We were patiently researching independent expediture mailing by Republican operative Ben Golnik's MN Jobs Coalition and/or its political fund companion, the Minn Jobs Coalition Legislative Fund, when an email came in earlier today from the Jobs Now Coalition.
Seems that the JOBS NOW coalition gets the calls the very similarly-named (but much more recently created) MN Job Coalition does because it doesn't have a phone number on its website. Just google it, gentle readers, and you see why those citizens wishing to get off the newbies' mailing list might get confused.
In our search, MN Jobs Coalition is at the top, while JOBS NOW is second.
The executive director of the JOBS NOW Coalition sought our assistance out of genuine concern for the younger operation. Apparently, Job Now was fielding other inquiries as well:
JOBS NOW Coalition is getting more calls than ever this season from persons who are disgusted by MN Jobs Coalition mailings, ads etc. But we just got a call from the Albert Lea Tribune who asked for someone named Ethan because he placed an ad against Rep. Shannon Savick for publication tomorrow but the credit card used to pay for it was declined. . . . (JOBS NOW Coalition is 30 years old!) The confusion is made even worse lately because when someone tries to google the organization, JOBS NOW comes up prominently thus adding to the confusion. We publicize our phone number, their site has no phone number associated with them.
We're not sure if it's the same Ethan, but this might be the guy that the Albert Lea Tribune advertising department was looking for.
Knowing Bluestem's passion for documentation, she also sent along a voicemail of another call--from an irate voter in Shoreview who doesn't like the group's mailings. Other than muting the audio where the caller gives his address, we've not altered the recording in the YouTube below.
In the spirit of good will, we also share the phone number that's listed on the political fund's registration with the public disclosure board so people know who to call about mailings and payment for newspaper ads. It's at the end of this YouTube created using the Shoreview voter's voicemail:
Where's the MN Jobs Coalition located?
Bluestem had also noticed that the address for the political fund registration with the board was 91 Snelling Ave N Ste 120-A, St. Paul, while that on the group's website is 90 N. Snelling Avenue Suite 120 St. Paul, MN 55104[update: this information has been corrected since we posted].
Since we do want citizens to be able to contact the Minnesota Jobs Coalition, we asked a friend in St. Paul to discover if the two entities were indeed located at the addresses indicated.
Our scout learned that there is no 90 N. Snelling Avenue, but 91 N. Snelling (or 91 Snelling N if you will) is a firehouse converted to an office building:
Here's a photo of Suite 120 (the photographer couldn't find 120-A, but we imagine it's there somewhere:
We hope this information proves helpful to people who want to contact either manifestation of the Minnesota Jobs Coalition, especially that guy from Shoreview.
Photo: Minnesota Jobs Coalition director Chairman Ben Golnik.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
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Ben the Artful Dodger Golnik strikes again!
No phone number, no genuine address = no accountability. It's like magic!
Posted by: Phoenix Woman | Sep 30, 2014 at 07:38 PM
Editor's note: this is the phone number we provide in the video; it's unknown when it was added to Facebook. The P.O. Box number on the Facebook page is also different from the other addresses. Thanks for pointing out another place to look for those wishing to call the MN Jobs Coalition about their credit cards and mail pieces.
Comment:
Try (612) 492-1341. It was posted on their Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/MNJobsCoalition/info?ref=page_internal
If that does not work, you could try contacting John Roleau. https://twitter.com/John_Rouleau
I hope this is useful. Thanks for your reporting.
Posted by: D | Sep 30, 2014 at 10:44 PM