Former State Rep. Ron Erhardt has decided not to run for the 41A House seat he once occupied.
The district, which covers part of Edina, used to be an easy hold for Erhardt, who was a moderate Republican representative. But in 2008 he was turned out on his political ear for voting to overturn Tim Pawlenty's veto of the transportation bill, and ran as an independent against eventual Republican victor Keith Downey and DFLer Kevin Staunton.
This time around, there was some question as to whether Erhardt would run again, but this decision makes it a two-way race between Downey and Staunton, who's back for another go.
There's some reason for Staunton and his supporters to be hopeful as well. Edina has been turning blue rapidly over the past three election cycles, and Rep. Paul Rosenthal won in 2008 on his second try at the 41B seat. With a solid ground game and a clear message, 41A is a winnable seat, especially against an incumbent like Downey who, if reports from the district hold any truth, doesn't do much to appeal to moderate suburban voters (he won with just 36% in 2008).
As he filed for the race, DFLer Staunton released a statement:
"Ron [Erhardt] deserves our thanks for his 18 years of service. I look forward to continuing his legacy as Edina's next moderate voice in the state legislature."
...
"This campaign is about whether we are going to dismantle the Minnesota Miracle and give up on our future or take responsibility for making the tough decisions today that will bring the next generation of Edina and Minnesota citizens the quality of life we have been so fortunate to enjoy."
John Harrington, the previous St Paul police chief has filed to run as a Democrat for the east-side St Paul State Senate seat of the popular State Senator Mee Moua. Senator Mee Moua is not running again. In the backdrop of Polly's coffee shop, I interviewed John Harrington. While we spoke of many things, part of my job is bring out the essence of what I see in a potential candidate. I see in John these charateristics:
Caring for the community
Problem solving skills that target the roots of problems in practical ways
Eloquence in the ability to persuade
So if you can only watch one clip of this interview, check out this one on problem solving.
An interesting situation in Illinois makes for an appropriate news story to cover amidst all this debate about what Arizona's new immigration law does and does not require, and how it relates to the proposed immigration law in Minnesota.
The Minnesota version proposed Representatives Steve Drazkowski and Greg Davids, has been discussed throughout the state, and on this blog http://www.mnprogressiveprojec...
Eduardo Caraballo is an American citizen(being born in Puerto Rico makes you a US citizen, since, you know, Puetro Rico belongs to the US).
He was arrested last Friday outside of his family owned hair salon in connection to a car robbery that he says he is innocent of. When his bail was posted, he was not released to go home, rather he was released to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement because, they felt he might be in the US illegally.
Even after his mother brought his "papers" to show the immigration enforcement officials, it took them until Tuesday (amidst some calls from a Congressional office) to figure out his legal status as a natural born American citizen.
Something is broken, and we need federal comprehensive immigration reform to make our country a safe and livable place for all people wanting to live legally in our great country. So that we don't have situations like this one in Illinois, and reactionary laws proposed and/or passed in places like Minnesota and Arizona.
Mary Ellen Otremba has decided to retire rather than stand for reelection later this year, giving us a total of 14 State Representatives who are leaving open seats.
The Senate has some retiring leaders too, but let's be honest, the Senate really isn't a problem right now. The DFL has a huge majority, and could lose about 9 seats and still maintain that majority.
But the House is a different animal -- the DFL is close to a veto-proof majority right now, and probably will lose some seats regardless of retiree numbers. But how many?
As I am talking to folks across Ramsey county, I surprised to hear Republicans splitting themselves into two groups: Roosevelt Republicans vs Tea Party Republicans. The Roosevelt Republicans are Republican brand loyal from the days of President Roosevelt, yet they feel alienated from the current Republican party. Both groups are calling each other not-real Republicans.
Roosevelt Republicans like less taxes and yet are winning to raise taxes if the cause is worthy enough. Roosevelt Republicans like balanced budgets, government that actually works and would rather stay out of social issues.
Tea Party Republicans think think that taxes are forbidden unless one is building a stadium. They think that government should disappear except for enforcing social issues as long as the social issues are only considered from only their perspective.
The point here is that if someone gave the Roosevelt Republicans some visibility and if a leader appeared, then Republican party will probably go to full out war. Emmer is clearly a Tea Party candidate. Is the independent Tom Horner a candidate for the Roosevelt Republicans? Can Tom Horner be that leader?
The split is there. Can Democrats craft persuasions that will appeal to Roosevelt Republicans? Can we identify and track them? Here is an opportunity for better government in Minnesota, if we can find a way to build bridges to connect with Roosevelt Republicans to win elections.
As you know, Rep. Steve Drazkowski and Rep. Greg Davids recently proposed immigration legislation not unlike Arizona's new law. http://mnprogressiveproject.co... http://mnprogressiveproject.co... Minnesota does not have time to deal with Drazkowski and Davids. Yes, everyone is entitled to express their opinion freely, but it is our job to open those ideas up to criticism and dissent. So how can we prevent an Arizona-like immigration policy in Minnesota? By electing new representation. Steve Kemp is running for David's seat in House District 31B and NEEDS YOUR HELP!! Here is Kemp's comment on the immigration proposal:
Recently, Representatives Steve Drazkowski and Greg Davids introduced immigration legislation that Rep. Drazkowski admits is a waste of the legislature's time. This law would require more mandated work with little increased funding. It's a tragic continuation of Governor Pawlenty's "do more with less" philosophy long supported by Representatives Davids, Drazkowski, and Tom Emmer, a philosophy that has brought our state to the dire economic situation that it currently faces. It's a law that enforcement professionals in Minnesota have already said is not needed. Lets not add on to the burden of our local law enforcement departments that are already feeling the tight squeeze of our budget crisis. This proposed law would create a Minnesota where racial profiling is not only encouraged, but legally prescribed. This legislation provides a venue for anyone in the state to sue the government if they believe law enforcement is not making a "reasonable attempt to enforce" the proposed law, how do we measure that? We need to be focusing on our current problems, not creating more. We need to focus on our crumbling roads, our schools, and our budget crisis. Minnesota is not Arizona and that's a good thing. Let's not follow them down the same bumpy road, let's lead Minnesota down a different path, a path to financial soundness and economic prosperity, with safe roads and a good education. As for Arizona and its recent immigration law, let us Minnesotans remain colder in climate, not colder in heart.
Kemp is ready to tackle the tough issues in St. Paul. His dog Gus even thinks so (he has his own blog). Please consider supporting Steve by contributing to his campaign.
That poll we told you about yesterday has disappeared, replaced with more standard fare about how the evil liberals are going to tax your pets. Surprised?
Their online advocates were kind enough to respond, getting top billing on the party's website:
RACISTS!! You are all RACISTS! Oh, uh, except French people aren't a race....hmm, yeah, neither are Mexicans. You could pick a hundred other countries, a hundred other languages and make the same comparison. This was a light-hearted use of the Spanish language in a silly internet poll. These people aren't logical, they're nuts, moonbats all.
They can't argue the issue which is this: Should Arizonans continue to allow people to knowingly, willingly break the law or not? Or should Arizonans try to do something about it? It's as simple as that. That's the issue in Arizona.
Wrong once more, Sheila. That is most certainly not the issue in Arizona. Let's check in with Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.com, who outlines the major features of the odious new law and the problems inherent in polling on it:
_ Requires police officers to "make a reasonable attempt" to determine the immigration status of a person if there is a "reasonable suspicion" that he or she is an illegal immigrant. Race, color or national origin may not be the only things considered in implementation. Exceptions can be made if the attempt would hinder an investigation.
_ Allow lawsuits against local or state government agencies that have policies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws. Would impose daily civil fines of $1,000-$5,000. There is pending follow-up legislation to halve the minimum to $500.
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To their credit, Rasmussen later asked people whether they were concerned that "efforts to identify and deport illegal immigrants will also end up violating the civil rights of some U.S. citizens"; 58 percent said they were in fact somewhat or very concerned. But that finding did not get their lede, nor was that concern expressed relative to Arizona's law itself.
Those are the real issues in play here. Law enforcement officers aren't just empowered to inquire as to immigration status; they are required to do so if there is "reasonable suspicion" that the subject might be an undocumented immigrant. The rightful concern is that being brown in Arizona now constitutes "reasonable suspicion" and that law-abiding citizens will be required to carry identification papers with them everywhere they go to prove that they are not guilty of subverting the law.
I wonder if Eden Prairie's own Ms. Kihne carries her immigration papers with her everywhere she goes. If she doesn't have immigration papers, that might be a problem -- neither do thousands of Latino citizens in Arizona who could wrongfully be deported under this law. But then, Ms. Kihne isn't a Latina, so she probably doesn't have much to worry about, even if she travels to Arizona.
We'll leave out the enabling of lawsuits against municipalities who don't live up to this god-awful law's supporters' idea of what enforcing this law means.
Of course no good GOP scandal is complete without claims that it was all just a lighthearted joke that the liberals took way out of context, blah blah blah.
But if it was all just a joke, why was the poll yanked so quickly once it was publicized? And then changed, then manipulated, then pulled altogether and replaced with more neutral content? When does "bad sense of humor" graduate to "entirely inappropriate"?
The foreshadowings of troubles-to-come happen when I show up to my committee, candidate information, which this time has about 12 members. The normal numbers are about 4. The rules committee is bursting as well. The nominations committee is fine. Yet there are arrangements and credentials with only 2 or 3 people. I resolve to join credentials after my committee meeting.
I came prepared to my candidate informational committee with a proposal, with many questions so people could make choices and still could be time efficient. Since I was prepared and obviously willing do even more work, the committee made me the chair. Speed was not going to happen, for every candidate had representatives there. By keeping the questions focussed on the job not the candidate, we reached agreements. We even came up with standard set of oral questions, including a surprise scenario question that informed, impressed and entertained the 4th CD/Ramsey County audiences. By the time my committee had finished its first meeting, everyone else was gone.
Every committee had a ton of work, yet I think my committee mostly had fun. And we were successful. We successful even though one candidate choose to not turn in proper questions and answers, turning us into an excuse. When committees are successful, then volunteers come back. Those committees without enough members probably need process fixes and probably lack sufficient expertise. The low membership means more stress and workload,
There's more after the fold on the credentials woes of this last Ramsey county convention.
At the Ramsey county level, we have an endorsed candidate for sheriff, Matt Bostrom, and an endorsed candidate for county attorney, John Choi, who will work very closely together to provide world-class public safety and justice. Both the Sheriff's department and the County Attorney's office are actually high level management positions of hundreds of employees and huge multi-million dollar budgets. Both won awards for great management. John Choi has the Joseph I. Mulligan Jr. Distinguished Public Service Award. Matt Bostrom has the 2009 Preparedness Award by the Association of Minnesota Emergency Responders. Yet what really impresses me, is that both are well liked by employees, by associates and by even their bosses. St Paul Chief John Harrington has endorsed Matt Bostrom and Mayor Chris Coleman has endorsed John Choi. The wealth of endorsements is also a measure of their involvement with the community. Both have strong fiscal responsibility. Both are strong innovators. Both are known for economic justice. Both are known for defending civil rights under great pressure. Both are strong advocates for working with the community to solve problems. And they are also great campaigners and speakers as these videos from the endorsing convention show:
Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno Endorses Dave Pinto for Ramsey County Attorney
Dave Pinto has received the endorsement of former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. Pinto is a domestic violence prosecutor seeking DFL endorsement for Ramsey County Attorney in 2010. Former Attorney General Reno's full statement is below:
Dear DFL Activist:
I write to urge you to support Dave Pinto in his campaign for Ramsey County Attorney. I have known Dave for nearly ten years. I have been consistently impressed with his intellect, dedication to the profession of law, and commitment to public service.
Before serving as U.S. Attorney General, I served for twenty years as State Attorney for Miami-Dade County in Florida. In Florida, the State Attorney is the equivalent of the County Attorney in Minnesota. I know that it's a job where you have to make difficult decisions that balance public safety and individual rights. Hands-on experience, both in and out of the courtroom, is critical in building the judgment and credibility needed to make those hard decisions.
I believe Dave is uniquely qualified to serve your community as County Attorney. He has experience in government service, private practice, and the federal courts, as well as his hands-on experience as a prosecutor. He has consistently used his legal skills to serve the public. During his time in private practice he achieved an historic court ruling protecting the rights of GLBT high school students. He has fought to protect the voting rights of those in traditionally disenfranchised communities. As a domestic violence prosecutor in the County Attorney's office, he is in court every day working to protect families and break the cycle of violence.
Dave has a rare mix of management skills and experience in multiple areas of the law. He has the expertise, talent and temperament to be an extraordinary County Attorney. I am proud to support his candidacy.
Sincerely,
Janet Reno
Former U.S. Attorney General (1993-2001)
A Ramsey County native, Pinto is the only candidate with experience in any county attorney's office and the only candidate in court every day fighting crime. Visit his campaign website to learn more about his qualifications and the many community leaders and organizations supporting his candidacy.
John Choi, current Saint Paul City Attorney and candidate for Ramsey County Attorney has been endorsed by SEIU Minnesota State Council and the DFL Veterans Caucus. These endorsements are a testament to the momentum John has generated heading into the DFL endorsement process this Saturday.
John has also been endorsed by over 55 current and former elected officials in Ramsey County, elected county attorneys, past bar association presidents, AFSCME Council 5, Saint Paul Police Federation, Firefighters Local 21, Teamsters Local 120, Laborers Local 132 and the Minnesota Pipe Trades Association, Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation (AFL-CIO), Teamsters Joint Council 32 DRIVE, Stonewall DFL Caucus, and the Minnesota Nurses Association.
As Ramsey County Attorney, John's priorities include providing innovative and experienced leadership, holding offenders accountable, and preventing juvenile crime.
Please join us for a pre-convention party and rally on Thursday, April 15th, from 5:30-7:30pm at La Casita Restaurant, 1925 Perimeter Road in Roseville. The party and rally is being co-hosted by over 200 delegates and alternates to the Ramsey County Convention.
I have worked hard on John's campaign for over one year and I have gotten to know him well. There are few individuals I admire as much as I admire John. He is an inspiring leader in the criminal justice system and a good man.
In my interviews , I challenged people to show real examples of community policing working. Todd Axtell, who is one of the four candidates for the St Paul Police Chief, answered with "Breaking Free". Breaking Free is a way for people involved in the life of prostitution to get enough help to create a different life. Breaking Free was championed by Sergeant Vick, who died in the line of duty. After that, Todd Axtell then basically joined the board of Breaking Free. I visited the house where Breaking Free runs its program and I attended one of its graduations.
The first moment of revelation is that constant danger that surrounds these people. Indeed, that is why there are no group shots, even thought there were two rows of graduates from the program.
One of the issues never talked about is what happens to people who cannot get any public or private assistance, whose children are basically starving. And I ask myself what choices would I make if my children were starving. Well, the life of prostitution is a common answer for women and the opportunity is constantly offered in poorer neighborhoods.
Another revelation is how different the standard of justice is for the people who are providing services and those who paying for those services. Women and young people are basically the providers and get the worst treatment and penalties, while the men who pay for those services basically get a light penalty. This is perhaps the most unfair of treatments, yet there are no champions of fairness here.
For a runaway, it is very easy to get caught up in the life of prostitution. in this video interview, I have captured the story about how that happens. It is fascinating and illuminating. I wish every child knew this, so they could be protected by the knowledge. I strongly suspect that we will never tell our children because "running away" is not supposed to happen and "prostitution" is not supposed to exist. Prostitution and the clientele of prostitution are the ultimate invisible crimes, because we in society are so in denial that this even exists. Or maybe the invisibility is more on the female side of universe.
So it is rather with a sense of wonder that I pursued this story. It is the St Paul police who managed to see people involved in prostitution are real people deserving of courtesy and help. It is police officers like Sergeant Vick and now Commander Axtell, who speak for programs like Breaking Free. And indeed if you do watch this fascinating interview with Joy, the punchline is that an encounter with the police may the best chance of "breaking free" of a life in prostitution. So if you have the courage to learn about what we as society want to keep invisible, watch this video!
We, bloggers, like to joke about various politicians being MIA (missing in action) like Tim Pawlenty, where even his fellow Republicans say "Welcome back to Minnesota". Yet it is really surprising to have a politician who truly resigns to have time to run for another office. Today, John Choi resigned from being St Paul city attorney to have more time to run for Ramsey county attorney and take the burden of being accused of possible political motives away from the city attorney's office. In John Choi's resignation letter, John Choi said:
Good public leaders consistently do what is best for others and the public. This is my leadership moment and I am choosing to step aside and focus my attention on getting elected County Attorney and allow for new leadership in the City Attorney's Office.
FYI, I have endorsed John Choi for Ramsey County Attorney's race. And my regular readers do know that being supporter has not stopped me from a critic! Being actively involved in politics always gives me an inside track. Rarely do I see any lawyer or politician as well liked and respected in so many places, as John Choi, so I wonder how the corporate press will spin this story.
More analysis about John Choi's job as city attorney after the fold.
In the latest of many endorsements, the DFL Veterans Caucus has endorsed Matt Bostrom for Ramsey County Sheriff. Matt Bostrom also has the endorsements of 36 Ramsey County elected officials, 18 law enforcement endorsements, 6 labor endorsements as well as many individual endorsements. Matt Bostrom champions the St Paul Police style of community policing, where law enforcement works with the community to resolve community problems.
The Veterans caucus is particularly concerned with law enforcement because veterans can go into a mental health crisis from traumatic stress or simply encounter law enforcement because a higher proportion of veterans are homeless. So it is particularly important that all law enforcement, including Sheriffs' departments are trained in identification and handling of veterans.
"Matt Bostrom is committed to training line officers to recognize and identify someone who is experiencing a mental health crisis and ensuring that anyone who has served in the military is identified and connected with appropriate services" said Trista Matascastillo, military veteran and Chair of the DFL Veterans Caucus. "This includes mental and physical health services, shelter and chemical dependency services."
Many Minnesotan bloggers work hard and never ask for much in return. We'd like to start a new tradition, which is a poll about Minnesota's best bloggers!
If you'd like to stop by and vote, we're now taking votes over at the Roundtable:
We, bloggers, like to joke about various politicians being MIA (missing in action) like Tim Pawlenty, where even his fellow Republicans say "Welcome back to Minnesota". Yet it is really surprising to have a politician who truly resigns to have time to run for another office. Today, John Choi resigned from being St Paul city attorney to have more time to run for Ramsey county attorney and take the burden of being accused of possible political motives away from the city attorney's office. In John Choi's resignation letter, John Choi said:
In the latest of many endorsements, the DFL Veterans Caucus has endorsed Matt Bostrom for Ramsey County Sheriff. Matt Bostrom also has the endorsements of 36 Ramsey County elected officials, 18 law enforcement endorsements, 6 labor endorsements as well as many individual endorsements. Matt Bostrom champions the St Paul Police style of community policing, where law enforcement works with the community to resolve community problems.
