At the Star Tribune, J. Patrick Coolican provides an overview and reaction to the release of a new state government integrity report from the Center for Public Integrity in Minnesota's state government, like most states, receives a near-failing grade from Center for Public Integrity.
For once, Minnesota's cultural inferiority complex, obsessed with listicles and defensive of apples and the beauty of remote counties, will likely take comfort in mediocrity. But an article in Monday's Mesabi Daily News underscores the problem.
Iconic Range editor Bill Hanna (that guy!) writes in Virginia wants outside lobbyist:
City officials are looking beyond their two major lobbyists in St. Paul — DFL state Rep. Jason Metsa and Sen. David Tomassoni — for more help to secure bonding money for the Miners Memorial Building renovation.
The Finance Committee last week approved a recommendation that Jerich & Associates of the Twin Cities be hired to lobby for the city, with the Miners project its major focus for the upcoming 2 1/2-month legislative session.
The City Council on Tuesday will consider that recommendation, which calls for Jerich & Associates to receive $36,000 for one year from Nov. 1, 2015-Oct. 31, 2016.
It’s very likely to be OK’d as the mayor and councilors gave it the favorable recommendation last week.
The Miners project is estimated to cost $12 million, with $4 million needed for the first stage.
Mike Jerich said Jerich & Associates will work year-round on Miners, along with other projects. . . .
But Jerich said the lobbying group will work year-round when there is no session to have fundraisers, strategic planning, and meetings with legislators on issues. Jerich said that would be important work to lay a foundation to secure funding for projects.
Lobbyists can't give campaign contributions during the session, but fortunately for those hoping to raise interest in their clients' bonding projects and policy changes via fundraisers have a somewhat bigger window to slither through, since the legislature gets a late start in March this coming year.
Bluestem chronicled one of those fundraisers in which the Jerichs were involved--for a pair of DFL state senators in With construction putting lobbyists in a pinch, senator offers to take bite out of their anxiety. Reader may remember that the senator in the headline is Scott Newman, who kindly thought ahead and asked lobbyists for their contributions up front. That would certainly spare the expense of throwing a party for him.
It's worth a side note to observe that the Jerich lobbying firm--one client for one project in the House and Senate district--will be paid more to pursue the bonding than the base pay ($31,000 and change) for either the elected House or Senate "lobbyist."
In a 2010 City Pages listicle of the 10 Most Influential Lobbyists in Minnesota, Matt Snyders called Ron Jerich "The Unholy Relic":
Ron Jerich is a jocular character, exceedingly charismatic and quick with a joke. But beneath the grandfatherly veneer, according to those who've dealt with him, is a hustler with savoir-faire, money, and connections to burn. In that sense, Jerich is a throwback to a different era. He personifies the influence-peddling backdoor dealer who roamed Capitol halls before a 1993 gift ban put a damper on their activities. . . .
Jerich's far-reaching clout is best illustrated by a 2002 scandal that he helped resolve. At the time, American Bankers Insurance Group was facing a $10 million fine for selling unlicensed insurance policies to about 200,000 Minnesotans. Looking to avoid what was then the state's largest-ever civilian penalty, American Bankers sought to implement a "political strategy," according to sworn testimony. Jerich recommended they get friendly with ranking officials, a political strategy that entailed getting rid of James Bernstein, commerce commissioner under then-Gov. Jesse Ventura. To that end, American Bankers cut a $10,000 check to the Tim Pawlenty for Governor campaign, which was illegal.
"It speaks to Jerich's reputation as a money man, a guy who'd take you over to the Blue Horse and pay for your martini and lunch," says a state investigator familiar with the case. "But since you can't do that anymore, Ron likes to pass the money around through committees and to his friends.
Jerich didn't return messages requesting an interview and was never accused of any legal wrongdoing associated with the case. Officers at American Bankers agreed to settle for $2 million.
"Pawlenty gave them a sweetheart settlement," says the investigator, "It was much, much less than anybody thought."
Jerich Associates also hired Majority Leader Tom Bakk's stepson (son of Tomassoni committee staffer Laura Bakk) just before the 2015 session. The stepson left the firm at the end of May/end of the session, but seems to have gone to work for the insurance division of one of Jerich's clients.
As for those "lobbyists" serving in the legislature that Hanna implies are ineffective, it's not for lacking of trying. Indeed, CPI investigator Katie Nelson writes in Minnesota gets D- grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation:
When Sen. David Tomassoni accepted a position with a local association of public schools in January, some of his colleagues questioned whether the move was appropriate.
The association lobbies on behalf of northern Minnesota schools located in the same district that Tomassoni represents at the legislature. But the Democratic senator denied that his $6,500 monthly salary posed a conflict of interest, saying he would not accept payment while the legislature was in session.
Some lawmakers didn’t agree. But the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, which is responsible for monitoring conflicts of interest, did. It determined that Tomassoni’s new position did not pose a conflict in and of itself, but that the senator should monitor issues as they arose to determine whether a given situation presented one.
The case revealed the overall weakness in how the legislature handles conflicts of interest, said David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University in St. Paul. Minnesota has no restrictions for outgoing public officials seeking private sector work, and 60 former lawmakers have taken lobbying positions since 2002, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
We believe that the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board does a very good job policing existing laws, especially when issues are brought to the staff's attention. However, the board doesn't write the laws it's charged to enforce (a point the report makes).
Coolican's article notes how minority leaders in the Minnesota Senate and House seized on the new report for partisan advantage. The Mesabi Daily News article illustrates why ordinary citizens might conclude that the process is rigged against policy changes and projects they desire--unless they have a little walking around money to grease the skids.
The fact that this is all legal is no comfort; rather, it's an invitation to cynicism and disengagement among the middle-aged--and if we're lucky, a signal flare for youth to organize and demand good government.
Photo: Ethics, Minnesota, a lost town somewhere down the road from Echo.
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