GOP lawmakers complain about DFLer's Twitter messages

by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
May 29, 2009

Two Republican House members have filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Paul Gardner, DFL-Shoreview, over some comments he wrote on the social network site Twitter. Gardner says he has already apologized.

St. Paul, Minn. — The Republicans filed the complaint over comments Gardner wrote from the House floor on Twitter May 8. That day, the House was debating a controversial bill that would have raised taxes.

Gardner wrote entries about Republicans Tom Emmer of Delano and Mark Buesgens of Jordan. The two are among the most confrontational members of the House during floor debates.

In two separate entries, Gardner wrote, "Emmer seems to belittle his female colleagues (rage, sarcasm) on the House floor more than the men? Great face to the GOP?" and, "Why is Buesgens wearing sunglasses? Black eye?"

Emmer and Buesgens filed an ethics complaint against Gardner on May 8.

"Representative Gardner's communications were clearly designed to suggest that his colleagues are physically violent, and prone to harassment of female members of the House of Representatives," they wrote in the complaint.

They added that he violated the spirit and letter of the ethical rules of the Minnesota House of Representatives. They are asking Gardner be properly reprimanded and disciplined.

Buesgens declined comment beyond the written complaint. Emmer didn't return calls.

A spokesman for DFL House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher said Kelliher tried to broker a compromise, which resulted in Gardner apologizing to Emmer and Buesgens personally. Gardner also wrote a letter of apology to every member of the House.

But that compromise apparently was not enough. A Republican official said Emmer and Buesgens want Gardner to apologize on the House floor.

Speaker Kelliher declined comment to Minnesota Public Radio News, because the complaint is in the hands of the Ethics Committee.

For his part, Gardner said he doesn't understand what other remedy the two are seeking.

"I don't understand how many times you can say that you made a mistake and take ownership for your actions, and seek a remedy that seeks to resolve the issue," Gardner said. "But that doesn't seem to be enough, and I don't really understand that."

Gardner said he's still working on what he'll tell the House Ethics Committee when it meets on Tuesday to discuss the issue. But he said he'll also provide ample evidence showing Emmer has used offensive speech on the House floor.

Gardner didn't provide full details, but said Emmer has attacked several of his DFL colleagues personally.

"I'm not going to make any excuses for my actions," said Gardner. "But I will point out there has been a preponderance of disrespectful behavior demonstrated, in particular by Representative Emmer, over many months."
"My offensive behavior happened one time, on May 8, and it has ceased," Gardner continued. "And if you watch the House floor on a regular basis, you will see that disrespectful behavior against some of my colleagues has been chronic."

Pressed for an example, Gardner said Emmer has repeatedly mocked House colleagues, citing a fictitious constituent. Gardner says it's obvious Emmer is camouflaging an insult by the way he pronounces the name.

The House Ethics Committee will hold a preliminary hearing on the complaint on Tuesday.

The committee could decide to dismiss the complaint, find probable cause that it merits no further investigation, or call for a further investigation that includes additional hearings.

Minn. Governor's Residence Opens For Public Tours

Source: WCCO

ST. PAUL (AP) ― The nine-bedroom, eight-bathroom mansion that serves as the official home of Minnesota governors opens for public tours starting Tuesday.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty and his family spend part of their time there, while also maintaining their home in Eagan.Tours are open to the public from 1 to 3 p.m. on the first three Tuesdays of June, July and August. Photo identification is required to enter the building.

The 20-room house on St. Paul's storied Summit Avenue has nine fireplaces.

It was donated to the state by Clotilde Irvine Moles and Olivia Irvine Dodge in 1965.

Then-Gov. Karl Rolvaag and first lady Florence Rolvaag were the first gubernatorial family to move in, in 1966. It has housed every governor since.

The home was originally designated as the State Ceremonial Building

Rach's note: There is official website for the mansion in case if you want to get more look or get more information. I have been to the mansion on several occasions during Carlson, Ventura and Pawlenty's administrations. It is very beautiful house in really nice neighborhood.

Minnesota Governor's Residence website

Legislators to Pawlenty: Cut the state budget yourself

By MIKE KASZUBA, Star Tribune
Last update: May 30, 2009

In a sign that wounds remain raw after a bruising legislative session, only a handful of lawmakers have formally responded to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's request for ideas to help him balance the state budget under his controversial use of the so-called unallotment process.

More than a week after Pawlenty sent a letter to legislators asking that they respond by Friday, only 13 of the state's 201 lawmakers had written back.

Just eight of 133 DFLers had replied as of Friday, suggesting that many are troubled by the Republican governor's bold move to unilaterally make cuts to balance the budget and seem content to leave the choices -- and the political consequences -- to him.

"If I felt like it was a genuine request for input, I'd be happy to provide it," said Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, echoing other DFLers who complained that the governor had a five-month session to listen to ideas from legislators. "I don't think he's too interested in our views."

In most cases, the reaction mirrors the political feuding between DFLers and Republicans that occurred in the last days of the just-finished session.

While Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, a 2010 gubernatorial candidate, said he could "almost picture ... a sneer" on Pawlenty's face as he wrote to legislators, Rep. Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, said the lack of letters from DFLers shows a continuing "lack of leadership" on how to solve the problem.

"We warned them" during the session, Dean said of the DFLers, that "we needed to actually put together bills that added up [to a balanced budget] at the end of the day ... there was never really a plan."

The session ended with projected spending exceeding anticipated revenues by an estimated $2.7 billion for the two-year budget period that will begin July 1. That is the gap that Pawlenty plans to plug, as each side blames the other for the problem.

Regular folks weigh in

While most legislators are giving him the silent treatment, Pawlenty said citizens are giving him an earful.

Since his administration created a website a week ago where citizens can send budget-balancing ideas, Pawlenty has talked publicly about the many people who have responded. As of Friday, according to a spokesman, more than 1,600 e-mails had been received -- and have included suggestions that Pawlenty reconsider state-authorized gambling as a way to raise money and even think about opening liquor stores on Sundays. Opening liquor stores, one e-mail said, would "create tax revenue. Create jobs. Save gas, as you wouldn't believe the [Minnesota] cars that line up at [Wisconsin] border towns waiting for the off sale [stores] to open on Sundays."

There also are indications that the governor's office is quietly getting feedback from some of the state's most influential interests, including the League of Minnesota Cities, which met Thursday with state Revenue Commissioner Ward Einess. Though the conversations were cordial, said Gary Carlson, a lobbyist for the league, it remained clear that cuts in state aid to cities are a likely target as Pawlenty weighs unallotment choices.

"Frankly, this is like going to your own execution and trying to give advice about which way you're going to take the pain," said Carlson, describing the talks.

The Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, representing 12,500 government workers, on Friday sent its own suggestions to the governor, which included banning out-of-state travel except travel taken to collect revenue. The union also recommended that state agencies cut their management staff to no more than 15 percent of total employees -- and released a spreadsheet showing that 10 mostly smaller agencies and boards, but including the state finance department, have workforces where more than 30 percent of the staff are managers and supervisors.

Legal fight ahead?

With the governor expected to announce his unallotment plan in June, there continues to be speculation that Pawlenty could face a legal challenge over what detractors see as a misuse of the unallotment power. State law gives a governor the authority to reduce spending where necessary if projected expenses for a budget period exceed anticipated revenue. But Pawlenty's announcement in the closing days of the session to use it to settle an impasse between the GOP governor and DFLers when the 2-year budget period hasn't even started was seen as an unprecedented use of the process.

"Someone's going to be filing a [law]suit, and arguing what's going on with unallotment," said House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall.

Lawrence Massa, president of the Minnesota Hospital Association, whose 147 members are likely to face significant budget cuts, said lawyers for the association are "reviewing the [state] statute" related to unallotment but have not made any conclusions regarding legal action. Massa said the association had in the past week informally talked to Tom Hanson, director of the state's office of management and budget, about pushing the bulk of any cuts to next year but said Hanson was noncommittal.

While Seifert and Dean said Republicans were informally meeting with the governor's office on unallotment issues, those DFLers who did formally answer Pawlenty's letter seemed to use the occasion to again criticize the governor's handling of the legislative session.

"You made the decision to veto the Legislature's final balanced budget proposal and now you are left with few choices," wrote House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller in a joint letter released Friday. "You will be held responsible for the repercussions of those actions."

Mike Kaszuba • 651-222-1673

Minnesota's Senate race now comes down to 5 votes

By PAT DOYLE, Star Tribune
Last update: May 30, 2009


Now it comes down to five votes.

Almost seven months after a U.S. Senate election that was too close to call, five justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday on whether problems with absentee ballots justify reversing a lower-court ruling that declared DFLer Al Franken a 312-vote winner over Republican Norm Coleman.

Partisans across America will be watching, pronouncing judgment on a thousand blogs. The case may cast a blinding national spotlight on the state Supreme Court.

A decision upholding the lower-court ruling could end the protracted struggle and allow Franken to join the Senate, giving Democrats an invincible majority. A ruling for Coleman wouldn't return him to the Senate, but could keep his hopes alive and delay a final decision for months.

Minnesotans want the dispute to end, recent polls show. Most people say Coleman should concede. Nearly two-thirds believe that Franken ultimately will be declared the winner.

But several former Minnesota Supreme Court justices say current members will consider the case carefully, ignoring outside publicity and pressure.

"The impatience of the people just has to be put aside," said former Associate Justice Jim Gilbert, who served on the court for seven years with most of the justices hearing the case. "You want a correct decision at this stage, not a fast decision.

"They will not be reacting to talking heads or political action groups ... or anything like that," Gilbert said. "This decision has to stand the test of time. It will be gone over with a microscope."

Former Chief Justice Russell Anderson agrees.

"They understand every decision they make has the potential to go to the United States Supreme Court," Anderson said. "They're not going to decide this on the publicity. They're going to decide this on the law."

One former Minnesota justice knows what it's like to issue an opinion in a politically overheated election case.

Five days before the 1990 gubernatorial election, then-Associate Justice A.M. (Sandy) Keith, once one of the state's most prominent DFL politicians, agreed with others on the court on a key issue: that Arne Carlson should take the place of Jon Grunseth on the ballot after Grunseth withdrew as the Republican candidate for governor. The ruling paved the way for Carlson to defeat Gov. Rudy Perpich, a DFLer who had just elevated Keith to take over as chief justice.

"I still carry that with me," said Keith. "The governor [Perpich] thought I was responsible for it. He tried to take the position away from me -- thought about it. He wouldn't even come to my swearing-in.

"I think it was the right decision, and I never had any hesitation about that," Keith said.

While Monday's hearing will produce yet another dramatic climax in this seven-month saga, some believe it will be mostly anti-climactic for the justices, who weeks ago received detailed briefs from the lawyers in the case.

"These justices will have had over two weeks, including three weekends ... to work on the case," said Richard Hasen, an elections expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who has followed the case closely.

"It would not be surprising to me that they would come into the arguments with their minds mostly made up, [and] also with drafted opinion or opinions in front of them."

Keith said arguments delivered in court rarely swayed him in the end.
"In many instances, I had made up my mind in the sense I thought it was going in this direction," he said.

The court and the challenge

The court will have two fewer members hearing the case than its usual seven because Chief Justice Eric Magnuson and Associate Justice G. Barry Anderson sat on the state Canvassing Board for the recount and have declined to participate in related court proceedings.

Minnesota Supreme Court expert Peter Knapp, a William Mitchell law professor, has watched the remaining five in action. His thoughts:

• Alan Page: "Well aware of the importance common sense plays in the life of the law. You'll see opinions of his that remind the court, sometimes gently and sometimes not so gently ... that when a decision doesn't reflect that kind of common sense it may be out of kilter with where the law should go."

• Paul Anderson: "Really appreciates the value of history in shaping the law ... to a greater degree than some of the other justices."

• Lorie Gildea: Dissented when she "believed the court was making a decision that really belonged to the trial judge."

• Helen Meyer: "Writes opinions that I think reflect her experience and her values."

• Christopher Dietzen: A recent appointee with fewer written opinions, "It's much harder to tell ... anything about his particular cast of mind."

The five have ruled unanimously on earlier matters in the case, but split on the issue of allowing Coleman and Franken to veto the counting of some disputed absentee ballots. Paul Anderson and Page dissented.

On Monday, each side will have 25 minutes for arguments, with Coleman allowed an additional 10 minutes for rebuttal. He has the burden of proving that the three-judge panel that heard the trial made sufficient mistakes to overturn their verdict.

His legal team turns to Joe Friedberg to make their case, a veteran, high-profile criminal defense attorney but relative novice at election law. "Norm decided ... Joe is the best guy to make the argument," said Coleman legal spokesman Ben Ginsberg.

Franken will rely on Marc Elias, a national Democratic Party lawyer who specializes in election law.

Court experts will watch to see whether the justices direct more skeptical questions to either Coleman's or Franken's team. But such questioning could merely reflect a devil's advocate approach, in which judges interrogate the very side they are leaning toward.

Wide discretion

A Supreme Court decision could take days to months, with the prime options being upholding the lower court ruling for Franken or reversing it and ordering the panel to reconsider aspects of the case.

The court "cannot say that Coleman won," said University of Minnesota constitutional law expert Fred Morrison. "A Coleman 'victory' in the Supreme Court would mean several more weeks or months of more recounting-type stuff."

Aside from attacking the merits of Coleman's case, Franken argues that the Republican's key claims should be dismissed because he didn't bring them early enough in the trial.

"I think the justices will at least consider whether or not the public interest and timing is a relevant factor" before examining Coleman's claims, said Edward Foley, an election law expert at Ohio State University.

But Knapp said the high court has wide discretion to ignore procedural arguments and consider the main question: Were the election and recount fair and accurate enough to bring this dispute to an end?

Pat Doyle • 651-222-1210

SENATE DISTRICT 56 DFL FAMILY PICNIC

FOR MORE DETAILS PLEASE GO TO SENATE DISTRICT 56 DFL WEBSITE.


When June 22nd, 2009 5:30 PM through 8:30 PM

Location
11455 20th St N
Tartan Park Picnic Shelter
Lake Elmo, MN 55042
United States

Contact
Phone: (651) 402-3184
Email: mswitte@comcast.net

Ticket Cost
Advance purchase ticket $ 9.00
Children 5 and under FREE

SECOND ANNUAL DFL PICNIC

Minnesota DFL website

PLEASE JOIN

Senator Amy Klobuchar

Senator-Elect Al Franken

Representative Jim Oberstar

Representative Collin Peterson

Representative Betty McCollum

Representative Keith Ellison

Representative Tim Walz

Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher

Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller

for the Second Annual Minnesota DFL Party SUMMER BARBEQUE

Saturday, June 27, 2009 4: 00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the Minnesota DFL Party Headquarters 255 East Plato Boulevard St. Paul

$25 per person$10 for children 10 and under

Featuring… The First Annual DFL Horseshoe Tournament

Teams of four, mixed gendered: $200

Please contact Sarah Helgen at shelgen@dfl.org if you are interested in participating!

Bill to Help Homeowners Facing Problems with Contractors Vetoed

Source: Fox News 9 (Minnesota)
Published : Monday, 25 May 2009, 9:51 PM CDT

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Your home is the biggest purchase you'll ever make, but homeowners have few legal rights when it comes to disputes between them and contractors. A group of Minnesota lawmakers has been trying to change that but their fight has hit a major road block.

Brooke Simpson bought a Forest Lake home three years ago and had big plans for it. But fire put a stop to those plans in February 2008. Simpson hired a contractor to make repairs. But she claims he never properly removed mold and moisture that started to grow in the house in the weeks after the fire.

“The mask is for the overabundance of mold and toxins that are in our house that cause respiratory problems,” said Simpson.

She says tests show mold levels in the house are 50 percent greater than what is considered acceptable.

She'd like to sue the contractor for the damages but believes she won't be able to afford the expenses that come with taking a case like this to court.

In Minnesota, homeowners can't get their attorney fees reimbursed if they sue a contractor. If the award is $150,000 and the attorney's fees are $70,000 the homeowner doesn't have adequate funds to repair the damage done to their home.

This past legislative session representative Marsha Swails tried to get the law changed to help homeowners who win their cases in court.

But Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed the bill along with four others designed to help homeowners with construction defects.

"We should be cautious about placing more burdens on the housing sector during this historic recession," said Pawlenty. Swails is not letting that stop her. She wants to start working on drafting new legislation this summer that would make the governor, the construction industry and homeowners happy.

“I am really hoping that bringing all the players together that we can come up with a solution,” said Swails.

Federal stimulus aid to help St. Paul Public Housing Agency

$10M will go toward makeover of McDonough Homes complex

By Jason Hoppin
jhoppin@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 05/28/2009 11:27:53 PM CDT

One of St. Paul's oldest public housing projects will get a $10 million infusion of federal stimulus dollars, the St. Paul Public Housing Agency announced Thursday.

The money will go toward revamping 120 row houses at McDonough Homes, west of Interstate 35E in the city's North End. The funds will help complete a $35 million overhaul of the 580 units at McDonough, which opened in 1952.

"It really is a total makeover," said Al Hester, housing policy director for the Public Housing Agency.

McDonough houses a diverse population of low-income residents, but Asians make up the largest minority group by far, including a sizable Hmong population.

Improvements include everything from new wiring to bathroom fixtures as well as making the grounds more community-oriented. The contract was awarded to Frerichs Construction Co. and is part of $3 billion distributed to public housing agencies across the country through the $787 billion federal stimulus package.

"We think we're one of the first housing agencies in the country to get the money under contract," Hester said.

Another $1 billion in discretionary grants through the stimulus package is also available, and the St. Paul Public Housing Agency is hoping to secure some of those funds as well.

The agency will also spend $591,000 for new sprinklers and fire alarms at the Iowa Hi-Rise complex and $363,000 to help 42 Summit-University duplexes fit into the neighborhood better.

The St. Paul Public Housing Agency faces a crushing demand for its services, with 6,310 families waiting for a spot in public housing and 8,017 families waiting for Section 8 vouchers.

The Section 8 waiting list is now closed, but when it opened for three days in 2007, more than 11,000 households applied.

Jason Hoppin can be reached at 651-292-1892.

Audit finds weak oversight of Minnesota IT projects

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

Associated Press
Updated: 05/29/2009 10:54:55 AM CDT

A new audit finds that a state office created four years ago to monitor expensive state information technology projects isn't doing all it could.

The legislative auditor's report said the Office of Enterprise Technology should be tracking information technology and telecommunications projects more closely and develop better ways to manage project costs.

The audit said state agencies are spending more than $270 million on 137 information technology projects, ranging from an online unemployment insurance application portal to an integrated tax system.

But no project has a cost management plan.

State chief information officer Gopal Khanna said he agrees with most of the audit but his five-person office doesn't have enough resources and faces further budget cuts in the coming year.

Republicans to lose only officeholder in St. Paul

Conlon says he's leaving "with a heavy heart."

By EMILY JOHNS, Star Tribune
Last update: May 21, 2009 - 10:39 PM

As of July 6, there will be no more elected Republicans in St. Paul.
School Board Member Tom Conlon, the lone elected Republican, announced Thursday that he will be resigning this summer because he has bought an historic inn in Asheville, N.C., and is moving there to be the innkeeper.

"I'm leaving the school board with a heavy heart," said Conlon, who will keep his home in the Macalester-Groveland area of St. Paul. "It's a professional decision only. I'm really going to miss the school board, I've loved it. Unfortunately, I can't do both."

St. Paul Republicans have had a rough time in recent years, including the never-ending 2008 U.S. Senate race, in which Norm Coleman won only one precinct in the city he used to preside over as mayor. But Scott Walker, chairman of the St. Paul Republicans, thinks they can hold onto Conlon's seat.

"The fundamentals of education are usurped by political agendas," he said, "and I think Tom Conlon was one of the very few people that focused on student achievement rather than the political atmosphere of the day."

Conlon was elected in 1991, and is the board's longest serving member, an honor that will now belong to Anne Carroll.

Conlon is a self-employed photographer, and he will soon be awarded his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in work and human resource education. He also teaches in the College of Management at Metropolitan State University.

Conlon's seat will be filled by special election, during the November election when three of his fellow board members are up for reelection.

"It has always been a seat that the DFL could never pick up, even when they field four good candidates in that cycle," Darren Tobolt, chairman of the St. Paul DFL, said Thursday. "It's going to be interesting to see if people just want one Republican on the board, or if Tom is just that popular."

Conlon graduated from Highland Park Senior High in 1978, and went to college at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He says that's where he created his ties to North Carolina and to Asheville, a tourism center in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Conlon said the Cedar Crest Inn is a 15-room, Queen Anne Victorian-style inn that is a half-mile from the Vanderbilt family's famous Biltmore House. It was built in 1891.

"He'll definitely be missed," said Kazoua Kong-Thao, school board chairwoman. She said that despite the political differences, the vast majority of the board's decisions have been unanimous. "He has a wealth of knowledge; 18 years is a real commitment. I applaud anybody that does this kind of work, under the heat, under the lights, for so long."

Of his time on the board, Conlon said he is proud of how well he has worked with his constituents, and believes that he has influenced the board's policies. The school board is now moving toward a neighborhood model of assigning students to schools, something Conlon says he has pushed for a long time.

Earlier this week, Conlon was the only dissenting vote when the board voted to change the name of Webster Magnet Elementary to "Barack and Michelle Obama Service Learning Elementary," a change the school community voted on to reflect a new focus on service learning.

Conlon is hosting two goodbye receptions that will be open to the public. They will be from 3 to 6 p.m. June 8 and from 5 to 8 p.m. June 14 at Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 1849 Marshall Av., St. Paul.

Emily Johns • 612-673-7460