the group was still young. In February 2008, a spokester for the Brady campaign had claimed that the gun industry was covertly sponsoring the student organization; it fired back with tales of meager funding--less than $700 gathered from poor students' donations. The group did advocate for the repeal of campus carry prohibitions across the country. The group has since shortened its name to Students for Concealed Carry.
While it's still a volunteer organization, its fundraising seems a bit more sophisticated. Hard to say if its spend would trip the threshold for registering as a lobby principal in Minnesota.
Cornish didn't re-introduce the bill in the 86th or 87th legislature. We can't say exactly why that might be--other than the fact that it did come up in the 2008 campaign, when John Branstad come within striking distance of Cornish. Robb Murray of the Mankato Free Press reported in "Big issues, poor turnout: MnSCU a hot topic":
Rep. Tony Cornish separated himself from the herd.
At
a candidates debate at Minnesota State University Monday, Cornish
reiterated his much-publicized view that if more students carried guns, fewer school shootings would result, and in the ones that took place, fewer lives would be lost.
In
fact, he told the small audience gathered for the debate that, if a
gunman entered the debate room this very instance, " there'd be nobody
here who could save you except for me, or somebody else with a handgun."
His comment came in response to a moderator's question about handguns on campus, a question each candidate addressed. . . .
None of the others said they'd go as far as Cornish on the gun issue, although Bidwell and Jordan said they'd consider limited gun possession on campus,
such as Jordan's suggestion that it be limited to faculty
And Branstad
objected to Cornish's reference to colleges as " killing zones." He
said he's spoken with campus security experts who have said arming students is not the best way to solve the problem.
"I'm sure they would take issue with calling a college campus a 'killing zone,' " he said. (Mankato Free Press, October 21, 2008, Nexis All-News, accessed January 22, 2013)
After that, Cornish grew uncharacteristically reticent with the bill unti lhis latest rumbling.
But there's more to the story here. About a month after Cornish threw this hot mess into the hopper in April 2008, the NRA-ILA reported on the national gun rights group's website in ALEC Task Force Adopts Model "Campus Personal Protection Act":
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is an
organization comprised of public and private sector members (largely
made up of state legislators and corporate/association government
affairs representatives) from all 50 states that share common support
for free market principles and individual liberties.
At ALEC's
recent Spring Task Force Summit in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the Criminal
Justice Task Force unanimously adopted a model "Campus Personal
Protection Act." Brought forth by NRA-ILA, the act calls
for the repeal of state restrictions on the possession of firearms by
valid concealed handgun licensees on college and university campuses and
preempts governing bodies of postsecondary educational institutions
from imposing such restrictions on permit holders. This Act will officially become ALEC "Model Legislation" in 30 days if there is no objection from ALEC's Board of Directors.
And looking over the model bill on the ALEXexposed website, Bluestem isn't surprised to learn that like Cornish's month-younger bill, this language is esstential a "repealer" bill calling for language to be stricken from the statutes of whatever state in which it flopped.
The ALEC board officially adopted the Campus Personal Protection Act as a template for state law 30 days later.
This complicated parentage raises certain questions about the Winkler "model bill" proposal. Of course, it's not a law yet, so the following questions are totally hypothetical, but might be asked in commitee.
Did Representative Cornish snag his model bill from an ALEC packet prepared for the Spring Summit in Hot Springs, Arkansas, held in mid-May 2008? Although he's a keen advocate of high-profile ALEC model bills like Stand Your Ground and Voter ID, there's no direct evidence trying him to the organization. Another Minnesota Republican legislator might have brought to to his attention--or perhaps a private sector ALEC member. They don't have to uncloak themselves under current law, so it's hard to discern.
Did the national student organization pass the idea along to the NRA and ALEC? In 2008, they claimed that they didn't work with the NRA. Or did eager ALEC members in the thirteen states where the student group brought the language forward?
Perhaps these things simply evolve independently, like the parallel eyeballs of different and unrelated creature on land and sea.
More interesting questions about the bill's paternity remain. If the Winkler bill were in place, would Students for Concealed Carry get the lobbying credit for campuscarry? Would ALEC?
Or would we simply forget about the notion of a lobbyist and model bill, and grant to Cornish that he is, in the enduring wisdom of the classic Ray Stevens cover, his own grandpa?
Photo: Tony Cornish. Should we even ask who's that bill's daddy?
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Cold weather not withstanding, campaigns in Southern Minnesota are underway in the dash to the February 12 special election in Minnesota House District 19A.
The editors of the New Ulm Journal are happy with Short campaigns:
It is a truncated schedule, to be sure, but it is interesting to see
that a campaign and election can be held in a much shorter time than
regular campaigns typically consume. It sometimes seems like the
campaign season begins the day after the regular election. . . .
Congressional campaigns, especially House campaigns,
are practically non-stop. The political potshots sent out by the
Republican and Democratic National Congressional Committees against
office holders of the opposing party have only slowed since the
election, but we get several e-mails a week asking whether Rep. Tim
Walz, for instance, is going to give Barack Obama a Platinum No-Limit
Credit Card on the debt limit.
We think there should be a mandated limit on campaigning, somewhere
between the six weeks of the 19A special election and the never-ending
campaign of most national and state elections. It would save a lot of
time and aggravation.
The Mankato Free Press reports in District 19A campaigns are heating up that while radio were broadcast yesterday for Karl Johnson, who lost the DFL endorsement on the fourth ballot on Saturday, endorsed candidate Clark Johnson has been assured that the North Mankato pork producer is working to pull them off the air.
And there's going to be a least one candidate forum:
Voters in House District 19A, which is dominated by Nicollet County but also includes western and northern parts of Mankato and far southwestern Le Sueur County, will get at least one chance to assess all three candidates at a single event.
A forum, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Treaty Site History Center on Highway 169 North, is being sponsored by the St. Peter Chamber of Commerce, Greater Mankato Growth and the St. Peter League of Women Voters.
People are invited to submit questions in advance by emailing them to spchamber@hickorytech.net.
Greater Mankato Growth is also asking candidates to respond to a questionnaire that will be posted at greatermankatoelections.com.
For now, the Clark campaign has organized a couple of Open Houses for the DFL campaign (via Facebook:)
Saturday, January 26
10:00 a.m.
North Mankato Community Room 1001 Belgrade Ave. N. Mankato, MN
2:00 p.m.
River Rock Coffee 301 S. Minnesota Ave. St. Peter, MN
We'll update today if we find public events for the Republican and IP candidates.
Photo: Clark Johnson supporters (above); DFL endorsed candidate Clark Johnson (below).
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A St. Cloud Times reader noticed something amiss with a passage in former "Doctor No" state representative and Taxpayers League of Minnesota president Phil Krinkie's commentary Your turn: Government must curb spending:
With the Christmas of 2012 behind us and the “fiscal cliff” of 2013 narrowly avoided, it’s time to pause and consider what lies ahead for our country and our state.
In “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, the stodgy accountant Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three ghosts. ... The last ghost to a visit is the “Ghost of Christmas yet to Come.” This spirit appears only in a black hooded robe. It never speaks but only gestures with one hand. He presents Scrooge with an ominous picture of the future to persuade him to change his ways. . . .
In “A Christmas Carol,” Scrooge’s former partner, Jacob Marley, who died seven years before, appears bound in heavy chains.
Every day that Congress fails to enact true spending reform adds another link in a chain of debt for future generations. . . .
As in the picture portrayed by the “Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come,” there is a bleak and gloomy future ahead unless our elected officials at every level of government tighten their belts and reduce the level of government spending. . . .
I just finished reading the Jan. 12 Your Turn “Government must curb
spending,” by Phil Krinkie, president of the Taxpayers League of
Minnesota.
Now I’m not a literary scholar,
mind you, but it seems to me the gentleman sort of missed the point of
Charles Dickens’ “Christmas Carol.”
Wasn’t
the whole reason that Marley was in chains was because he was a greedy,
selfish businessman who never wanted to help anybody, certainly not
because he spent too much?
Of
course, I guess maybe the opinion was referring to the government
charity businesses receive in various forms. My guess that’s not what
was meant. Well, maybe the writer needs to see “Christmas Carol” a few
more times to get its real message.
It's available on DVD.
So why was Marley in chains? And what did the Ghost of Christmas bring to Scrooge?
Vick may be no scholar, but his memory of Marley is close to Dickens' text:
"I have none to give," the Ghost replied. "It comes from other
regions, Ebenezer Scrooge, and is conveyed by other ministers, to other
kinds of men. Nor can I tell you what I would. A very little more, is
all permitted to me. I cannot rest, I cannot stay, I cannot linger
anywhere. My spirit never walked beyond our counting-house -- mark me!
-- in life my spirit never roved beyond the narrow limits of our
money-changing hole; and weary journeys lie before me!" . . .
"But you were always a good man of business, Jacob," faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.
"Business!" cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind
was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy,
forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of
my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my
business!" . . .
"At this time of the rolling year," the spectre said "I suffer
most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes
turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the
Wise Men to a poor abode! Were there no poor homes to which its light
would have conducted me!" . . .
"That is no light part of my penance," pursued the Ghost. "I am here
to-night to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my
fate. A chance and hope of my procuring, Ebenezer."
But perhaps Krinkie exercises the most literary license in chaining the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come to the spirit of austerity. Dicken's Final Ghost may not speak, but he reveals only a tomb for Scrooge should the merchant cleave to his tight-fisted ways. Scrooge vows to abandon his tight-fisted ways and honor the spirit of Christmas:
"Spirit!" he cried, tight clutching at its robe, "hear me. I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me this, if I am past all hope?"
For the first time the hand appeared to shake.
"Good Spirit," he pursued, as down upon the ground he fell before it: "Your nature intercedes for me, and pities me. Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life."
The kind hand trembled.
"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!"
The stone was that on his own grave. Dickens writes of the transformation Scrooge experienced upon his waking:
"Now, I'll tell you what, my friend," said Scrooge, "I am not going to stand this sort of thing any longer. And therefore," he continued, leaping from his stool, and giving Bob such a dig in the waistcoat that he staggered back into the Tank again; "and therefore I am about to raise your salary."
Bob trembled, and got a little nearer to the ruler. He had a momentary idea of knocking Scrooge down with it, holding him, and calling to the people in the court for help and a strait-waistcoat.
"A merry Christmas, Bob," said Scrooge, with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back. "A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you for many a year. I'll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob. Make up the fires, and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot another i, Bob Cratchit!"
Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. . . .
Poor Doctor No! The lessons in Christmas Carol is not belt-tightening nor are the chains that Marley rattles the chains of debt. And as a corrective allusion, it's a major fail--for who would root for the death of Tiny Tim in further belt-tightening? Other than Doctor No?
George Bernard Shaw remarked that Dickens' vision in Great Expectations was more seditious than Marx's Das Kapital; while Dickens created compelling storylines and memorable characters, his works addressed social inequity and class oppression.
One suspects that were he living today, Dickens would have skewered the likes of Krinkie and the West Metro One-Percent Club that funds the TP League, as well as their gospel of Grover Norquist. Krinkie can certainly have his opinions, but perhaps he'd best stick to Ayn Rand for literary allusions.
Images: Ghost of Christmas Present revealing Ignorance and Want (top); Marley's Ghost (middle); the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come and Scrooge at his grave (bottom).
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Former state representative Ruth Johnson is asking the readers of the St. Peter Herald to vote for Clark Johnson for the open seat in Minnesota House District 19A, as is past Bluestem contributor Max Hailperin.
Both are asking for support for Clark Johnson in the January 29 DFL primary and the February 12 special election.
Clark Johnson was endorsed as our candidate for the Minnesota House by area Democrats on Saturday. Clark is a long-time neighbor who knows this area well. I've known Clark for years, and I know he will work hard to build a bright future for us. He will be a strong voice for a stable state budget, fair taxes, and our high quality of life in Minnesota. I invite Democrats to vote for Clark Johnson in the primary election on Tuesday, Jan. 29. Vote Clark Johnson for the Minnesota House!
Hailperin's letter brings up a logistical problem the DFL faces in the January 29 primary: the presence of four DFL candidates on the ballot, one of whom shares the last name of Johnson.
While the three have suspended their campaign and rallied around Clark Johnson following the endorsing convention, the gathering was held after the last day to withdraw from the race. Party rules required a ten-day notice, thus forcing the primary.
Our legislature is poised to set aside the divisive politics of fear and to get to work on our shared priorities. We need a budget that balances without short-term gimmicks. We need a transportation network that speeds goods to market without risking lives. And we need an educational system that prepares us for opportunities without limit. Our area needs a voice in this work, but not just any voice---a thoughtful voice. For that reason, I will vote twice for Clark Johnson and urge others to do the same.
First, we need to vote for Clark in the Jan. 29 primary. Two of the four candidates on that ballot will be Johnsons. Remind yourself to vote for the Johnson with a C by humming a few bars of "America the Beautiful," focusing on the line "from sea to shining sea." That way, the primary will produce the same result as the endorsing convention, where 67 of us grilled all four candidates at length and picked the best of the bunch.
Second, we need to vote for Clark in the Feb. 12 special election. That election will let us send to Saint Paul a representative who understands the importance of listening to others, confronting challenges in their full complexity, and collaborating broadly to craft solutions. If you want a candidate who is sure he already knows all the answers, you'll have to vote for someone else. But if you want a candidate who wants to get to work by engaging in a constructive process, then join me in voting for Clark Johnson.
No letters supporting endorsed Republican Allen Quist or IP candidate Tim Gieseke have appeared in the online version of the St. Peter Herald. The special election is February 12.
Photo: Supporters of DFL-endorsed candidate Clark Johnson (above); Clark Johnson (below).
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Last week, Minnesota learned that the National Republican Congressional Committee had once more ritually named Minnesota's Blue Dog Seventh District Congressman Collin Peterson vulnerable.
Beltrami County was represented during President Obama’s inauguration Monday morning. . . .And yes, that is Jay-Z and his wife Beyoncé standing behind him.
After the photobomb, can a cameo with Peterson's cover band, The Second Amendments, be far behind? Jay-Z did record Collision Course with Linkin Park, so anything is possible. This is America, after all.
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Some Greater Minnesota stories aren't political, but irresistable to Bluestem Prairie nonetheless. With the windchills predicted to drop to -38 degrees below zero tomorrow, we find ourselves coveting the fish house an angler has built out in Big Stone County.
For 10 years, Pat Minahan of Ortonville had dreamed of building his own drivable, portable fish house. Finally, last year Pat started work on it and was able to have it completed just in time for ice fishing this year.
Minahan loves to ice fish, but wanted to build something that he could drive out onto the lake without having to get out to fish.
You can't fault a guy for that, especially out there in chilly Ortonville, where the National Weather Service is saying it could feel like -41 degrees tomorrow.
Read more about how Minahan built his dream. The Independent reports the fish are biting on the lake at the headwaters of the Minnesota River Valley:
Many have said that ice fishing this winter has been the best they have seen in many years. There has been a good bite on the perch and walleye and the fishing pressure on Big Stone Lake has been outstanding with many fish houses on the lake.
If you want to find Minahan's favorite fishing hole, just head west on Highway 7 or 12 until you get to South Dakota. You can't miss it.
Photo: Bluestem is so coveting this guy's fish house in Big Stone County, along with the big stones out there. Photo via the Ortonville Independent.
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Early this month Minnesota Representative Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) had been sounding a partisan battle cry about the possibility that agri-fund dollars might be spent on urban projects.
A top priority will be to protect money in the agri-fund from being
raided for non-agricultural proposes as the budget is put together this
session. I want to work on strengthening ag education, both through
funding to our local K-12 system and by supporting farm business
management programs at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
institutions.
Riverland Community College is one of the shining
examples of how this program should work. Extensions of farmer-lender
mediation and Minnesota Agriculture Education Leadership Council, and
cleanup language for the $5 million exemption to the estate tax for
farmland that was passed in the last budget should also be addressed.
Indeed, Golnik's hard work revived memories of Quist's underdevelopment in the minds of House District 19A in particular, where Quist drew only 37.05 percent of the vote in the general election as opposed to 42.33 percent throughout the First as a whole.
And 19A is, obviously, Quist's home house district.
With just weeks before the August primary election that will decide
who gets to take on DFL Rep. Tim Walz this fall, Parry, a state senator
from Waseca, kicked off a week-long media barrage with an email blast
pointing to a few eyebrow-raising remarks made by Quist about two
decades ago. In particular, Parry pointed to a 1994 comment from Quist
comparing a center for gays to a center for the Ku Klux Klan, a comment
about men’s “genetic predisposition” to be the heads of households, and
Quist’s comments about visiting adult bookstores (to assess the public
health conditions, he said) during his time in the House.
Quist countered that Parry was making it all up and was attacking out
of desperation, but before long Twin Cities media reporter David Brauer
jumped into the mix, digging up the tape of the interview in which
Quist made his remark about men’s leadership DNA. . . .
Team Parry is hitting the anti-Quist message hard, also criticizing
his conservative credentials for past legislative votes in favor of a
gas tax and light rail projects, Parry spokesman Ben Golnik said.
That’s not going to change in the next few weeks. “Republicans are
united around replacing elected officials,” Golnik said. “We don’t want
voters to have buyer’s remorse if Allen Quist is a candidate. If Parry
is the candidate, this race will be a referendum on Tim Walz.”
Parry says people are asking him about what Quist has said in the
past. “People are very concerned that if Allen Quist is the general
election candidate, knowing the DFL campaign machine, they will go in
for television ads and radio ads showing Allen Quist at a triple-X porn
shop, and point out the gas tax,” he said. “It will be all on him, and
he will have to respond to that.”
At least Golnik won't have to make pitches to potential fund contributors based on party purity. Bluestem will grant him that.
With a local television station, a number of local radio outlets, two daily newspapers (Mankato and New Ulm) and a weekly paper with a lively website (St. Peter Herald), there's more media for this market than most Greater Minnesota districts. Both sides' dollars are certainly welcome for rural development.
Clark Johnson campaign hits the ground at GAC
DFLer Clark Johnson was endorsed today on the fourth ballot, beating nearest rival Karl H. Johnson on a 62--38 percent split.
When the local DFL party was preparing for Saturday's nomination convention, they should have selected a bigger room.
One organizer said, "Wow, we thought there was more snow birds in our group than there are"
Special elections don't usually get a lot of attention.
Candidate Karl Johnson said, "I was very concerned we wouldn't have more than 30–40 people here."
But with long–time DFL legislator Terry Morrow leaving, and
republican candidate Allen Quist, fresh off his defeat in November's
1st–District congressional race, the DFL needs a solid candidate to keep
the seat.
Representative Kathy Brynaert said, "I think you see democracy at work here."
Minnesota state professor Clark Johnson won the popularity contest
with signs....and after 3 hours and 4 rounds of voting, he won over the
delegates too.
...Clark Johnson received 32 votes for 61 percent.
Johnson defeated North Mankato Farmer Karl Johnson, educator and union activist Robin Courrier, and St. Peter Mayor Tim Strand.
Johnson said, "We're going to make this campaign happen, you saw the
energy in this room today, people backing me and we are going to make
this happen fast by marshaling the supporters we got."
And fast he will have to be the special election will be held on
February 12th, less than a month away. Johnson said he would start
fundraising and campaigning immediately.
From the reports Bluestem is getting from the endorsing convention (we kept our sniffles at home), Clark Johnson charging ahead with an on-the-ground campaign and will be on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus on Monday.
GAC College Democrat organizer Megan Nelson posted on Facebook:
I'm excited to start campaigning for the 19A DFL endorsed candidate Clark Johnson! If you're at Gustavus on Monday for the MLK service, stop by the College Dems table outside the caf at 11:30 to meet Clark.
The February 12, 2013 special election in Minnesota House District 19A was triggered by the resignation of Representative Terry Morrow to take a job in Chicago. Morrow was unopposed in the November 2012 election. In addition to Allen Quist, endorsed IP candidate Tim Gieseke will appear on the February 12 ballot.
Because party rule cause the DFL endorsing convention to take place after the deadline for candidates to withdraw, all four DFL candidates' names will appear on the ballot in a January 29 primary. All of the other DFL candidates have agreed to suspend their campaigns in favor Clark Johnson, the endorsed candidate.
Here's KEYC-TV's coverage:
Images: Clark Johnson supporters via Facebook; Quist Crazy Quilt, by Ken Avidor; a packed house (twitpic by Eric Nelson)
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One day before the DFL endorsing convention for the special election in Minnesota House District 19A, Women Winning has Robin Courrier, while the New Ulm Journal reports that Karl Johnson appears to be hedging on earlier signals that he would abide by the convention's endorsement decision.
In a separate article in the Journal, IP candidate Tim Gieseke talks about his big ideas.
Via the Morning Take,Women Winning has endorsed school teacher and union leader Robin Courrier. The group's mission is to "encourage, promote and support pro-choice women's leadership in all political parties and levels of public office." Its website suggests the ways in which it can assist endorsed candidates:
We endorse and provide funds at the maximum campaign finance limit; hold fundraisers among our membership of over 5,000 people; and train candidates and their staff on ways to raise the money necessary to win.
Should Courrier gain the endorsement tomorrow, she may need to spend some of that money in a primary that would be more than prefunctory. Josh Moniz reports in DFL to endorse 19A candidate on Saturday:
All the DFL candidates previously said they would abide by the
endorsement, and party leadership indicated they expected unity in the
process.
However, Karl Johnson declined to comment Thursday when
asked if he would abide by the endorsement. He acknowledge purchasing
ads for his candidacy that started Thursday and will air through the
weekend in the Mankato area. He also has ads planned for the middle of
next week in a wider area, including KNUJ in New Ulm.
With the ad buy in place, it certainly sounds like Karl Johnson isn't planning on taking "No" for an answer. Bluestem is a bit puzzled by the 68-year-old farmer's logic, however:
He said he has strong name recognition in the district, making him able
to peel away voters from Quist's demographics, as well as being able to
run without needing to spend money on introducing himself to voters.
Has that name recognition been confirmed by polling? Moreover, the ad buy suggests that Johnson is indeed spending money on name recognition.
Both Quist and Johnson are 68-year-old farmers, but that demographic doesn't describe much of the electorate in House District 19A. The dynamics of a special election and the concentration of 70 percent of the district's voters (and much of the DFL base) in the three urban centers of Mankato, North Mankato and St. Peter suggests that there's more to Karl Johnson's plan from pundits and small-town party power brokers than Nate Silver.
The DFL primary will take place on January 29, with the special election itself on February 12. The endorsed Republican candidate is Allen Quist. The winner will fill the seat left open by the resignation of Terry Morrow.
Read the rest at the Journal.
Update: Here's the press release from Women Winning:
womenwinning announces its endorsement of Robin Courrier for Minnesota House in District 19A and Joanne Dorsher for Minnesota House in District 14A. Having served as a key player in recruiting both Courrier and Dorsher, womenwinning is pleased to roll out its endorsements ahead of this weekend’s local party endorsing conventions. If elected in the February 12th special elections, Courrier and Dorsher would increase the number of women in the State Legislature raising the total number to 67 (or 33 percent).
“This past November, we saw women change the balance of power in our state,” said Lauren Beecham, Executive Director of womenwinning. “Robin and Joanne are not just the best women candidates in their races, they are the best candidates for their districts, period. We know that when women run, women win — and we are working hard to help elect these two excellent women to the State House.”
Robin Courrier has been a teacher in her community for over 28 years. She is currently the Lead Teacher of the Bridges Community School for the Mankato Area Public Schools. She also serves as President of the Mankato Teachers’ Association and is on the Education Minnesota Governing Board. She is running to represent the St. Peter and North Mankato community following the retirement of Representative Terry Morrow.
Joanne Dorsher has over 20 years of active community service including as a member and past Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer of the St. Cloud Area School Board. During her tenure on the school board, she navigated $20 million of budget cuts and served as liaison to the local Chamber of Commerce. Dorsher has also served on the board of GREAT Theater, the Local Area Education Foundation, and Reach Up HeadStart. She also serves on the district’s legislative committee. Dorsher is running to represent the St. Cloud community following the retirement of Representative Steve Gottwalt.
Starting in 2011, womenwinning expanded its political program, recruiting and endorsing more women candidates than ever before. womenwinning’s endorsement comes with significant power. Last cycle, womenwinning raised over one million dollars in both direct candidate fundraising and support for its political and educational programs.
Last November, over 70 percent of womenwinning-endorsed candidates won election from School Board to United States Senate, including 13 of its 16 targeted state legislative races (an 80 percent win rate). womenwinning has a strong record of special election victories as well. womenwinning endorsed in five of the six legislative special elections called in 2011 and all five endorsed women won — Representative Carly Melin, Senator Mary Jo McGuire, Senator Chris Eaton, Senator Kari Dziedzic, and Representative Susan Allen.
Map: Minnesota House District 19A
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Although two pistol-packing bills state representative Tony Cornish (R-Tombstone) promises to introduce in the Minnesota House have zero chance of becoming law, the retired lawman tells the Mankato Free Press that Public Safety Committee chair Michael Paymar has agreed to hear the bills.
So much for cutting waste by small-government conservatives, but the hearings should achieve Cornish's general agenda: headlines for Tony Cornish.
For all the demand by gun enthusiasts, public opinion polls show that most Americans support more restrictions on gun sales -- particularly the military-style weapons and the high-capacity clips. Cornish said he holds a "more guns, less crime" philosophy and believes gun control proposals would be counterproductive.
So he will be pushing forward with legislation to allow teachers -- and probably other staff -- to carry concealed weapons even if a school's principal or other school administrators don't approve. Teachers, presuming they meet all other state requirements for carrying a weapon, would only need to inform school administrators. Current law requires permission from the administrators before a teacher can bring a weapon to school.
Originally, Cornish had simply proposed letting teachers with permits carry--until it was discovered that state law already allowed the practice, so long as the teacher obtains an administrator's permission. Now, they'll just have to give notice.
But that's not all! Cornish will bring guns out of the parking lot and into the halls of ivy:
Cornish will also be making another attempt to require public colleges to allow students to carry handguns on campus if they have the applicable permits. He said Public Safety Committee Chairman Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, promised him a hearing on both bills later this month.
Cornish doesn't expect either bill to pass the DFL-controlled Legislature (nor does he expect stricter gun-control legislation to be approved), but pushing the legislation will give him time to present his case for a more-guns approach to reducing gun violence. And he wants an opposing voice to be heard when Paymar presents his gun-control proposals.
"What I hope to accomplish is anti-venom for these bills Michael Paymar is going to bring up," Cornish said.
It's not as if he won't have a say as minority lead on the committee when those bills are heard, but leading the news is a lot less likely. The bills aren't in the hopper yet.
Cartoon: Anti-Venom. Cornish is Eddie Brooks to Representative Paymar's Peter Parker. Or whatever.
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Back in December, Bluestem wrote that in Representation Rod Hamilton to defend rural Minnesota against his own worst fears, that you were positioning yourself as the Republican lead to warn rural Minnesotans about how much Democrats in Minneapolis hate us, especially those who are tillers of the soil and the keepers of livestock.
This frame was something we recognised from past years when former Marshall-area state representative Marty Siefert, and Steve Sviggum before him, led the Republican caucus in the house, although in those days, those dirty hipsters mostly just didn't share rural social values as the caucus defined them.
It wasn't so much about agriculture during their tenure--and that would have been a hard one for Kurt Zellers to pull off from Hennepin County. Those appeals to those social values didn't pan out so well in November, however, so on to the Old McDonald defenders riffs it is.
Since the first day of this session, Bluestem's been sad to see you more than live up to our expectations, as you go on and on (and on and on) about agriculture committee structure and leadership. You've gone on the floor of the House, in letters-to-the-editor of rural papers serving swing districts where Democrats were elected, and in your own column.
Most Minneapolis lawmakers spend their careers thinking the only
important activities happen within the metro area, and telling folks in
Greater Minnesota how to live.
Forgive us if we find that a little hard to believe. The last time Bluestem's editor saw Rep. Jean Wagenius, whom others in your caucus (Rep. Drazkowski comes to mind) call an "environmental extremist," she was at the Minnesota Farmers Union convention just before Thanksgiving, taking time to listen to farmers. While exceedingly civil in the tradition of the organization, those farmers weren't shy about sharing their concerns.
I can't say I heard her tell anyone how to live.
Help for Beginning Farmers: You Know You Want To
Nor does that seem to be the preoccuption of Speaker Thissen, unless you consider some of the past legislation he's introduced as telling us how to live. I suppose that we could see HF 3290 from the 86th session that way.
That's an bill in which there are:
Income tax credits provided to encourage beginning farmers, beginning
farmer program administered by the Rural Finance Authority modified, and
money appropriated for beginning farmer individual development
accounts.
Pretty rough stuff by a guy from the mean streets of Minneapolis telling people in Greater Minnesota how to live, I thought, until I read the bill and thought it sounded familiar.
It's pretty much identical to HF0860, a bill which you introduced in the 87th session, in which "Beginning farmer program tax credits provided." My former state Representative, Ron Shimansky, was a co-sponsor, as were DFLers Terry Morrow and Kent Eken.
That the sponsorship passed from Thissen to you with the change in control of the House isn't surprising. What is disappointing is that the Legislature hasn't passed the bill. Bluestem can't think of any group of farmers organized in Greater Minnesota--from the Land Stewardship Project to the Farm Bureau--that doesn't want programs to help beginning farmers.
It's even more apparent that the state should be working on this, given the unfortunate fact of Congressional ag leaders--and funding for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program--being left out of the fiscal cliff deal.
Getting together with Speaker Thissen and Representative Eken and re-introducing this legislation--then getting it passed through both ag policy and the environmental, natural resources and agriculture finance committee--might be a better use of your time than drafting divisive, urban-bashing columns.
Had I continued to serve as chair of the now eliminated House
Agriculture and Rural Economies Finance Committee, I planned to use the
majority of these funds (Agri Fund) for rural development and ag literacy and
education programs — things like 4-H, FFA, and Farm America. Now they
appear to be gone in favor of economic development programs which may or
may not assist rural Minnesota.
Really? That's a foregone conclusion? You so lack ability as a legislator that you can't make the case for 4-H and FFA? Or other types of rural development that helps the whole state? We're willing to bet that you can, if you spend less time submitting letters newspapers in swing districts and grandstanding in front of the cameras in the House chamber. Or writing inflamatory sentences like:
Minnesota cannot survive without our farmers and agriculture, so why is
the House majority attempting to demonize the men and women who put
food on everyone’s table?
. . . I was disappointed to read my colleague Rep. Rod Hamilton’s letter
in this newspaper attacking specific DFL legislators over the issue of
how the agriculture committees are structured and accusing DFLers of not
representing our rural districts. The session is barely a week old, yet
Rep. Hamilton would rather fan political flames than join together in
working productively on important agriculture issues.
Traditionally,
we have successfully advanced agriculture issues in the Legislature in a
bipartisan fashion. For example, in 2011, the agriculture budget was
the only finance bill we passed with broad bipartisan support before the
state shutdown. Rep. Hamilton’s negative tone is not the right
approach. As Chair of the Agriculture Policy Committee, I believe that
we will present a stronger voice for rural Minnesota by working together
as both Democrats and Republicans.
Challenging the advocacy
skills or commitment of rural members just because they are DFLers and
now are the majority caucus of the Minnesota House is not helpful in
getting to the outcome we all desire.
Poppe's concerns are echoed by Wagenius's vice chair, Andrew Falk, in an article in today's Sauk Centre Herald. Now, Bluestem not only knows young Falk, but his father, Murdock-area farmer Jim Falk, so it's hard to imagine any of the Falks not standing up for farmers and rural Minnesota, much less engaging in "demonizing" farmers.
Representative Andrew Falk (DFL-Murdock) is the vice-chair of the House Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Finance committee. He has been an active farmer his whole life, and has served in the legislature since 2008.
"I really believe that Rep. Hamilton is trying to make hay with this simply because he's upset about no longer being chair of the Ag Finance committee," Falk stated.
Falk stressed two important points on the matter.
"First, Dennis Ozment, who retired in 2008, was chair of the former House Ag, Environment and Natural Resources committee in the 2005 and 2006 sessions. While I haven't served with him, I've since gotten to know him and think highly of him," Falk said. "This structure was not an issue while Republicans were in charge. This seems like petty partisanship to me.
From 2007 to 2010, agriculture finance was a part of the House Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Finance committee. Rep. Al Juhnke (DFL-Willmar) chaired that committee before he lost re-election in 2010.
Ozment, a fire captain, represented Rosemount and Dakota County, which, although part of the metro area, still includes farms, and parts of Goodhue and Washington Counties. The committee also had the same name for a stretch in the 1990s, when it was chaired by former St. Paul representative C.Thomas Osthoff.
Indeed, Osthoff chaired the committee at height of the "Hog Wars" in Renville County. While some tried to frame the controversy as simply city folks moving out to the country without anticipating the smell of manure, if we're honest about the fight, we'll recall that the citizens of Renville County ended up electing DFLer Gary Kubly in that fight, certainly no ally of "Big Pig" but no enemy of farmers, either.
And the Sauk Centre Herald article goes on, with Farmer and Representative Falk adding that he'd like to talk to you and Rep. Wagenius, who holds some farmland of her own, about your concerns:
"My point is that throughout the years, agriculture has been included with other committee focuses," Falk said. "I know Rep. Wagenius. She has a farm in Douglas County with 50 acres. Between the work of her and myself as vice-chair, we won't let agriculture be diminished."
And Falk's quite willing to work with you on preserving that funding from ethanol payments for rural projects:
When asked about Hamilton's concern about agriculture funding, Falk replied, "If he knows of specific bills being introduced that take funding away from ag and put it to other areas, I'd like to know about them. In terms of something like the expiring ethanol producer payments, I'd like to focus on gearing that funding towards next-generation renewable energy. I don't want us to get into these rural vs. metro fights, especially in the opening week of the session."
Bluestem looked up the funding you're concerned about, Representative Hamilton, and it looked like the enabling legislation funds rural development projects through five years.
Write More Pro-Rural Legislation, Fewer Partisan Letters
If someone drops a bill in the hopper proposing to change that, take Vice-Chair Falk up on that. You and the Caucus might have to forego setting up your 2014 campaign rhetoric to do this, but maybe really working for rural Minnesota, rather than a return to power on the part of your caucus, is more important--especially given the demographic loss of power for all of rural America, regardless of party.
You haven't introduced any bills yet, as far as your page and the revisor's office reveal. Those proposals for ag youth education from last session? The ones you didn't have a co-sponsor for? They're good ideas.
Maybe you should talk to the chair and the vice-chair of the committee whose structure and leadership you scorn and see if they'll co-sponsor them. Of course, FFA and 4-H don't have to be just rural organizations; indeed, engaging urban kids in agriculture education is the bee's knees, if you ask us.
But Bluestem might not be the ones to help you out with that, Representative Hamilton. Reach across the aisle and chambers to check out freshman Senator Foung Hawj, from St. Paul's East Side. He's on the right committees and prior to getting elected, he received an award from the USDA for efforts related to urban agriculture. You might have some common ground.
In short, write fewer letters and more legislation for farmers.
Sincerely,
Bluestem Prairie
P.S. Speaking of common ground, Representative Hamilton: please quit framing urban and rural as environmentalist versus farmer. We've been going to watershed meetings and listening to farmers talk about erosion and water quality. We're pretty sure we heard farmers in the Le Sueur River Watershed say that they'd rather see the soil staying on their creeksides than becoming sediment choking Lake Pepin. Dividing people upstream and down doesn't help anybody.
Graphic: A Rod Hamilton meme.
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Quist swept the district with 653 versus Parry's 465 votes, or 58.41 percent to 41.59 percent. Will the Republicans who supported Parry vote for Quist in the special election, or will there be lingering resentment? Would they form an important swing group?
Here's where the Parry Republicans live:
NORTH MANKATO
155
33%
ST PETER
93
20%
LAKE PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP
34
7%
CITY OF NICOLLET
26
6%
NEW SWEDEN TOWNSHIP
24
5%
MANKATO
23
5%
LIME TWP
16
3%
LAFAYETTE TOWNSHIP
12
3%
OSHAWA TOWNSHIP
11
2%
BELGRADE TOWNSHIP
9
2%
BERNADOTTE TOWNSHIP
9
2%
GRANBY TOWNSHIP
7
2%
KASOTA
7
2%
CITY OF LAFAYETTE
7
2%
BRIGHTON TOWNSHIP
5
1%
CITY OF COURTLAND
5
1%
COURTLAND TOWNSHIP
5
1%
TRAVERSE TOWNSHIP
5
1%
NICOLLET TOWNSHIP
4
1%
WEST NEWTON TOWNSHIP
4
1%
MANKATO TWP
2
0%
RIDGELY TOWNSHIP
2
0%
KASOTA TWP.
0
0%
Total
465
While one third of the Parry Republicans live in North Mankato, Quist still took all but one precinct (P4) in the town. Nor did he win a single precinct in St. Peter, although he took Nicollet and New Sweden Township. Despite the low vote totals, these towns might be the places that Independence Party candidate Tim Gieseke (and possibly even the right DFLer to be determined on Saturday) might peel off votes.
It's worth remembering, however, that since both Parry and Quist ran without party endorsement, neither was able to bring any party resource to the primary contest. In February's special election, both candidates will be able to access their respective party's tools and volunteers. Quist was thumped in the Congressional race, with Walz taking 62.76 percent of the vote versus Quist's 37.05 percent. The local Republicans did not field candidates in the state senate and house races.
Given the dominance of the DFL in the State Senate District--and the need for the Republican Party to fight to retain St. Cloud's House District 14A now that a conservative IP candidate has jumped in, odds grow longer for the Quist candidacy.
The special election in House District 19A was called following the resignation of Terry Morrow to take a job in Chicago. The Republican Party has endorsed Allen Quist; the IP, Tim Gieseke.
Four Democratic candidates (Robin Courrier, Clark Johnson, Karl H. Johnson and Tim Strand) will abide by the DFL endorsing convention's decision on Saturday, with the unsuccessful candidates suspending their campaigns since the convention is scheduled after today's deadline for withdrawing from the ballot. The DFL primary will take place on January 29 and the special election will be held on Tuesday, February 12, 2013.
Map: HD19A
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Bluestem was minding our own business, honoring our late friend Karl Bremer by reading public documents for a future post, when a tweet thread came to our attention.
There's a lot of that going around on the right side of Minnesota this January, though Bluestem's a bit baffled by this sort of behavior on the part of those who might have a greater chance of a political future than Mike Parry of Waseca County, whose heat in the state's political landscape cooled more quickly than a cheap chemical handwarmer during a severe cold warning.
Following his primary defeat, Parry told the Owatonna People's Press that he's considering running for office again, perhaps something statewide. No, really.
Photo: Via Facebook and twitter, MPR Political Reporter Tom Scheck shared this image from a GOP staffer's office.
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“I’m disenchanted by the Republican Party and not a big fan of the
Democratic Party,” McKee said. “They’re both driving off the cliff; it’s
just a matter of what speed.”
McKee says he’s “conservative by nature” and filed in part because
he’s concerned with President Barack Obama’s federal health care law,
which he calls a “power grab.” McKee said he would oppose state tax
increases and wants to decrease the number of state laws.
In
addition to being a small-business owner, McKee says he spent decades
working in the banking industry. He says that financial background would
serve him well in the Legislature.
Looks like McKee will pull votes from the Republican column, making the seat more competitive thanit might have been without his name on the ballot. Just ask Albert Lea-area Republican and former state representative Rich Murray how that works.
The special election for Minnesota House District 14A will take
Photo: No picture of McKee yet, but he lives in Waite Park, where even the water tower has a face.
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MPR and City Pages have published an excerpt of a fundraising email sent out from U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann on behalf of the Quist for House District 19A campaign committee. The email carries a "Paid for by Friends of Quist" disclaimer as a footer.
Bluestem posts the entire document below, although we retract the name of the recipient and the hot links to Quist's fundraising page. We're not volunteering for that task.
We're struck by the hyperpartisan tone, accusing Democrats of planning all sorts of horrible things that only the election of Allen Quist can prevent. Quist, on the other hand and other places, has been touting his mad bipartisan skillz.
From his January 4, 2013 press release announcing his bid for Republican endorsement in the February 12 special election to fill the vacancy created by Terry Morrow's resignation:
. . . Quist also said that his record of being bi-partisan is a significant
asset in promoting good government. “Good legislation is almost always
bipartisan,” he said. Quist was chief author of the bill that created
what was then called Minnesota’s Department of Jobs and Training. Quist
said he worked closely with then DFL Governor Rudy Perpich in drafting
and passing that bill. . . .
Bachmann, however, shares a more strident vision. Take the establishment of health insurance exchanges:
. . .The Star
Tribune reported Democrats are "rushing" to institute Obamacare health
exchanges.
As you can see, Republicans in St. Paul need Allen
Quist, and Allen Quist needs your help today to win this race . . .
What neither of these Republican retreads is sharing: the details about bipartisanship in the creation of the "health exchanges. The Star Tribune's Jennifer Brooks reported in Work begins on Minnesota health insurance exchange:
Minnesota is taking the first step toward sweeping changes in the way
more than a million of its residents and businesses buy health
insurance.
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers gathered at the
Capitol on Wednesday to introduce long-delayed legislation that will set
the groundwork for Minnesota's new health insurance exchanges. The
system, a cornerstone of the federal Affordable Care Act, will allow
consumers to shop online for their health coverage and choose the plans
with the best coverage at the best price. . . .
And one of the sponsors? Former ALEC Minnesota state co-chair, Preston Republican Greg Davids:
"When someone needs help, I would much rather be calling the area
code of 651 rather than the [Washington, D.C.,] area code of 202," said
Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, who is co-sponsoring the bill despite what
he said are "major concerns" about parts of the legislation.
Lawmakers will have less than three months to sign off on
the exchange before a March 31 federal deadline. The legislation
introduced Wednesday lays the groundwork for how the online health
insurance marketplace will operate. It will be governed by a
seven-member board that will decide which plans will be offered to the
public. Among the million-plus Minnesotans expected to use the exchange
are 300,000 who are now uninsured.
The bipartisan show of support is an abrupt shift from
the tensions that marked the health care debate last year. The
Republican-controlled Legislature refused to even bring a health
exchange bill up for debate. . . .
Rather, Davids and Jim Abeler might be able to help you out with HF5, the health insurance exchange bill.
Here's fundraising email:
From: Michele Bachmann [redacted] Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2013 11:31 AM To: [redacted] Subject: This email is about Minnesota
Dear [redacted],
It's
not every day we get a second chance to vote a conservative into
office. But that's exactly the chance we'll have on February 12th in
Minnesota. My dear friend Allen Quist has been endorsed by his neighbors
to run in a special election for the Minnesota House.
I'm asking you to support Allen Quist with a special contribution immediately
to help ensure a conservative victory- $10, $20, $35 or even $50 can do
amazing work in these special elections, and there is no time to spare.
Allen only has a few weeks to organize and win his campaign.
I
know in Minnesota-- the land of Mark Dayton and Al Franken-- Allen
Quist will be a necessary check on the balance of power in St. Paul.
With Democrats controlling the House, the Senate and the Governor's
office in Minnesota, good conservatives like you, me and Allen will need to stand together to end the tax-more and spend-more policies of the left.
Democrats
in St. Paul are already working on their agenda, the first week of
session revealed their priorities: -- New and unprecedented sales taxes
on clothing items -- Governor Dayton is planning higher taxes on
business owners to create a so-called "fairer" tax system -- The Star
Tribune reported Democrats are "rushing" to institute Obamacare health
exchanges.
As you can see, Republicans in St. Paul need Allen
Quist, and Allen Quist needs your help today to win this race. There is
literally no time to waste, we have less than a month to contact several
thousand voters and e can't do it without your immediate contribution of $10, $20, $35 or $50 to start their efforts.
Friend,
I want you to know that Allen and his family are personal friends of
mine, no one will represent our conservative values better than he will
in St. Paul. Will you help him today, right away, with $10, $20, $35 or a $50 donation to prepare him for victory?
Sincerely,
Michele Bachmann
P.S.
Democrats in St. Paul are already planning to issue new taxes on
essential needs (like clothing!) and businesses in Minnesota, and
install Obamacare health exchanges and regulations-- carte blanche!
Allen will be the best chance to stop taxes and regulations on
hard-working Minnesota families, , we need your help now more than ever.
Paid for by Friends of Quist PO Box 355, Mankato, MN 56002
Cartoon: Allen Quist, who believes the dinosaurs and people co-existed, flies back for a second chance at public office in 2013. Cartoon by Ken Avidor.
While we won't raise money for Allen Quist, Bluestem will accept any contribution you care to make below:
DFLer Joanne Dorsher and Republican Tama Theis have been endorsed by their parties; other Republicans who filed for office have withdrawn their candidacies for the open seat created by the resignation of Representative Steve Gottwalt. Gottwalt left office to become a lobbyist.
The special election will be held on February 12, 2013.
Independence Party in the Legislature: two (sort of) women senators, one representative
Since the Independence Party has not enjoyed success in electing candidates in open seats or defeating incumbents, it's still likely that a woman will be elected on February 12 to represent St. Cloud in the state House for the first time.
Sheila Kiscaden of Rochester switched to the Independence Party on July 9, 2002, after failing to keep the Republican Party endorsement. She was re-elected as an IP candidate that year but caucused with the GOP until asked to leave in 2004; Kiscaden caucused with the DFL in the second half of her term.
Sitting State Senator Martha Robertson of Minnetonka was not endorsed by the Republican district convention in 2002; she switched parties to run as Independence Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor in the 2002 election.
Once a DFL state representative, Bob Lessard ran for his last term as a small-"i" independent in 2000, but joined the IP on January 3, 2001 and didn't caucus with either party.
Image: Bluestem doubts that this mysterious Todd McKee isn't the actor who played Jake McClaine on the Bold and the Beautiful. On the other hand, this is Minnesota politics and stranger things have happened.
Baring a surprise today, the last day in which a candidate can file for office in the February 12 special elections, the field is set for the race to replace Representative Terry Morrow in Nicollet, Blue Earth and a tiny sliver of LeSueur County.
No word yet in print about whether veterans activist Jim Golgart will file to challenge Allen Quist for the Republican nomination, and Tim Gieseke is the only Independence Party show in town.
While the arcane rules of the local DFL will trigger a primary on January 29 with four Democrats on the ballot, all have promised to abide by Saturday's endorsement, suspend their campaigns, and support the endorsee if not chosen.
This may leave room for Republican shenanigans in Minnesota's open primary system and the historically low, low turnout in special election primaries; however, any one person in the strong field of DFL candidates would prove to be a strong alternative to conservative fringe candidate Allen Quist.
What are the strengths and potential weaknesses of each candidate in the three-party special election? From published accounts and Bluestem's sources on the ground, here's a rundown.
Robin Courrier
As the only woman in the race from any of the parties, Courrier would enjoy a clear distinction from the IP and GOP candidates if she gains the nominate. Given the persistance of Quist's decade's old crack to David Brauer about male leadership in marriage having a "genetic" determination, this is no small advantage, as it fosters resentment even within Quist's own party.
But Courrier's own record as lead teacher at Bridges elementary school and as a union leader suggest she'd more than hold her own whatever the gender mix might be in an election. For years, students at the unorthodox Bridges school have enjoyed high academic success and a reputation for good manners. Courrier's in-the-trenches experience could counter Quist's more abstract claims about education, and her work on negotiations would come in handy at the capitol.
Downside? Republicans might try to play the teacher union demon card.
Clark Johnson
Mutual friends speak highly of Johnson's kindly professorial manner, comparing it to Terry Morrow's appeal for GAC students. Johnson, a professor and advising program leader at Minnesota State--Mankato, brings a strong record of leadership in North Dakota and Minnesota ranging from working as a U.S. Senate aide, serving on local community action anti-poverty programs, and a prior run for office. A source tells Bluestem that Johnson also speaks fluent Spanish.
Downside? There's the wild card of whatever might be extracted from newspaper coverage of the 1984 bid. Although sometime ago, the currency of Quist's past statements from the 1980s would leave Clark Johnson's decades-old bid on the table--if there's anything to be found. Not likely to rival the absurdity of Quist's bookstore visit.
Karl Johnson
Said to be the choice of some established local DFL kingmakers--MSU-Mankato political science prof Joseph Kunkel is his committee chair-- Johnson is a longtime DFL member and former business owner, but most prominently, a pork producer. The same age as Allen Quist, Johnson has held state and national leadership roles in the pork producers associations and accompanied Governor Dayton on last year's trade mission to China.
In the legislature, Karl Johnson could diplomatically bop Republican rhetoric about imagined Democratic anti-farmer bias squarely in the snout, as he's been a hog farmer far longer than Rod Hamilton. And Johnson co-chaired the National Pork Producers committee to retain the mandatory pork-checkoff, one of the most contentious internal fights in agriculture in recent memory. This experience would help him survive the current environment at the legislature.
Disadvantage? Memories of that fight might alienate some voters, although they're unlikely to flee into the arms of Allen Quist or Tim Geiseke. More worrisome might be that Karl Johnson will simply blurs into a field of farmers, and the special election simply become a test of party GOTV apparatus.
Tim Strand
Strand is the popular mayor of St. Peter, elected by a two-to-one margin in his first election and unopposed in his second. As an incumbent, Strand enjoys name recognition where the other Democrats do not. Strand has been extremely active in speaking out for local government aid for rural cities,serving as board member for the League of Minnesota Cities, on the
Region 9 Development Commission and as president of the Coalition of
Greater Minnesota Cities in 2009. The new ulm Journal noted that he publicly sparred with Governor Pawlenty about LGA.
He's also the only DFL candidate to go on record saying that he'd vote for marriage equality if the question came to a vote in the Minnesota House; Bluestem is told that for many delegates, this would be a decisive factor. The St. Peter factor might also motivate GAC students to vote--an issue because college voters tend not to vote in legislative district elections.
Downside? Strand wasn't known as a Democrat even to his friends, and this may turn off some delegates.
Who will delegates pick? It's a strong field and any one of the four would serve the district well in St. Paul. A good problem to have.
After one week in office, Senator Vicki Jensen has crossed Minnesota Senate District to talk to constituents, met with the Highway 14 Partnership, and put in a cameo appearance on TPT.
fter a week in St. Paul, newly-elected state Sen. Vicki Jensen returned to District 24 to answer questions from constituents.
On Saturday, Jensen, DFL-Owatonna, talked issues with residents
at Out to Lunch (Waseca), The Kitchen (Owatonna) and The Coffee Shop
(Faribault). The meetings are part of the freshman senator’s “Second
Saturdays with the Senator” meet and greets. . . .
“We talked a lot about education,” Jensen said. “Everyone has
concerns. It affects everyone, even if you don’t have kids in schools. I
heard a lot of concerns about what is coming out of the tax bill.”
Read the whole article on the paper's webpage. Jensen will hang out and talk with her constituents every second Saturday, the OPP notes in Sen. Jensen invites public to monthly chats.
District 24 state Sen. Vicki Jensen, DFL-Owatonna, said the
completion of the roadway is her top priority. She will serve on the
Senate Transportation and Public Safety Committee.
“To bring people and keep people in Greater
Minnesota, we need to finish Highway 14 along the east and west
corridor,” Jensen said.
The paper noted that over 60 people attended the meeting today.
TPT Almanac's Mary LaHammer caught Jensen and other state legislators at the capitol last week. Watch Jensen's reaction to her first week here:
Photo: Senator Vicki Jensen, DFL-Owatonna.
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Bluestem had missed the announcement by DFL Senate District 14, but news has been posted on the committee's Facebook page that:
At a special mtg tonight, the central cmte gives Joanne Dorsher their endorsement, 100%!!! http://www.JoanneDorsher.com/
Dorsher will face Republican Tama Theis in the February 12 special election for the open seat in Minnesota House District 14A. The special election was called following the resignation of state representative Steve Gottwalt after he took at job as a lobbyist.
Sommerhauser noted on twitter that, barring another candidate filing before Tuesday's deadline, the Dorsher-Theis contest will mean that St. Cloud will be represented in the Minnesota House for the first time following the special election. Checking out the claim, we learned the fascinating biographies of the first women elected the Minnesota legislature in 1923. We'll be posting soon about the first four.
Photo: Dorsher and her supporters following the special endorsement meeting in St. Cloud, via DFL Senate District 14's Facebook page.
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All of the statements, opinions, and views expressed on this site by Sally Jo Sorensen are solely her own, save when she attributes them to other sources.
The opinions, statements, and views of contributing writers are their own.
Sorensen, editor and proprietor of Bluestem Prairie, serves clients in the business and nonprofit sectors. While progressive in outlook, she does not caucus with any political party.
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