SOURCE: YAHOO NEWS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling out his wife, Maria Shriver, for apparently violating a state law he signed — holding her cell phone while driving.
The celebrity Web site TMZ.com posted two photographs Tuesday showing Shriver holding a phone to her ear while she's behind the wheel. It says one was snapped Sunday and the other in July.
The Web site later added a video it said was shot Tuesday in Brentwood, where the family lives. It shows Shriver holding a cell phone to her ear while driving a large SUV that appears to be a Cadillac Escalade. She then puts the phone down while the camera is rolling.
The first lady's office said it would have no comment.
On his Twitter feed, Schwarzenegger wrote to TMZ.com founder Harvey Levin: "Thanks for bringing her violations to my attention. There's going to be swift action."
Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear says that by "swift action," the governor means he'll ask his wife not to hold the phone while driving.
In a note accompanying the video, TMZ responded to Schwarzenegger's tweet by saying, "... your scofflaw wife was at it again."
A law that took effect in July 2008 requires California drivers to use a handsfree device when talking on cell phones.
Since then, the California Highway Patrol has issued more than 150,000 citations. That figure does not include citations issued by local police.
Drivers who are spotted by law enforcement officers holding a cell phone to their ear are subject to fines of at least $20 for the first ticket and $50 for subsequent tickets, plus additional fees.
In Los Angeles County, where Brentwood is located, the Superior Court has set the cost at about $93 for the first ticket and $201 for the next one, meaning Shriver would owe at least $300 in fines and court fees had she been caught by police.
Schwarzenegger has previously praised the regulation and said he warned his then-16-year-old daughter that if she ever violated the law, "she'll be taking the bus."
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Downtown St. Paul got only temporary boost from RNC
The benefits of the GOP convention to St. Paul's rental office market were transitory - more than offset by the unsteady economy.
By SUSAN FEYDER, Star Tribune
Last update: October 12, 2009
A report released Monday by St. Paul's Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) offers little evidence that hosting last year's Republican National Convention provided a boost to the city's office market.
"I think it was valuable to showcase the city," said Patricia Wolf, a St. Paul commercial real estate broker and BOMA board member. But she and other BOMA officials agree that, for the time being, the market collapse that coincided with the convention probably negated any opportunities to increase occupancy. About 51,000 square feet leased short-term by the RNC went back on the market shortly after the convention and has not been re-leased.
In its 2007 report, BOMA said it expected the September 2008 convention to be an opportunity for the city to establish a national and international reputation as a place to do business. "Making this kind of impression on business and community leaders could be a real boost to St. Paul and its office market," the report said.
St. Paul is hardly alone in its struggle with slack demand for office space. Office building owners here and nationwide are dealing with vacancy rates that are the highest in four years, according to Reis Inc., a New York-based real estate research firm. As of the third quarter, the office vacancy rate increased in 72 of 79 metropolitan areas tracked by Reis.
The BOMA report paints a picture of St. Paul basically holding its own in the difficult office market. The vacancy rate for downtown "competitive space" -- that not taken up by government use or building owners -- stood at 20.1 percent as of Aug. 1, slightly higher than last year's 19.6 percent. The vacancy rate for all types of office space held steady at 10 percent. After dropping for the past few years, the size of the downtown office market edged up to 17.15 million square feet, due to re-measurement of some buildings. Previous declines had come, in part, from some older office buildings being converted to other uses, such as housing.
BOMA also reported that rents for all types of competitive office space rose in the past year. That bucks the trend in the markets tracked by Reis, where rents fell in 68 of the 79 metro areas.
The BOMA figures offer a healthier picture of St. Paul's office market than those compiled by area commercial real estate firms, such as the Twin Cities office of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker. In a recent report, it said downtown St. Paul's vacancy rate at the end of the third quarter was 25 percent, compared with 18.1 percent for downtown Minneapolis and 19.6 percent for the Twin Cities overall.
The BOMA report notes some significant office deals in the past year that, in some cases, have brought new tenants to downtown St. Paul. Those include Microsoft Corp., which leased 12,000 square feet at Wells Fargo Place for its Expressions product development team, and GovDelivery Inc., which leased 14,447 square feet in the Hamm Building. Galtier Plaza is being renamed Cray Plaza as part of a deal by the Seattle-based supercomputer company to lease 51,000 square feet in the office building, relocating about 225 employees who have been housed in offices in Mendota Heights. Cray was lured, in part, by a $400,000 forgivable loan, approved in May by the City Council, acting as the Housing and Redevelopment Authority.
Those gains only partially offset more than 100,000 square feet vacated in U.S. Bank Center by Educational Credit Markets Corp., which moved from downtown to space in the Imation corporate campus in Oakdale.
Susan Feyder • 612-673-1723
By SUSAN FEYDER, Star Tribune
Last update: October 12, 2009
A report released Monday by St. Paul's Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) offers little evidence that hosting last year's Republican National Convention provided a boost to the city's office market.
"I think it was valuable to showcase the city," said Patricia Wolf, a St. Paul commercial real estate broker and BOMA board member. But she and other BOMA officials agree that, for the time being, the market collapse that coincided with the convention probably negated any opportunities to increase occupancy. About 51,000 square feet leased short-term by the RNC went back on the market shortly after the convention and has not been re-leased.
In its 2007 report, BOMA said it expected the September 2008 convention to be an opportunity for the city to establish a national and international reputation as a place to do business. "Making this kind of impression on business and community leaders could be a real boost to St. Paul and its office market," the report said.
St. Paul is hardly alone in its struggle with slack demand for office space. Office building owners here and nationwide are dealing with vacancy rates that are the highest in four years, according to Reis Inc., a New York-based real estate research firm. As of the third quarter, the office vacancy rate increased in 72 of 79 metropolitan areas tracked by Reis.
The BOMA report paints a picture of St. Paul basically holding its own in the difficult office market. The vacancy rate for downtown "competitive space" -- that not taken up by government use or building owners -- stood at 20.1 percent as of Aug. 1, slightly higher than last year's 19.6 percent. The vacancy rate for all types of office space held steady at 10 percent. After dropping for the past few years, the size of the downtown office market edged up to 17.15 million square feet, due to re-measurement of some buildings. Previous declines had come, in part, from some older office buildings being converted to other uses, such as housing.
BOMA also reported that rents for all types of competitive office space rose in the past year. That bucks the trend in the markets tracked by Reis, where rents fell in 68 of the 79 metro areas.
The BOMA figures offer a healthier picture of St. Paul's office market than those compiled by area commercial real estate firms, such as the Twin Cities office of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker. In a recent report, it said downtown St. Paul's vacancy rate at the end of the third quarter was 25 percent, compared with 18.1 percent for downtown Minneapolis and 19.6 percent for the Twin Cities overall.
The BOMA report notes some significant office deals in the past year that, in some cases, have brought new tenants to downtown St. Paul. Those include Microsoft Corp., which leased 12,000 square feet at Wells Fargo Place for its Expressions product development team, and GovDelivery Inc., which leased 14,447 square feet in the Hamm Building. Galtier Plaza is being renamed Cray Plaza as part of a deal by the Seattle-based supercomputer company to lease 51,000 square feet in the office building, relocating about 225 employees who have been housed in offices in Mendota Heights. Cray was lured, in part, by a $400,000 forgivable loan, approved in May by the City Council, acting as the Housing and Redevelopment Authority.
Those gains only partially offset more than 100,000 square feet vacated in U.S. Bank Center by Educational Credit Markets Corp., which moved from downtown to space in the Imation corporate campus in Oakdale.
Susan Feyder • 612-673-1723
Republican Snowe joins Democrats in backing centrist health care bill
SOURCE: STAR TRIBUNE
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press
Last update: October 13, 2009
WASHINGTON - With support from a lone Republican, a key Senate committee Tuesday approved a middle-of-the-road health care plan that moves President Barack Obama's goal of wider and affordable coverage a giant step closer to becoming law.
Maine Republican Olympia Snowe said she was laying aside misgivings for now and voting to advance the bill, a sweeping $829-billon, 10-year health care remake that would help most Americans get coverage without creating a new government insurance plan. "When history calls, history calls," said Snowe.
Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., called his bill "a commonsense, balanced solution." A distance runner, Baucus has endured months of marathon meetings to get this far. It's not the finish line.
Health care legislation is expected to be on the Senate floor the week after next, said a spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. But it won't be the Baucus bill. Reid will combine the Finance version with a more liberal proposal from the health committee — with unpredictable results.
The vote in the Finance Committee was 14-9, with Snowe joining all 13 Democrats in support. In a sign of long political battles ahead, every other Republican voted against it.
The ultimate fate of the legislation hinges on how lawmakers decide dozens of unresolved issues, from letting government sell insurance to abortion coverage. Even some senators who voted for the Baucus bill said they have concerns it will deliver on providing access to affordable coverage for all.
As Snowe made clear, "My vote today is my vote today. It doesn't forecast what my vote will be tomorrow."
The Baucus plan would, for the first time, require most Americans to purchase insurance and it also aims to hold down spiraling medical costs over the long term. Questions persist about whether it would truly provide access to affordable coverage, particularly for self employed people with solid middle class incomes.
The Finance Committee's top Republican, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, gave voice to the GOP's concerns about the bill, saying it was "moving on a slippery slope to more and more government control of health care."
"There's a lot in this bill that's just a consensus that needs to be done, but there are other provisions of this bill that raise a lot of questions," Grassley said, contending the legislation would mean higher costs for Americans.
The committee approval marked a personal victory for Baucus. Four other congressional committees finished their work before August, and for months all eyes had been on the Finance panel, whose moderate makeup most closely resembles the Senate as a whole.
Snowe kept Washington guessing about how she would vote until she announced it late in the debate Tuesday. Democrats, aware that Snowe could be the only Republican in Congress to vote for their health care overhaul, have spent months addressing her concerns about making coverage affordable and how to pay for it.
The committee's centrist legislation is also seen as the best building block for a compromise plan that could find favor on the Senate floor.
One of the biggest unanswered questions is whether the legislation would slow punishing increases in the nation's health care costs, particularly for the majority who now have coverage through employers. The insurance industry insists it would shift new costs onto those who have coverage.
Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf, under questioning by Republican senators, acknowledged that the bill's total impact on the nation's health care costs is still unknown. The CBO has been able to establish that the legislation would reduce federal government deficits, but Elmendorf said his staff has not had time to evaluate its effects on privately insured people. Government programs pay about half the nation's annual $2.5 trillion health care tab.
Once the Finance Committee has acted, the dealmaking can begin in earnest with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., working with White House staff, Baucus and others to blend the Finance bill with a more liberal version passed by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Baucus' bill includes consumer protections such as limits on copays and deductibles and relies on federal subsidies to help lower-income families purchase coverage.
Insurance companies would have to take all comers, and people could shop for insurance within new state marketplaces called exchanges.
Medicaid would be expanded, and though employers wouldn't be required to cover their workers, they'd have to pay a penalty for each employee who sought insurance with government subsidies. The bill is paid for by cuts to Medicare providers and new taxes on insurance companies and others.
Unlike the other health care bills in Congress, Baucus' would not allow the government to sell insurance in competition with private companies, a divisive element sought by liberals.
Last-minute changes made subsidies more generous and softened the penalties for those who don't comply with a proposed new mandate for everyone to buy insurance.
The latter change drew the ire of the health insurance industry, which said that without a strong and enforceable requirement, not enough people would get insured and premiums would jump for everyone else.
A major question mark for Reid's negotiations is whether he will include some version of a so-called public plan in the merged bill. Across the Capitol, House Democratic leaders are working to finalize their bill, which does contain a public plan, and floor action is expected in both chambers in coming weeks. If passed, the legislation would then go to a conference committee to reconcile differences.
___
Associated Press writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press
Last update: October 13, 2009
WASHINGTON - With support from a lone Republican, a key Senate committee Tuesday approved a middle-of-the-road health care plan that moves President Barack Obama's goal of wider and affordable coverage a giant step closer to becoming law.
Maine Republican Olympia Snowe said she was laying aside misgivings for now and voting to advance the bill, a sweeping $829-billon, 10-year health care remake that would help most Americans get coverage without creating a new government insurance plan. "When history calls, history calls," said Snowe.
Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., called his bill "a commonsense, balanced solution." A distance runner, Baucus has endured months of marathon meetings to get this far. It's not the finish line.
Health care legislation is expected to be on the Senate floor the week after next, said a spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. But it won't be the Baucus bill. Reid will combine the Finance version with a more liberal proposal from the health committee — with unpredictable results.
The vote in the Finance Committee was 14-9, with Snowe joining all 13 Democrats in support. In a sign of long political battles ahead, every other Republican voted against it.
The ultimate fate of the legislation hinges on how lawmakers decide dozens of unresolved issues, from letting government sell insurance to abortion coverage. Even some senators who voted for the Baucus bill said they have concerns it will deliver on providing access to affordable coverage for all.
As Snowe made clear, "My vote today is my vote today. It doesn't forecast what my vote will be tomorrow."
The Baucus plan would, for the first time, require most Americans to purchase insurance and it also aims to hold down spiraling medical costs over the long term. Questions persist about whether it would truly provide access to affordable coverage, particularly for self employed people with solid middle class incomes.
The Finance Committee's top Republican, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, gave voice to the GOP's concerns about the bill, saying it was "moving on a slippery slope to more and more government control of health care."
"There's a lot in this bill that's just a consensus that needs to be done, but there are other provisions of this bill that raise a lot of questions," Grassley said, contending the legislation would mean higher costs for Americans.
The committee approval marked a personal victory for Baucus. Four other congressional committees finished their work before August, and for months all eyes had been on the Finance panel, whose moderate makeup most closely resembles the Senate as a whole.
Snowe kept Washington guessing about how she would vote until she announced it late in the debate Tuesday. Democrats, aware that Snowe could be the only Republican in Congress to vote for their health care overhaul, have spent months addressing her concerns about making coverage affordable and how to pay for it.
The committee's centrist legislation is also seen as the best building block for a compromise plan that could find favor on the Senate floor.
One of the biggest unanswered questions is whether the legislation would slow punishing increases in the nation's health care costs, particularly for the majority who now have coverage through employers. The insurance industry insists it would shift new costs onto those who have coverage.
Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf, under questioning by Republican senators, acknowledged that the bill's total impact on the nation's health care costs is still unknown. The CBO has been able to establish that the legislation would reduce federal government deficits, but Elmendorf said his staff has not had time to evaluate its effects on privately insured people. Government programs pay about half the nation's annual $2.5 trillion health care tab.
Once the Finance Committee has acted, the dealmaking can begin in earnest with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., working with White House staff, Baucus and others to blend the Finance bill with a more liberal version passed by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Baucus' bill includes consumer protections such as limits on copays and deductibles and relies on federal subsidies to help lower-income families purchase coverage.
Insurance companies would have to take all comers, and people could shop for insurance within new state marketplaces called exchanges.
Medicaid would be expanded, and though employers wouldn't be required to cover their workers, they'd have to pay a penalty for each employee who sought insurance with government subsidies. The bill is paid for by cuts to Medicare providers and new taxes on insurance companies and others.
Unlike the other health care bills in Congress, Baucus' would not allow the government to sell insurance in competition with private companies, a divisive element sought by liberals.
Last-minute changes made subsidies more generous and softened the penalties for those who don't comply with a proposed new mandate for everyone to buy insurance.
The latter change drew the ire of the health insurance industry, which said that without a strong and enforceable requirement, not enough people would get insured and premiums would jump for everyone else.
A major question mark for Reid's negotiations is whether he will include some version of a so-called public plan in the merged bill. Across the Capitol, House Democratic leaders are working to finalize their bill, which does contain a public plan, and floor action is expected in both chambers in coming weeks. If passed, the legislation would then go to a conference committee to reconcile differences.
___
Associated Press writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Minnesota legislator enlists in National Guard
SOURCE: WINONA DAILY
ST. PAUL - Minnesota state Rep. John Lesch has signed up with the Minnesota National Guard to be an infantryman.
The St. Paul Democrat leaves Monday for Georgia's Fort Benning to begin his training, which will run for a few months. The fourth-term lawmaker isn't commenting on the move.
In 2006, Lesch gained attention for taking an unauthorized trip to Iraq.
Maj. Patricia Baker, a Guard spokeswoman, said Lesch will finish his training and return to Minnesota in time for the 2010 legislative session, which begins in February. She said the terms duration and other terms of Lesch's enlistment aren't public.
Baker said she's not aware of any other sitting legislators in Minnesota who are active Guard members.
ST. PAUL - Minnesota state Rep. John Lesch has signed up with the Minnesota National Guard to be an infantryman.
The St. Paul Democrat leaves Monday for Georgia's Fort Benning to begin his training, which will run for a few months. The fourth-term lawmaker isn't commenting on the move.
In 2006, Lesch gained attention for taking an unauthorized trip to Iraq.
Maj. Patricia Baker, a Guard spokeswoman, said Lesch will finish his training and return to Minnesota in time for the 2010 legislative session, which begins in February. She said the terms duration and other terms of Lesch's enlistment aren't public.
Baker said she's not aware of any other sitting legislators in Minnesota who are active Guard members.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Gaertner announces run for governor
The Ramsey County attorney, who had filed the necessary paperwork to run in 2007, casts herself as an outsider and vows to "radically transform the leadership culture."
By PAT DOYLE, Star Tribune
Last update: October 2, 2009
Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner made it official Thursday night, announcing that she is joining a crowded field of DFLers running for Minnesota governor and casting herself as an outsider offering a fresh start.
"I have not been at the Capitol; I am not part of that mess," she told reporters after addressing supporters in St. Paul.
In her speech to supporters, she vowed to "radically transform the leadership culture" at the State Capitol, to make tough decisions to improve health care and education and to reduce the burden on local property taxpayers.
Asked afterward how she would pay for those initiatives, Gaertner said, "We need to cut some spending, we need to redesign how we deliver government services and we need to raise more revenue."
She added that she'd consider raising income taxes on residents who earn more than $500,000 a year, echoing an idea suggested last month by House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, another DFLer, when she announced that she was running for governor.
"I think it would be irresponsible for any candidate to say that they wouldn't raise taxes," Gaertner said.
The state faces the potential for a multibillion-dollar long-term budget deficit.
In an apparent reference to a pledge not to raise taxes by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, she added, "That's what got us, to some extent, in this mess in the first place."
Pawlenty's decision not to run for reelection next year has set off a scramble among DFLers and Republicans alike to succeed him. Nearly two dozen have filed paperwork with the state allowing them to raise campaign funds.
Other DFL hopefuls include Sen. Tom Bakk, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, Rep. Tom Rukavina, Rep. Paul Thissen, Sen. John Marty and former Sen. Steve Kelley.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, both DFLers, also have indicated they may run.
Although Gaertner waited until now to announce formally, she filed papers in 2007 for a possible run, giving her an early start on fundraising. At the end of last year, she had reported a cash balance of $53,081.
Still, Bakk reported a cash balance at the end of last year of $131,742, and Thissen reported $84,743. Moreover, Dayton and Entenza, both wealthy, have the potential to spend far more money than other candidates in the race.
Gaertner said she would abide by the DFL endorsement.
This week, she received the endorsement of child safety advocate Patty Wetterling, who has twice run for Minnesota's Sixth District seat.
Potential Republican candidates include former state Auditor Pat Anderson, Rep. Tom Emmer, Sen. Michelle Fischbach, former Rep. Bill Haas, Sen. David Hann, Sen. Mike Jungbauer, Rep. Paul Kohls, House Minority Leader Marty Seifert and Minnesota Business Partnership executive director Charlie Weaver.
Pat Doyle • 651-222-1210
By PAT DOYLE, Star Tribune
Last update: October 2, 2009
Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner made it official Thursday night, announcing that she is joining a crowded field of DFLers running for Minnesota governor and casting herself as an outsider offering a fresh start.
"I have not been at the Capitol; I am not part of that mess," she told reporters after addressing supporters in St. Paul.
In her speech to supporters, she vowed to "radically transform the leadership culture" at the State Capitol, to make tough decisions to improve health care and education and to reduce the burden on local property taxpayers.
Asked afterward how she would pay for those initiatives, Gaertner said, "We need to cut some spending, we need to redesign how we deliver government services and we need to raise more revenue."
She added that she'd consider raising income taxes on residents who earn more than $500,000 a year, echoing an idea suggested last month by House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, another DFLer, when she announced that she was running for governor.
"I think it would be irresponsible for any candidate to say that they wouldn't raise taxes," Gaertner said.
The state faces the potential for a multibillion-dollar long-term budget deficit.
In an apparent reference to a pledge not to raise taxes by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, she added, "That's what got us, to some extent, in this mess in the first place."
Pawlenty's decision not to run for reelection next year has set off a scramble among DFLers and Republicans alike to succeed him. Nearly two dozen have filed paperwork with the state allowing them to raise campaign funds.
Other DFL hopefuls include Sen. Tom Bakk, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, Rep. Tom Rukavina, Rep. Paul Thissen, Sen. John Marty and former Sen. Steve Kelley.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, both DFLers, also have indicated they may run.
Although Gaertner waited until now to announce formally, she filed papers in 2007 for a possible run, giving her an early start on fundraising. At the end of last year, she had reported a cash balance of $53,081.
Still, Bakk reported a cash balance at the end of last year of $131,742, and Thissen reported $84,743. Moreover, Dayton and Entenza, both wealthy, have the potential to spend far more money than other candidates in the race.
Gaertner said she would abide by the DFL endorsement.
This week, she received the endorsement of child safety advocate Patty Wetterling, who has twice run for Minnesota's Sixth District seat.
Potential Republican candidates include former state Auditor Pat Anderson, Rep. Tom Emmer, Sen. Michelle Fischbach, former Rep. Bill Haas, Sen. David Hann, Sen. Mike Jungbauer, Rep. Paul Kohls, House Minority Leader Marty Seifert and Minnesota Business Partnership executive director Charlie Weaver.
Pat Doyle • 651-222-1210
GOP gubernatorial hopefuls out in force
In a vibrant and fast-paced debate Friday night, Republican candidates for governor told a packed crowd why they would make the best replacement for Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
By RACHEL STASSEN-BERGER, Star Tribune
Last update: October 3, 2009
In a vibrant and fast-paced debate Friday night, Republican candidates for governor told a packed crowd about their bedrock conservative principles and why they would make the best replacement for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
The candidates -- former state auditor Pat Anderson, environmentalist Leslie Davis, state Reps. Tom Emmer, Paul Kohls and Marty Seifert, state Sen. David Hann, Republican activist Phil Herwig and former state lawmaker Bill Haas -- emphatically agreed in answers to six dozen questions that government should be smaller, largely let people make their own decisions and should tax less.
State Sen. Michael Jungbauer was expected at the gathering but did not show, leaving his podium empty during the two-hour state Republican Party convention event.
The candidates got off some popular lines. Seifert concerning professional lobbyists: "Professionals built the Titanic and volunteers built the ark. I'll take the volunteers." Hann, concerning the root of his governing principles: "I'm a Christian." Herwig, regarding whether life begins at conception: "Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Think about it. Life was first."
Emmer drew applause from the audience by saying that photo identification should be required to vote, Kohls by saying that no public money should be spent on a new Vikings stadium and Hann by saying the state should end the ban on more nuclear power.
The event was a precursor to the convention's big draw today -- a nonbinding straw poll that could give candidates an early look at their support. The poll will give winners bragging rights, and could make losers question their continued candidacies.
After the forum, during which candidates were asked individual questions and had just one minute to respond, some delegates said that their straw-poll decisions were made more difficult.
Cindy Niesen of Minneapolis said that she came to the forum with Anderson as her personal favorite, but, "I have questions now."
Gregory O'Connor of Inver Grove Heights said that he hadn't picked a favorite: "It's a tough decision."
Pawlenty announced over the summer that he would not run for a third term.
Rachel Stassen-Berger • 651-292-0164
By RACHEL STASSEN-BERGER, Star Tribune
Last update: October 3, 2009
In a vibrant and fast-paced debate Friday night, Republican candidates for governor told a packed crowd about their bedrock conservative principles and why they would make the best replacement for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
The candidates -- former state auditor Pat Anderson, environmentalist Leslie Davis, state Reps. Tom Emmer, Paul Kohls and Marty Seifert, state Sen. David Hann, Republican activist Phil Herwig and former state lawmaker Bill Haas -- emphatically agreed in answers to six dozen questions that government should be smaller, largely let people make their own decisions and should tax less.
State Sen. Michael Jungbauer was expected at the gathering but did not show, leaving his podium empty during the two-hour state Republican Party convention event.
The candidates got off some popular lines. Seifert concerning professional lobbyists: "Professionals built the Titanic and volunteers built the ark. I'll take the volunteers." Hann, concerning the root of his governing principles: "I'm a Christian." Herwig, regarding whether life begins at conception: "Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Think about it. Life was first."
Emmer drew applause from the audience by saying that photo identification should be required to vote, Kohls by saying that no public money should be spent on a new Vikings stadium and Hann by saying the state should end the ban on more nuclear power.
The event was a precursor to the convention's big draw today -- a nonbinding straw poll that could give candidates an early look at their support. The poll will give winners bragging rights, and could make losers question their continued candidacies.
After the forum, during which candidates were asked individual questions and had just one minute to respond, some delegates said that their straw-poll decisions were made more difficult.
Cindy Niesen of Minneapolis said that she came to the forum with Anderson as her personal favorite, but, "I have questions now."
Gregory O'Connor of Inver Grove Heights said that he hadn't picked a favorite: "It's a tough decision."
Pawlenty announced over the summer that he would not run for a third term.
Rachel Stassen-Berger • 651-292-0164
Legislator ready to start run for 2020 -- Olympic Games
SOURCE: Minnepaolis Star Tribune
As soon as the news that Chicago would not host the Olympics in 2016 was announced Friday, Rep. Melissa Hortman was back in action.
Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, sent an e-mail Friday to Gov. Tim Pawlenty, asking that he form a task force to study a bid by the Twin Cities for the Olympics in 2020.
"I think we should look at it," said Hortman, a House assistant majority leader.
"It's the No. 1 marketing opportunity in the world."
Hortman has had her sights set on an Olympic bid by the Twin Cities since at least 2006, and was part of a group that met roughly for a year to study the possibility. But Hortman said the idea was shelved when Chicago's bid came to the forefront -- thinking that two major U.S. metropolitan areas competing for the same thing would be unwise politically.
Now, she said, it is time for the study group to reconvene. "We said we would get back together if Chicago wasn't picked," she said. "So, we will get back together."
MIKE KASZUBA
As soon as the news that Chicago would not host the Olympics in 2016 was announced Friday, Rep. Melissa Hortman was back in action.
Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, sent an e-mail Friday to Gov. Tim Pawlenty, asking that he form a task force to study a bid by the Twin Cities for the Olympics in 2020.
"I think we should look at it," said Hortman, a House assistant majority leader.
"It's the No. 1 marketing opportunity in the world."
Hortman has had her sights set on an Olympic bid by the Twin Cities since at least 2006, and was part of a group that met roughly for a year to study the possibility. But Hortman said the idea was shelved when Chicago's bid came to the forefront -- thinking that two major U.S. metropolitan areas competing for the same thing would be unwise politically.
Now, she said, it is time for the study group to reconvene. "We said we would get back together if Chicago wasn't picked," she said. "So, we will get back together."
MIKE KASZUBA
Seifert is top GOP pick for governor in straw poll
He won with 37 percent of the non-biding votes from party delegates and was followed by three others in a crowded field.
By RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER, Star Tribune
Last update: October 3, 2009
Minnesota Republicans were told Saturday that they are members of a brand-new party and that Rep. Marty Seifert is their early favorite to be the state's brand-new governor.
Seifert, of Marshall, who came into the race as a front-runner and has one of the most active campaigns, won 37 percent of the first-choice votes in a non-binding straw poll. Rep. Tom Emmer of Delano came in second, former state auditor Pat Anderson third and Sen. David Hann of Eden Prairie a close fourth.
The poll won't bind delegates in next year's endorsement fight, but it gave winners bragging rights and losers something to work on.
Several of the candidates who landed at the bottom said a low vote tally wouldn't sway them to leave the race. But it will make front-runners' lives a little easier.
Seifert said that donors and activists want to back a winner and that he has proved he can be that candidate. He said he's got a fundraising mailing almost all set to go out to 20,000 potential donors Tuesday -- and now he'll add in a prominent mention of his first-place straw-poll finish.
All the candidates had their chance to address the crowd at a forum Friday and in speeches Saturday. The list of contenders also includes environmentalist Leslie Davis, Rep. Paul Kohls of Victoria, Sen. Michael Jungbauer of East Bethel, Republican activist Phil Herwig and former state legislator Bill Haas. They were bested in the straw poll not just by Seifert, Emmer, Anderson and Hann, but also by votes for "none."
Delegates also heard from party officials about their party's new energy and new strategies to bring it back to power.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who appears to be gearing up for a 2012 race for president, is not running for a third term, and told GOP convention delegates it's time to pass the baton.
Pawlenty, who began by praising God, largely reprised the best lines from addresses he has given to Republicans across the country. He said the benefit of the "cash for clunkers" program is that "it's going to get many cars with Obama stickers off the road."
While the race for the 2010 governorship may not get thinner anytime soon, it may get fatter.
Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman chatted up convention-goers for a few hours and has said he would make a decision on the race in the spring. And Rep. Laura Brod, R-New Prague, has held back from entering the race for health reasons, but says she may jump in when she gets the all-clear. State Commissioner of Labor and Industry Steve Sviggum had also been considering a run.
Brian Sullivan, a gubernatorial candidate in 2002, said that he doesn't plan to get into the race.
Each received at least one vote in the poll, even though their names were not on the ballot.
Rachel E. Stassen-Berger • 651-292-0164
By RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER, Star Tribune
Last update: October 3, 2009
Minnesota Republicans were told Saturday that they are members of a brand-new party and that Rep. Marty Seifert is their early favorite to be the state's brand-new governor.
Seifert, of Marshall, who came into the race as a front-runner and has one of the most active campaigns, won 37 percent of the first-choice votes in a non-binding straw poll. Rep. Tom Emmer of Delano came in second, former state auditor Pat Anderson third and Sen. David Hann of Eden Prairie a close fourth.
The poll won't bind delegates in next year's endorsement fight, but it gave winners bragging rights and losers something to work on.
Several of the candidates who landed at the bottom said a low vote tally wouldn't sway them to leave the race. But it will make front-runners' lives a little easier.
Seifert said that donors and activists want to back a winner and that he has proved he can be that candidate. He said he's got a fundraising mailing almost all set to go out to 20,000 potential donors Tuesday -- and now he'll add in a prominent mention of his first-place straw-poll finish.
All the candidates had their chance to address the crowd at a forum Friday and in speeches Saturday. The list of contenders also includes environmentalist Leslie Davis, Rep. Paul Kohls of Victoria, Sen. Michael Jungbauer of East Bethel, Republican activist Phil Herwig and former state legislator Bill Haas. They were bested in the straw poll not just by Seifert, Emmer, Anderson and Hann, but also by votes for "none."
Delegates also heard from party officials about their party's new energy and new strategies to bring it back to power.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who appears to be gearing up for a 2012 race for president, is not running for a third term, and told GOP convention delegates it's time to pass the baton.
Pawlenty, who began by praising God, largely reprised the best lines from addresses he has given to Republicans across the country. He said the benefit of the "cash for clunkers" program is that "it's going to get many cars with Obama stickers off the road."
While the race for the 2010 governorship may not get thinner anytime soon, it may get fatter.
Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman chatted up convention-goers for a few hours and has said he would make a decision on the race in the spring. And Rep. Laura Brod, R-New Prague, has held back from entering the race for health reasons, but says she may jump in when she gets the all-clear. State Commissioner of Labor and Industry Steve Sviggum had also been considering a run.
Brian Sullivan, a gubernatorial candidate in 2002, said that he doesn't plan to get into the race.
Each received at least one vote in the poll, even though their names were not on the ballot.
Rachel E. Stassen-Berger • 651-292-0164
Two mayors test waters - and their friendship
R.T. Rybak and Chris Coleman are strongly hinting at rival bids for governor.
By RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER, Star Tribune
Last update: October 3, 2009
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman have been popping up all over the state lately, in places Twin Cities mayors don't usually frequent.
Both stopped by Kolacky Days in Montgomery to fete the prune-filled pastry. They were spotted at a recent Coon Rapids pig roast. Rybak has posted photos of himself standing next to a farmer in a Pope County cattle pasture and addressing a crowd in Austin on his Facebook page. Meanwhile, Coleman campaign signs -- with "for St. Paul" in small letters -- have turned up as far north as Duluth. DFL political activists from Pequot Lakes to Hutchinson report visits from each of them.
"I see them everywhere. When don't I see them?" said Marge Hoffa, DFL chair of the Third Congressional District, which spans the western suburbs.
The two mayors are blunt about what's behind their statewide sojourns -- they're both seriously considering a run for governor next year, even as they run for reelection as mayors this November.
If both jump into the governor's race, it would appear to mark the first time a Twin Cities mayor has faced direct political competition from the mayor across the river, and could test the notion that big-city politicians struggle once they move their shows statewide. No mayor from either city has gone on to become governor since Alexander Ramsey in 1860, who had earlier served a stint as St. Paul mayor.
A Rybak-Coleman contest for endorsement could also strain what has been one of the closest working relationships between St. Paul and Minneapolis mayors in recent memory.
Neither one is ready to formally declare a gubernatorial candidacy, nor do they deny the governor's office is in their sights.
Rivals in both parties have suggested it's time for the two to join the field of 11 DFL candidates who have already announced. Republicans have filed a complaint against Rybak and Coleman, accusing them of skirting state campaign finance law with what amounts to informal campaigning.
But Coleman and Rybak are sticking to their own timetables for now.
Coleman says he'll decide this month, so voters in St. Paul's mayoral contest this fall will know his intent. Rybak's announcement may not be quite that soon, but he said Minneapolis voters should know that he is "increasingly likely" to run for governor. An early supporter of candidate Barack Obama, Rybak says he has even told the president of his possible intentions.
Friends who may be rivals
Coleman and Rybak each claim the other as a friend. They've met socially on occasion as well as politically and say they'll maintain cordial relations even if they become competitors.
"We have a good relationship, and I think that's very important," Rybak said. "But I have a good relationship with most of the other mayors in the region and most of the other people in this race."
Said Coleman: "People are appreciative of the fact that the two cities, which have been at odds with each other more often than not, are actually getting along."
As they explore possible gubernatorial runs, the mayors have continued to work together. They recently co-authored a newspaper opinion piece about health care and they've collaborated on environmental concerns, economic issues and the Central Corridor light-rail line. Their partnership, in part, helped bring the Republican National Convention to Minnesota last year.
There's also a practical reason for them to handle things carefully.
"One of them is not going to be the nominee to be governor," said Blois Olson, a Democratic pundit and executive vice president at Tunheim Partners public affairs firm. Both could remain at their city's helm for the next four years.
No fighting -- yet
Politics watchers report that the mayors, along with myriad other DFL candidates, have remained civil on the stump.
"There's been no animosity, no fighting. They've just been standing on their own soap box," said Paul Wright, DFL chairman of the Seventh District in western Minnesota.
The formal DFL field is already flooded with candidates: House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, state Sens. Tom Bakk and John Marty; state Reps. Tom Rukavina and Paul Thissen, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner and former state legislators Matt Entenza and Steve Kelley. Registered lobbyist Peter Roess and frequent candidate Ole Savior have also filed campaign committees.
With so many candidates in the race, spending time attacking just one potential DFL opponent could be "very, very dumb" strategically and a waste of time, said former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer, who has encouraged Coleman to run.
But that could change should the two mayors end up competing for the same delegates, each trying to prove their city is better run.
Can they win outstate?
Could either DFL mayor from a liberal city win statewide?
"People who are not from a big city or the big cities are going to say, 'Well, is he going to understand my issues in Crookston?' I think it is a legitimate concern, and I think it has to be," said Latimer, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1986.
Twin Cities politicians have had mixed success recently in plying their wares outside their borders. As Hennepin County attorney, Amy Klobuchar trounced U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy in the 2006 U.S. Senate race, winning in a landslide against the Watertown Republican. Gov. Tim Pawlenty, with a home base in Eagan, won an election against a candidate from outstate Minnesota and one against a candidate from the suburbs. Norm Coleman, a former St. Paul mayor, lost to suburban mayor Jesse Ventura in the 1998 governor's race but won a U.S. Senate seat four years later -- only to lose it to Minneapolitan and Democrat Al Franken after last year's extended recount.
Bakk, a DFL candidate who said both mayors have been on the stump enough that they should file their candidacies, said the Democrats' real battle will be in the western and southern parts of the state.
DFL First District chair Lori Sellner, whose swing district comprises southern Minnesota, said her delegates will look for someone who understands the issues non-big-city residents face, but that doesn't preclude urban candidates.
"It is just one of many factors that delegates will look at it," Sellner said.
Don Bye, longtime DFL chair in the Eighth District that includes the DFL bedrock that is the Iron Range, said any metro DFL candidate simply has "more to prove" to outstate voters.
But, he said, "I think it is provable."
Rachel E. Stassen-Berger • 651-292-0164
By RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER, Star Tribune
Last update: October 3, 2009
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman have been popping up all over the state lately, in places Twin Cities mayors don't usually frequent.
Both stopped by Kolacky Days in Montgomery to fete the prune-filled pastry. They were spotted at a recent Coon Rapids pig roast. Rybak has posted photos of himself standing next to a farmer in a Pope County cattle pasture and addressing a crowd in Austin on his Facebook page. Meanwhile, Coleman campaign signs -- with "for St. Paul" in small letters -- have turned up as far north as Duluth. DFL political activists from Pequot Lakes to Hutchinson report visits from each of them.
"I see them everywhere. When don't I see them?" said Marge Hoffa, DFL chair of the Third Congressional District, which spans the western suburbs.
The two mayors are blunt about what's behind their statewide sojourns -- they're both seriously considering a run for governor next year, even as they run for reelection as mayors this November.
If both jump into the governor's race, it would appear to mark the first time a Twin Cities mayor has faced direct political competition from the mayor across the river, and could test the notion that big-city politicians struggle once they move their shows statewide. No mayor from either city has gone on to become governor since Alexander Ramsey in 1860, who had earlier served a stint as St. Paul mayor.
A Rybak-Coleman contest for endorsement could also strain what has been one of the closest working relationships between St. Paul and Minneapolis mayors in recent memory.
Neither one is ready to formally declare a gubernatorial candidacy, nor do they deny the governor's office is in their sights.
Rivals in both parties have suggested it's time for the two to join the field of 11 DFL candidates who have already announced. Republicans have filed a complaint against Rybak and Coleman, accusing them of skirting state campaign finance law with what amounts to informal campaigning.
But Coleman and Rybak are sticking to their own timetables for now.
Coleman says he'll decide this month, so voters in St. Paul's mayoral contest this fall will know his intent. Rybak's announcement may not be quite that soon, but he said Minneapolis voters should know that he is "increasingly likely" to run for governor. An early supporter of candidate Barack Obama, Rybak says he has even told the president of his possible intentions.
Friends who may be rivals
Coleman and Rybak each claim the other as a friend. They've met socially on occasion as well as politically and say they'll maintain cordial relations even if they become competitors.
"We have a good relationship, and I think that's very important," Rybak said. "But I have a good relationship with most of the other mayors in the region and most of the other people in this race."
Said Coleman: "People are appreciative of the fact that the two cities, which have been at odds with each other more often than not, are actually getting along."
As they explore possible gubernatorial runs, the mayors have continued to work together. They recently co-authored a newspaper opinion piece about health care and they've collaborated on environmental concerns, economic issues and the Central Corridor light-rail line. Their partnership, in part, helped bring the Republican National Convention to Minnesota last year.
There's also a practical reason for them to handle things carefully.
"One of them is not going to be the nominee to be governor," said Blois Olson, a Democratic pundit and executive vice president at Tunheim Partners public affairs firm. Both could remain at their city's helm for the next four years.
No fighting -- yet
Politics watchers report that the mayors, along with myriad other DFL candidates, have remained civil on the stump.
"There's been no animosity, no fighting. They've just been standing on their own soap box," said Paul Wright, DFL chairman of the Seventh District in western Minnesota.
The formal DFL field is already flooded with candidates: House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, state Sens. Tom Bakk and John Marty; state Reps. Tom Rukavina and Paul Thissen, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner and former state legislators Matt Entenza and Steve Kelley. Registered lobbyist Peter Roess and frequent candidate Ole Savior have also filed campaign committees.
With so many candidates in the race, spending time attacking just one potential DFL opponent could be "very, very dumb" strategically and a waste of time, said former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer, who has encouraged Coleman to run.
But that could change should the two mayors end up competing for the same delegates, each trying to prove their city is better run.
Can they win outstate?
Could either DFL mayor from a liberal city win statewide?
"People who are not from a big city or the big cities are going to say, 'Well, is he going to understand my issues in Crookston?' I think it is a legitimate concern, and I think it has to be," said Latimer, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1986.
Twin Cities politicians have had mixed success recently in plying their wares outside their borders. As Hennepin County attorney, Amy Klobuchar trounced U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy in the 2006 U.S. Senate race, winning in a landslide against the Watertown Republican. Gov. Tim Pawlenty, with a home base in Eagan, won an election against a candidate from outstate Minnesota and one against a candidate from the suburbs. Norm Coleman, a former St. Paul mayor, lost to suburban mayor Jesse Ventura in the 1998 governor's race but won a U.S. Senate seat four years later -- only to lose it to Minneapolitan and Democrat Al Franken after last year's extended recount.
Bakk, a DFL candidate who said both mayors have been on the stump enough that they should file their candidacies, said the Democrats' real battle will be in the western and southern parts of the state.
DFL First District chair Lori Sellner, whose swing district comprises southern Minnesota, said her delegates will look for someone who understands the issues non-big-city residents face, but that doesn't preclude urban candidates.
"It is just one of many factors that delegates will look at it," Sellner said.
Don Bye, longtime DFL chair in the Eighth District that includes the DFL bedrock that is the Iron Range, said any metro DFL candidate simply has "more to prove" to outstate voters.
But, he said, "I think it is provable."
Rachel E. Stassen-Berger • 651-292-0164
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Pawlenty preps 2012 campaign team
Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press
By: Jonathan Martin POLITICO
Updated: 10/01/2009
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been quietly assembling the blueprint of a presidential campaign and will announce Thursday the support of a group of high-level political strategists and donors, complemented by a handful of top new media consultants, POLITICO has learned.
Pawlenty, under the radar of D.C.'s political community, has locked up some of the key operatives who engineered then-President George W. Bush's reelection campaign — a significant feat for a little-known Midwestern politician.
The moves underscore, and will lend credence to, the emerging belief among many establishment Republicans that Pawlenty is becoming the sole viable alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a potential Republican primary rival. The Minnesota governor has even gone so far as to contact some of Romney's former supporters.
Pawlenty, who previously has had little political infrastructure, is now being advised by a trio of GOP consultants with presidential experience: Terry Nelson, Sara Taylor and Phil Musser.
And in formally opening his political action committee, Freedom First, Thursday, Pawlenty will also announce two co-chairmen, William Strong, a Morgan Stanley vice chairman, and former Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.), both of whom are heavyweight GOP figures, along with a list of prominent Minnesota donors.
In addition to a high-dollar gala launch for the PAC in Minneapolis in November, Pawlenty is planning a Washington fundraiser for late October designed to acquaint the governor with the Beltway's most influential Republicans. Helping to coordinate the governor's GOP outreach in the nation's capital is Sam Geduldig, a well-connected lobbyist and former senior aide to Reps. John Boehner and Roy Blunt.
Serving as the PAC's counsel is Michael Toner, a veteran campaign lawyer in Washington. Alex Conant, a native Minnesotan and former Republican National Committee spokesman, will serve as communications director.
The governor has also inked political technology consultants Patrick Ruffini, Mindy Finn, Patrick Hynes and Liz Mair to develop what Pawlenty advisers hope will be the most sophisticated new-media presence of any Republican in the nation. Pawlenty launches a new website, www.timpawlenty.com, Thursday.
The second-term Minnesota governor, who is not seeking reelection next year, is focused on twin political goals, his advisers say: helping elect two Republican governors this fall from his perch as Republican Governors Association vice chairman and using his PAC to aid like-minded candidates running in next year's midterm elections.
But Pawlenty is doing far more than that to establish his presence in the minds of Republican voters.
He is also traveling the country at a fevered clip, appearing at scores of GOP and conservative events to speak to the party faithful, and becoming a frequent national TV presence, especially on cable television, where he's able to offer sharp critiques of President Barack Obama's latest moves.
And behind the scenes, he's engaged in a far more subtle campaign against another possible presidential rival.
Pawlenty has been phoning aides and advisers to Romney's 2008 campaign, ostensibly to introduce himself and solicit their advice.
One midlevel Romney aide who got a call suggested the Minnesotan was targeting younger operatives who may be open to another candidate in 2012 should the former Massachusetts governor stock the senior levels of his next potential run with the same cast as last time.
Pawlenty also recently reached out to another well-known Romney supporter from a key early-primary state, asking questions about the state's political dynamics.
"Not a lot of people outside of Minnesota know Gov. Pawlenty very well, and as he tries to help Republicans around the country, it makes sense for him to reach out to a lot of people," said Conant, when asked about the forward-leaning tactics. "As he puts together a team to run the PAC with a focus on 2010, he wants the best people available."
But such conversations have another effect, as Pawlenty and his team are well aware — they serve notice to the small community of political insiders that the governor is serious about a White House run.
The same can be said about the selection of Weber as co-chairman of his PAC. The former Minnesota congressman-turned-GOP lobbyist and strategist was an early backer of Romney's primary run, serving as campaign policy chairman and a close adviser.
"I'm a free agent," Weber said when asked about his 2012 loyalties, noting he had told senior Romney officials about his decision to help lead Pawlenty's PAC. He was emphatic that his efforts for Pawlenty are about 2010 — "doing something positive for the Republican Party" — and not the next presidential race.
Pawlenty is holding one-on-one meetings with Republicans nearly everywhere he goes and is going to some lengths to make sure his message is correctly calibrated. Before the recent Family Research Council's Value Voters Summit, for example, he held a conference call with a team of advisers, including pollster Tony Fabrizio and longtime conservative strategist Greg Mueller, to help shape his speech and general approach at an event where he got rave reviews and finished a surprising third in the straw poll.
Further, Pawlenty has used public appearances and op-eds to criticize the health care plan Romney put in place in Massachusetts.
Taken together, Pawlenty's efforts reflect a Republican trying to carve out a niche for himself in the very early 2012 jockeying. Before anyone else enters the arena, he's seeking to win over Republicans who are reluctant, or downright unwilling, to embrace Romney and who think that other potential candidates — notably former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Alaska Gov. and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin — are nonstarters in a general election.
"Who else is a credible alternative that's going to have a national campaign infrastructure?" asked one Republican operative, listing only Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) as another potential entrant, before noting that the senator has done little to suggest he's interested in challenging Obama.
"There are basically two guys who are electable conservatives," said another plugged-in Republican, assessing a field that right now seems notably thin.
Yet Pawlenty lacks a few important strengths that some of his possible opponents enjoy. He doesn't have the ability to finance his own campaign as Romney does, nor does he maintain anything close to the former presidential hopeful's donor and grass-roots base. He lacks Huckabee's natural hold on social conservatives. And he's never going to enjoy a fervent following like the one Palin can point to.
It's also not entirely clear what Pawlenty's signature issues will be, since there is no overarching accomplishment in St. Paul that he could clearly run on.
Pawlenty's early maneuvering, however, could address one of the political class's early raps against him: that, while he may be a young and appealing conservative from a blue state, he lacks the organization or capacity to raise the kind of money needed to win the presidential nomination.
Nelson initially ran Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in 2007 and was the national political director on the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign in 2004. Taylor was also a senior official on the Bush campaign and did a stint as White House political director at the start of his second term. Musser ran the Republican Governors Association in 2006 and advised Romney at the outset of his 2008 White House run. Fabrizio and Mueller have also worked on GOP presidential campaigns.
Strong was a Ranger, or top Bush fundraising bundler, in 2004 and for McCain. He's joined by a group of Minnesotans, including former Target CEO Bob Ulrich, GOP strategist Jeff Larson and TCF Financial Corp. CEO Bill Cooper.
Pawlenty's team also includes a number of operatives who worked for different candidates in the last GOP primary. On the Web team alone are individuals from the campaigns of McCain, Romney and Rudy Giuliani.
A group of Pawlenty loyalists in Minnesota, Trisha Hamm, Annie Kelly and Don Stiles, will help run the business side of the St. Paul-based PAC.
By: Jonathan Martin POLITICO
Updated: 10/01/2009
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been quietly assembling the blueprint of a presidential campaign and will announce Thursday the support of a group of high-level political strategists and donors, complemented by a handful of top new media consultants, POLITICO has learned.
Pawlenty, under the radar of D.C.'s political community, has locked up some of the key operatives who engineered then-President George W. Bush's reelection campaign — a significant feat for a little-known Midwestern politician.
The moves underscore, and will lend credence to, the emerging belief among many establishment Republicans that Pawlenty is becoming the sole viable alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a potential Republican primary rival. The Minnesota governor has even gone so far as to contact some of Romney's former supporters.
Pawlenty, who previously has had little political infrastructure, is now being advised by a trio of GOP consultants with presidential experience: Terry Nelson, Sara Taylor and Phil Musser.
And in formally opening his political action committee, Freedom First, Thursday, Pawlenty will also announce two co-chairmen, William Strong, a Morgan Stanley vice chairman, and former Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.), both of whom are heavyweight GOP figures, along with a list of prominent Minnesota donors.
In addition to a high-dollar gala launch for the PAC in Minneapolis in November, Pawlenty is planning a Washington fundraiser for late October designed to acquaint the governor with the Beltway's most influential Republicans. Helping to coordinate the governor's GOP outreach in the nation's capital is Sam Geduldig, a well-connected lobbyist and former senior aide to Reps. John Boehner and Roy Blunt.
Serving as the PAC's counsel is Michael Toner, a veteran campaign lawyer in Washington. Alex Conant, a native Minnesotan and former Republican National Committee spokesman, will serve as communications director.
The governor has also inked political technology consultants Patrick Ruffini, Mindy Finn, Patrick Hynes and Liz Mair to develop what Pawlenty advisers hope will be the most sophisticated new-media presence of any Republican in the nation. Pawlenty launches a new website, www.timpawlenty.com, Thursday.
The second-term Minnesota governor, who is not seeking reelection next year, is focused on twin political goals, his advisers say: helping elect two Republican governors this fall from his perch as Republican Governors Association vice chairman and using his PAC to aid like-minded candidates running in next year's midterm elections.
But Pawlenty is doing far more than that to establish his presence in the minds of Republican voters.
He is also traveling the country at a fevered clip, appearing at scores of GOP and conservative events to speak to the party faithful, and becoming a frequent national TV presence, especially on cable television, where he's able to offer sharp critiques of President Barack Obama's latest moves.
And behind the scenes, he's engaged in a far more subtle campaign against another possible presidential rival.
Pawlenty has been phoning aides and advisers to Romney's 2008 campaign, ostensibly to introduce himself and solicit their advice.
One midlevel Romney aide who got a call suggested the Minnesotan was targeting younger operatives who may be open to another candidate in 2012 should the former Massachusetts governor stock the senior levels of his next potential run with the same cast as last time.
Pawlenty also recently reached out to another well-known Romney supporter from a key early-primary state, asking questions about the state's political dynamics.
"Not a lot of people outside of Minnesota know Gov. Pawlenty very well, and as he tries to help Republicans around the country, it makes sense for him to reach out to a lot of people," said Conant, when asked about the forward-leaning tactics. "As he puts together a team to run the PAC with a focus on 2010, he wants the best people available."
But such conversations have another effect, as Pawlenty and his team are well aware — they serve notice to the small community of political insiders that the governor is serious about a White House run.
The same can be said about the selection of Weber as co-chairman of his PAC. The former Minnesota congressman-turned-GOP lobbyist and strategist was an early backer of Romney's primary run, serving as campaign policy chairman and a close adviser.
"I'm a free agent," Weber said when asked about his 2012 loyalties, noting he had told senior Romney officials about his decision to help lead Pawlenty's PAC. He was emphatic that his efforts for Pawlenty are about 2010 — "doing something positive for the Republican Party" — and not the next presidential race.
Pawlenty is holding one-on-one meetings with Republicans nearly everywhere he goes and is going to some lengths to make sure his message is correctly calibrated. Before the recent Family Research Council's Value Voters Summit, for example, he held a conference call with a team of advisers, including pollster Tony Fabrizio and longtime conservative strategist Greg Mueller, to help shape his speech and general approach at an event where he got rave reviews and finished a surprising third in the straw poll.
Further, Pawlenty has used public appearances and op-eds to criticize the health care plan Romney put in place in Massachusetts.
Taken together, Pawlenty's efforts reflect a Republican trying to carve out a niche for himself in the very early 2012 jockeying. Before anyone else enters the arena, he's seeking to win over Republicans who are reluctant, or downright unwilling, to embrace Romney and who think that other potential candidates — notably former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Alaska Gov. and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin — are nonstarters in a general election.
"Who else is a credible alternative that's going to have a national campaign infrastructure?" asked one Republican operative, listing only Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) as another potential entrant, before noting that the senator has done little to suggest he's interested in challenging Obama.
"There are basically two guys who are electable conservatives," said another plugged-in Republican, assessing a field that right now seems notably thin.
Yet Pawlenty lacks a few important strengths that some of his possible opponents enjoy. He doesn't have the ability to finance his own campaign as Romney does, nor does he maintain anything close to the former presidential hopeful's donor and grass-roots base. He lacks Huckabee's natural hold on social conservatives. And he's never going to enjoy a fervent following like the one Palin can point to.
It's also not entirely clear what Pawlenty's signature issues will be, since there is no overarching accomplishment in St. Paul that he could clearly run on.
Pawlenty's early maneuvering, however, could address one of the political class's early raps against him: that, while he may be a young and appealing conservative from a blue state, he lacks the organization or capacity to raise the kind of money needed to win the presidential nomination.
Nelson initially ran Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in 2007 and was the national political director on the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign in 2004. Taylor was also a senior official on the Bush campaign and did a stint as White House political director at the start of his second term. Musser ran the Republican Governors Association in 2006 and advised Romney at the outset of his 2008 White House run. Fabrizio and Mueller have also worked on GOP presidential campaigns.
Strong was a Ranger, or top Bush fundraising bundler, in 2004 and for McCain. He's joined by a group of Minnesotans, including former Target CEO Bob Ulrich, GOP strategist Jeff Larson and TCF Financial Corp. CEO Bill Cooper.
Pawlenty's team also includes a number of operatives who worked for different candidates in the last GOP primary. On the Web team alone are individuals from the campaigns of McCain, Romney and Rudy Giuliani.
A group of Pawlenty loyalists in Minnesota, Trisha Hamm, Annie Kelly and Don Stiles, will help run the business side of the St. Paul-based PAC.
Pawlenty takes big steps today toward a campaign for president
In another sign he is mulling a presidential candidacy, Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s new PAC is set up and it's already attracting some heavy-hitting advisers and contributors.
By BOB VON STERNBERG and RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER, Star Tribune staff writers
Last update: October 1, 2009
The Pawlenty presidential buzz is kicking into higher gear.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty filed paperwork today with federal regulators to form the Freedom First PAC, a national fundraising committee he can use to aid GOP candidates in upcoming elections.
Simultaneously, he was featured -- with a photo -- at the top of the Drudge Report this morning with a headline asking, "CAN THIS MAN CONQUER OBAMA?"
The headline linked to a Politico.com story that reported Pawlenty "has been quietly assembling the blueprint of a presidential campaign" even as he has stayed "under the radar of D.C.'s political community"
In recent years, presidential candidates have started fundraising committees, such as Pawlenty has now done, to raise their profiles ahead of a White House run.
Since announcing this summer that he wouldn't seek a third term as governor, Pawlenty has incessantly stumped across the country at Republican events, insisting that he hasn't decided whether he'll mount a presidential run in 2012.
Pawlenty introduced himself in a video message on a new website -- www.timpawlenty.com -- that went live today. He also embraced his informal nickname in a brief biography, referring to himself as "TPaw."
"This is an important time in America," he says in the video. "The stakes are high and standing on the sidelines isn't an option. I'm making a commitment to you to fight for our principles. I'm asking for your support and I want to hear your voice."
The political action committee will allow Pawlenty to collect large donations, seed other Republicans' campaigns and fund his own travel and staff as he explores a possible 2012 run for president.
Along with creating his PAC, Pawlenty announced that he has enlisted a team of political consultants considered heavyweights in presidential politics.
The committee's co-chairs and announced staff show that Pawlenty isn't taking possibility lightly. It will be chaired by William H. Strong, vice chairman of Morgan Stanley, and. Vin Weber, a former Minnesota congressman turned Republican lobbying powerhouse. The PAC's advisers include Sara Taylor, a former White House political director, Phil Musser, a former executive director of the Republican Governors Association and Terry Nelson, a 2003 Bush-Cheney political director.
Michael Toner, a former Federal Election Commission chairman, will act as the organization's legal counsel.
The Democratic National Committee lambasted Pawlenty's moves as "back to the future."
"Recycling advisers from George W. Bush and relying on Washington insiders and lobbyists has to be utterly disappointing for those who thought Tim Pawlenty would bring a fresh approach to the Republican Party," the Democrats said in a news release.
According to the Politico story, "the moves underscore, and will lend credence to, the emerging belief among many establishment Republicans that Pawlenty is becoming the sole viable alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a potential Republican primary rival. The Minnesota governor has even gone so far as to contact some of Romney's former supporters."
Appearing on Fox News Wednesday night, Pawlenty continued to deflect speculation about his ambitions.
"I really do not know what I am going to do," he said in an interview. "This is to benefit other candidates. What I am going to do down the road, I do not know."
A recent Star Tribune Minnesota Poll found Minnesotans aren't enamored of his potential run for presidential. Only thirty percent said he should run while 55 percent said he should not. Still, half of those in the survey said there was some or good chance they've vote for him should he end up winning the 2012 Republican nomination.
By BOB VON STERNBERG and RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER, Star Tribune staff writers
Last update: October 1, 2009
The Pawlenty presidential buzz is kicking into higher gear.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty filed paperwork today with federal regulators to form the Freedom First PAC, a national fundraising committee he can use to aid GOP candidates in upcoming elections.
Simultaneously, he was featured -- with a photo -- at the top of the Drudge Report this morning with a headline asking, "CAN THIS MAN CONQUER OBAMA?"
The headline linked to a Politico.com story that reported Pawlenty "has been quietly assembling the blueprint of a presidential campaign" even as he has stayed "under the radar of D.C.'s political community"
In recent years, presidential candidates have started fundraising committees, such as Pawlenty has now done, to raise their profiles ahead of a White House run.
Since announcing this summer that he wouldn't seek a third term as governor, Pawlenty has incessantly stumped across the country at Republican events, insisting that he hasn't decided whether he'll mount a presidential run in 2012.
Pawlenty introduced himself in a video message on a new website -- www.timpawlenty.com -- that went live today. He also embraced his informal nickname in a brief biography, referring to himself as "TPaw."
"This is an important time in America," he says in the video. "The stakes are high and standing on the sidelines isn't an option. I'm making a commitment to you to fight for our principles. I'm asking for your support and I want to hear your voice."
The political action committee will allow Pawlenty to collect large donations, seed other Republicans' campaigns and fund his own travel and staff as he explores a possible 2012 run for president.
Along with creating his PAC, Pawlenty announced that he has enlisted a team of political consultants considered heavyweights in presidential politics.
The committee's co-chairs and announced staff show that Pawlenty isn't taking possibility lightly. It will be chaired by William H. Strong, vice chairman of Morgan Stanley, and. Vin Weber, a former Minnesota congressman turned Republican lobbying powerhouse. The PAC's advisers include Sara Taylor, a former White House political director, Phil Musser, a former executive director of the Republican Governors Association and Terry Nelson, a 2003 Bush-Cheney political director.
Michael Toner, a former Federal Election Commission chairman, will act as the organization's legal counsel.
The Democratic National Committee lambasted Pawlenty's moves as "back to the future."
"Recycling advisers from George W. Bush and relying on Washington insiders and lobbyists has to be utterly disappointing for those who thought Tim Pawlenty would bring a fresh approach to the Republican Party," the Democrats said in a news release.
According to the Politico story, "the moves underscore, and will lend credence to, the emerging belief among many establishment Republicans that Pawlenty is becoming the sole viable alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a potential Republican primary rival. The Minnesota governor has even gone so far as to contact some of Romney's former supporters."
Appearing on Fox News Wednesday night, Pawlenty continued to deflect speculation about his ambitions.
"I really do not know what I am going to do," he said in an interview. "This is to benefit other candidates. What I am going to do down the road, I do not know."
A recent Star Tribune Minnesota Poll found Minnesotans aren't enamored of his potential run for presidential. Only thirty percent said he should run while 55 percent said he should not. Still, half of those in the survey said there was some or good chance they've vote for him should he end up winning the 2012 Republican nomination.
Vikings not interested in renewing Metrodome lease
By MIKE KASZUBA, Star Tribune
Last update: October 1, 2009
With an undefeated team, a mega-star quarterback and a big game coming up Monday, the Minnesota Vikings were back at the State Capitol this morning hoping to spark interest in the one thing they do not have -- a new stadium.
Lester Bagley, a team spokesman, said the Vikings were not interested in renewing a lease to play in the Metrodome, which expires after the 2011 season, and that owner Zygi Wilf was battling pressure from other National Football League owners.
"They don't ask how's [star running back] Adrian Peterson doing, they ask him how is the stadium doing, because the NFL is subsidizing this market to the tune of $15 million to $20 million a year," Bagley said.
While Vikings and Metrodome officials acknowledged there had been no breakthrough on how a new stadium would be financed, Thursday's legislative hearing was an attempt to use a fistful of statistics to capitalize on the team's current popularity and show how Minnesota would benefit economically from a massive remodeling of the Metrodome.
Stadium officials said that the economic benefit study they showcased had been previously released to legislators last February, and there was scant evidence Thursday that public subsidies for a remodeled stadium were gaining new traction at the Legislature.
The Vikings instead spent much of a hearing before a legislative panel talking football and not financing -- reviewing quarterback Brett Favre's game-winning touchdown pass last Sunday, the team's always-high TV ratings and the interest in Monday night's game against Favre's old team, the Green Bay Packers. Legislators were also briefed on how Vikings players had helped with a campaign to distribute flu shots.
Mike Kaszuba • 651-222-1673
Last update: October 1, 2009
With an undefeated team, a mega-star quarterback and a big game coming up Monday, the Minnesota Vikings were back at the State Capitol this morning hoping to spark interest in the one thing they do not have -- a new stadium.
Lester Bagley, a team spokesman, said the Vikings were not interested in renewing a lease to play in the Metrodome, which expires after the 2011 season, and that owner Zygi Wilf was battling pressure from other National Football League owners.
"They don't ask how's [star running back] Adrian Peterson doing, they ask him how is the stadium doing, because the NFL is subsidizing this market to the tune of $15 million to $20 million a year," Bagley said.
While Vikings and Metrodome officials acknowledged there had been no breakthrough on how a new stadium would be financed, Thursday's legislative hearing was an attempt to use a fistful of statistics to capitalize on the team's current popularity and show how Minnesota would benefit economically from a massive remodeling of the Metrodome.
Stadium officials said that the economic benefit study they showcased had been previously released to legislators last February, and there was scant evidence Thursday that public subsidies for a remodeled stadium were gaining new traction at the Legislature.
The Vikings instead spent much of a hearing before a legislative panel talking football and not financing -- reviewing quarterback Brett Favre's game-winning touchdown pass last Sunday, the team's always-high TV ratings and the interest in Monday night's game against Favre's old team, the Green Bay Packers. Legislators were also briefed on how Vikings players had helped with a campaign to distribute flu shots.
Mike Kaszuba • 651-222-1673
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