Save the Mavericks -- Minnesota Basketball Team on the Chopping Block

Nov 13th 2009 By Dan Solomon, Asylum (online men AOL magazine)

Here's a movie: A group of struggling community college students learn that greatness exists inside themselves after their school's basketball team takes home the national championship, thanks to the inspiration of a gifted coach and the commitment of a core of dedicated fans. Come up with a bummer for a third-act twist and you're in Oscar territory. Like, maybe, budget cuts shutting the basketball program down, even after a storybook final season?

That's roughly the scene at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, whose team -- the Mavericks -- is in anything but a rebuilding year. Despite the fact that the team is currently ranked number one in the nation by the NJCAA, 2009 is slated to be the final year of the program.

If you need villains for the story, you can look to the Student Senate and Student Life Budget Committee, made up of folks currently enrolled at MCTC, who voted to end the program at the end of the year, citing that basketball was not a major priority. Which kind of puts a "Revenge of the Nerds"-in-reverse spin on things: Those students who opt to sign up for an extracurricular activity that allows them to make long-term determinations for their two-year school are the ones who get to axe the jocks' fun.

Longtime MCTC fan Rach Eggert, a prominent member of the "Help Save the Minneapolis Community & Technical College Basketball Program" Facebook group who commutes from the suburbs to watch the Mavericks, explained some of the passion that members of the community have for the team. "The coaching staff has done an outstanding job to keep games going on and bring in more fans -- I've ended up going to almost every home game. I've been following them since 2007."

But that's not good enough for the Student Senate or MCTC President Phil Davis, who insists that if the program is to continue, it'll have to score some serious independent grant money -- roughly to the tune of $118,000 a year. Predictably, there haven't been a ton of community college alumni boosters coughing up the cash (maybe they should hit up Chevy Chase). The Facebook group attempted to score $10,000 in funding from Nike, but fell short, meaning that there appears to be little that can be done to save the program.

But whenever a cool college organization is threatened by The Man, we're visited by the ghost of John Belushi, and we say nothing is over. To that end, the contact information for President Davis can be found here, and the Asylum army is encouraged to march the cavalry. If your passions can't be inflamed in the service of the players at a Minnesota Junior College, then perhaps some parting words from Eggert will do the trick. "If the program ends," she told us, "who will I watch besides the Timberwolves?"

Even if you don't care about some kids in Minnesota, helping to spare their fans from a long, painful Timberwolves season is the most noble way we can think of to spend a few minutes. And don't forget to share your words of support or condemnation for the Mavericks in the comments.

Jesse Ventura Storms Out of 'Opie & Anthony'

Source: Pop Eater

Former Minnesota governor and pro-wrestler Jesse Ventura walked out of 'The Opie & Anthony Show' after getting into an argument with comedian Jim Norton.

The two are discussing 9/11 and American troops when the discussion turns heated. "You sulk and walk away, why?" Norton questions Ventura.

"Hey, there's a f------ guy here, telling me I have schedule, a--hole," Venture responded before leaving.

You may watch video here (Warning: Mature contents)

Jesse Ventura Storms Out of 'Opie & Anthony'

Jesse Ventura Storms Out of 'Opie & Anthony'

NOVEMBER BUDGET FORECAST QUESTION SUBMISSION

I am planning on doing e-mail interview with State Economist Thomas Stinson and Commissioner Tom Hanson from Minnesota Management and Budget office (MMB). I also am trying to do with Governor Tim Pawlenty sometimes next week.

Unlikely media who shoot questions at the press conference, I am letting the readers and fans submit questions that I may be asking during e-mail interview.

Questions have to be appropriate, and stay on track/subject regarding November budget forecast. You can either submit question in comment box or e-mail to me at senatoreggert@yahoo.com with November budget forecast on the subject line and question aimed at whom (Stinson or Hanson or Pawlenty).

Deadline is Monday, December 7 to submit your questions.

GOV. PAWLENTY: $1.203 BILLION CAN BE SOLVABLE.

Top: Governor Pawlenty speaking to the media during his press conference.

Bottom: Blank Christmas tree in Governor's Office is symbol of state budget being in black.

By Rach Eggert, Rach’s Political Report

December 2, 2009

State of Minnesota are expected to be in $1.203 billion deficit; the budget forecast was projected during month of November according to Minnesota Management and Budget Office (MMB).

Governor Tim Pawlenty mentioned that he would reduce his out of state travels during 2010 legislative session to save money and focus on working with legislature to resolve the budget and get back on track.

Pawlenty is planning on unallot Local Government Aid (LGA) this month and request the Legislature to meet in committee hearings immediately to reduce budget that would be enacted at beginning of 2010 legislative session which kick off on February 4, 2010. He also request his cabinet members to work with legislative leaders immediately to discuss possible unallotment and solutions.

He is also ordering all state government agencies to put hold on spending and reduce three percent of unspent operating funds in current budget period.

Pawlenty wanted Minnesota to be more business-friendly and job-friendly state, believe that budget could be resolved during 2010 legislative session and willing to work with the Legislature.

Any ideas or suggestion for next weekend?

Since Steven from Steven's Sports Report and I are taking on Loud Dome challenge next weekend, there should be things for me to keep occupied for 2 days when Steven is cooped up in pressbox with deafening reporters who are trying to listen with 10,000 screaming fans while having shouting match in pressbox trying to communicate.

Someone suggested that I should do:

• Take pictures of weird things at the dome that nobody ever think to look at.
• Read Senator Amy Klobuchar's book on Metrodome "Uncovering the Dome".
• walk around and count how many steps I took and use pedometer.
• Knitting.

Do you have any ideas or suggestions? They have to be clean and fun. Leave a comment or e-mail me at senatoreggert@yahoo.com with ideas or suggestions.

Loud Dome challenge: who will stay in the dome longer?

Steven at Steven's Sports Report and I decided to do a challenge:

We will stay inside Metrodome during November 27th and 28th to see who can stand really loud 10,000 screaming fans at MSHSL B0ys State Football Tournament.

We will only eat dome food nothing else even if it's domedog for breakfast and to see who will stay longer. One of us leave early will lose the challenge.

Not sure what the loser will get. I guess if I lost, I will have to buy Steven a dinner. If you have a suggestion or ideas, please comment and we are open to ideas and suggestions. It have to be clean though.

I also get the idea from my friend, Dusty Trice where he spent whole 12 days at State Fair.

How many Domedogs do you think I should eat?

On 28th we might step out of dome during Minneapolis Community and Tech College Basketball game so not sure.

It should be fun. I thought this would be something to do outside of politics and there isn't much going on in politics.

How loud can a football game inside Metrodome can be?

I just spoke to Steven from Steven's Sports Report regarding loudness at the Metrodome. He said its full of 10,000 screaming fans and the reporter next to him have to be yelled by other reporters to communicate.

He said its somewhat louder than Obama or any major political rallies.

I would hope that Steven would contribute his opinion and explain how he deal with loud games.

I should go to a game tomorrow or next weekend to see it for myself and come back with my reaction on how loud game can be. I am sure I will feel virbation on floor since I am deaf.

Anyone also can comment on how loud sporting events could be.

On sunday Steven will be writing his opinion on loudness at the game.

Steven's Sports website is www.stevenssports.com He is covering MN State Football State touranment this and next weekend.

Rybak mulls options for governor's race

Source: KARE 11

By John Croman

Minneapolis, MN -- There was never much suspense over the outcome of the mayoral election in this city Tuesday. The media focused on the new methodology -- ranked choice voting -- but when the polls opened there was no doubt voters would hand Mayor R.T. Rybak a third term.

He claimed 73 percent of the 45,000 votes cast, while 10 other candidates combined for the remaining share of the ballots. Even before the polls closed political journalists had already started to pepper Rybak with questions about his next move.

Will he run for governor? And how soon will he make it official? What does he make of his chances? Has he been running all along?

They were all questions he politely brushed aside out of respect for the campaign workers and supporters who had gathered at the Graves Hotel downtown to celebrate his re-election victory.

"One of the things we laid out a year ago is that I would be prepared to run for mayor and I would be prepared to run for Governor," Rybak told reporters, "And I've done all the preparations I should. And I'm in good shape on that."

Rybak said he would let the dust settle on the campaign that ended Tuesday night and get back to work on city issues in the short term.

"I'll be talking to people, and announcing my intentions in a couple of weeks."

For those who suggested Rybak risked his political capital by running for mayor while keeping his eyes on higher office, at least two political experts say it's not a factor in the Rybak equation.

"Many Minneapolis voters knew he was thinking about this," Larry Jacobs of the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs at the U of M told KARE, "He's been pretty open about his interest in running for governor, and my hunch is he probably won't be damaged too much."

Hamline University's Dave Schultz said Rybak's commanding margin of victory in the mayoral race should put to rest any notion that his core supporters harbored any ill will about his dual focus.

"The question will be if campaigning for governor keeps him from solving any big issues inside the city of Minneapolis, and becomes the type of distraction that affects his job performance."

For Rybak, or anyone who wants to enter the wide open race for Governor in 2010, there's a risk of waiting too long to make a move. The election time clock has been accelerated by the DFL party's decision to hold its endorsing convention in April instead of June.

A dozen Democrats are already actively campaigning or considering a run, for the seat that Governor Tim Pawlenty will vacate in January of 2011. Schultz said that's one of the reasons Rybak kept the door open during his run for mayor.

"By getting those feelers out earlier, perhaps what he does is send a signal to supporters and donors not to commit to somebody else, because he may enter the race."

Jacobs pointed out that Rybak, at least on the face of it, will be starting behind.

"After all, his main competitors have been at this for months," Jacobs said, "They've got statewide organizations, quite a bit of money in the bank, and they're well prepared for the Democratic party's endorsement process which begins shortly."

Some of Rybak's critics point out he criticized Governor Tim Pawlenty for campaigning for Senator John McCain's presidential campaign and traveling frequently to raise his own presidential profile. How is that different, they ask, from what Rybak will be doing on the state level.

But Schultz points out Rybak's complaints about Pawlenty are that his national aspirations have impaired his ability to solve the state's structural budget problems.

"Mayor Rybak isn't complaining about the governor running for President," Schultz explained, "He going after him for what he sees as dereliction of duty."

If Rybak were to run, and win, it would break a long dry spell for Twin Cities Democrats in the governor's office. The last one elected was Wendell Anderson, who won in 1970 and again in 1974.

Jacobs concedes metropolitan mayors traditionally haven't found it easy to attract support in the state's more rural areas, and there are already two Iron Range lawmakers in the field of candidates. But, on the other hand, the state's demographic shifts toward urban areas given the Twin Cities metro added weight in a statwide race.

"There's much greater concentration of voters in this region," Jacobs remarked, "If Mayor Rybak can lock down the core of Minneapolis and Saint Paul and the ring suburbs it will give him a tremendous advantage."

Somewhere, the next Jesse Ventura might be waiting

Independence Party says the time is right — but can't find a candidate

By Bill Salisbury, Pioneer Press

Updated: 11/04/2009

While a large pack of Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates has roamed across Minnesota for months clamoring for attention, the state's third and smallest "major party," the Independence Party, has yet to field a single credible contender.

State party chairman Jack Uldrich insists he isn't worried about not having a candidate yet. It's still early, and he has been talking to a "handful of eminently qualified individuals" who would be strong candidates, he said in an interview last week.

Uldrich is confident that one or more of what he considers "three leading candidates" will get into the race.

He declined to name them but said all three work in private business and have experience either "in government at the highest levels or in public policy circles."

They also "have resources of their own" — money, that is — to wage a competitive race, he said. That's important because the Independence Party never has had much money.

"I am 100 percent confident that we will have a very qualified candidate," Uldrich said.

In addition, Dean Barkley, the party's U.S. Senate candidate in 2008 and former Gov. Jesse Ventura's closest political adviser, said he is considering a run for governor.

"I am contemplating whether I want to strap on the knee pads one more time and start begging people to give me money," Barkley said. "I really don't like doing that. I've got to convince myself that I've got one more fight left in me, and I haven'tdone that yet."
To be competitive, he said, the Independence Party candidate must raise at least $2 million, enough to air TV ads in the month before the election. He said the party's past two candidates spent about $1 million and ran short of advertising money late in the race.

(Rahn Workcuff, a political unknown from Minneapolis, has filed with the state campaign finance board to run as an Independence Party candidate for governor. He has run for the Legislature at least twice and lost badly.)

Uldrich said he tried to recruit Jim Ramstad, but the popular former GOP congressman said he's "not interested in running at this time."

Whomever the Independence Party nominee is, Uldrich and Barkley agree he or she will have a good shot at winning next year.

Why? "Because people have become completely disgusted with the other two parties," Barkley said. "It's been growing and growing and I think it's at an all-time high now."

Uldrich said the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party has become extremely liberal and the Republicans extremely conservative.

"The middle is wide open," he said.

Polls suggest Minnesota voters are becoming more independent. Minneapolis pollster Bill Morris said a statewide survey his firm, Decision Resources, took in late July showed 39 percent of voters identified themselves as Democrats, 33 percent as Republicans and 26 percent as independents. That represented a 4 percent increase for independents since January and a 4 percent decrease for Democrats.

But fewer than 1 percent identified with the Independence Party. Still, Uldrich said, independents are more likely to vote for a candidate on the party's ticket.

One reason the Independence Party, like other parties, may have a hard time recruiting candidates is that the next governor will face a projected $4.4 billion to $7.2 billion budget shortfall and ongoing structural deficits.

"Everyone I talk to (about running) I ask, 'Do you really want this job?' Because it's going to be a crappy job," Uldrich said.

He said the three leading potential candidates "to their credit say, 'I get that. But somebody needs to do it. We need some real leadership.' "

The Independence Party hasn't provided much leadership since its first and only governor, Jesse Ventura, left office in 2002. He was elected with 37 percent of the vote in the three-way 1998 election.

Since then, the party's 2002 gubernatorial candidate, Tim Penny, received 16 percent of the vote and the IP's Peter Hutchinson got 6 percent in 2006 — barely clearing the 5 percent threshold for maintaining "major party" status under Minnesota law.

But Barkley received 15 percent of the votes in the 2008 U.S. Senate race.

Why has the party slipped? Larry Jacobs, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, cites three reasons.

"It still is basically a cult-of-the-individual party," he said. The Independence Party can succeed when it gets a celebrity, such as Ventura, to run, but it has no elected office holders, no organization with thousands of members and little loyalty among voters.

"The party surfs on voter frustration," Jacobs said. They get attention in the weeks leading up to an election, but "outside of the election period, they're irrelevant." They aren't players in the state's public policy debates or a presence in policymaking at the Legislature.

Finally, the party doesn't have a clear role, he said. "They don't win elections. They raise issues during an election, and they act as a kingmaker by drawing voters away from one party so the other one wins. But that's about it."

Nonetheless, state DFL and GOP leaders don't dismiss the Independence Party.

"I take seriously any party that's elected a governor in the past 20 years," state GOP chairman Tony Sutton said.

How seriously depends on the quality of their candidate, he said. "If they don't have a celebrity candidate, they don't have the infrastructure, apparatus or loyalty of a base to help their candidate build a platform for a campaign."

State DFL chairman Brian Melendez said he takes the Independence Party seriously not because he thinks they can win but because they could be spoilers.

He said he believes the Independence Party cost DFL gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch the 2006 election. Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty beat Hatch by just 1 percentage point, and Melendez is convinced the Independence Party's Hutchinson siphoned off enough disgruntled Democrats to tip the election.

He said he also thinks U.S. Sen. Al Franken would have won in 2008 without a recount if Barkley hadn't run.

"Nobody's really voting for their (Independence Party) candidates; they're voting against the candidates of the two major parties," he said. "It's kind of turned into the None-of- the-Above Party."

Uldrich asserted that the Independence Party, unlike the DFL and GOP, stands for fiscal responsibility and moderation on social issues.

Party leaders learned two lessons from their defeats in 2002 and 2006, he said. Their candidate must launch a campaign earlier.

Uldrich wants the IP candidates to enter the race during the legislative session next spring "so we get engaged in the debate and start drawing distinctions with both the DFLers and the Republicans."

The second lesson, he said, is that they must communicate with voters the way Ventura did. While Penny and Hutchinson were highly qualified candidates, "their messages never resonated with the public," he said. "We have to keep intellectually honest but figure out how to package our message better."

Minneapolis begins counting of instant runoff ballots

by Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio
November 4, 2009

Minneapolis — Minneapolis elections officials started hand counting ballots Wednesday, a day after voters used instant runoff voting for the first time.

The count will determine the winner in a handful of races where no candidate received a majority of the first choice votes. Those races include two city council seats and five Park and Recreation board seats.

Elections staffers have to count all the ballots by hand, as there are no machines certified under federal or state law that can count instant runoff voting ballots.

But city officials expect the count will be finished sooner than the original Dec. 21 benchmark, due to low voter turnout.

About 46,000 Minneapolis residents voted Tuesday, representing about 21 percent of registered voters. Officials had planned for a turnout of about 70,000 voters.

Interim elections director Pat O'Connor said that although some results may be available within a few weeks, officials do not plan to rush the process.

"We would like this first count to go slowly so that people understand what ranked choice voting is all about," O'Connor said. "I think in our daily lives, we're used to computers doing the most incredibly complicated things, and we lose track of what really is happening inside that little box."

Elections officials count the instant runoff voting ballots in rounds. If no candidate has a majority of the first choice votes, then the candidate in last place is eliminated. If you voted for that candidate, your vote moves to your second choice. But if you don't have a second choice, then your vote stops counting in that race.

City council candidates in Ward Four and Ward Five fell just short of receiving a majority of votes. In Ward Four, Barbara Johnson received 46.9 percent of the vote. In Ward Five, Don Samuels leads with 47 percent.

About 250 elections staffers will count the ballots by ward, working in 125-person shifts, six days a week. O'Connor said the cost will be off-set by the savings from not having a primary.

Instant runoff voting supporters' next stop: Duluth

by Curtis Gilbert, Minnesota Public Radio

November 4, 2009

St. Paul, Minn. — Supporters of instant runoff voting hope to bring the alternative voting system to Duluth next.

Minneapolis held its first instant runoff election yesterday, which saw low turnout but no major problems. St. Paul voters approved using IRV for city elections starting in 2011.

Fair Vote Minnesota executive director Jeanne Massey says her group wants to put an IRV referendum on the ballot in Duluth as soon as next year.

"There has been a strong organizing committee working very hard for the better part of a year or more and they thought maybe they might even put it on the ballot this year," Massey said. "But they wanted to see how the process would go in Minneapolis and St. Paul and then figure out what that would mean for Duluth."

Instant runoff lets voters rank the candidates for each office on the ballot in order of preference.

IRV opponents are taking their fight to court. They accuse Fair Vote of deceptive campaign practices in St. Paul and hope the Minnesota Supreme Court will reverse its finding earlier this year that IRV is constitutional.

Minneapolis DFL/Rybak Election Night party

After taking 94 Express bus and crazy night in Downtown Minneapolis witnessing a group fight (I did called 911 and the group got arrested after several witnesses called 911 also), I arrived at the Graves 601 Hotel at Block E across from Target Center. Unlike several hotels, their ballrooms are on fifth floor and the building was very dim. When I arrived at the party, Mayor found me and I explained to him what happened, he said I did right thing so at least I made Minneapolis a safer place.

Not many people was there. I missed Mayor R.T. Rybak's Election Night speech because I was on highway riding on 94 Express. I ran into some DFL people I know, Councilman Gary Schiff (Ward 9), some people I saw at St. Paul DFL Party earlier, and Mayor Rybak & First Lady Megan O' Hara. Rybak children wasn't there, they are away at college but voted absentee.

2010 Governor candidates was in attendance: Paul Thissen, Margret Anderson Kelliher and Susan Gartner.

I also asked Jeremy Hansen who is Mayor's main man how IRV went, he said it was very slow and the result was coming in late.

MPR Election Results

Minnesota Public Radio have 2009 Election results up on their website.

It list all counties, cities and school district results.


MPR Election Results 2009

St. Francis council member gets third censure

Admonishing LeRoy Schaffer for a loud confrontation, the council also instructed him not to have contact with city staff.

By MARIA ELENA BACA, Star Tribune

Last update: November 4, 2009


Embattled St. Francis City Council Member LeRoy Schaffer was censured for a third time by his colleagues at this week's council meeting, the result of a verbal confrontation with the city's public works director last summer.

The censure resolution that was passed unanimously by the four other council members also bars Schaffer from all personal contact with city staff. Even written communication with the city administrator must be delivered by a third party, Council Member Jeff Sandoval.

Such an extreme form of political shunning is rare, said Larry Jacobs, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute, who added, however, that he is not an expert on St. Francis city politics.

"Conflict and tensions are ubiquitous; they're widespread, in government policymaking," Jacobs said. "But when it reaches this level, an official policymaking group taking this step to isolate one member, it's extraordinary. This is kind of a DEFCON 5. ... This is the kind of response you take when you have no other choice."

Monday's censure stemmed from a July 20 incident. According to the results of an investigation presented Monday by City Attorney Scott Lepak, Schaffer loudly confronted the city's Public Works Director Paul Teicher after a council meeting that addressed the resignation of a public works employee.

During the investigation, Schaffer also approached Teicher to inquire about the complaint, the report said.

Schaffer refused to cooperate with the investigation.

St. Francis Mayor Jerry Tveit said that while the censure was a direct result of the confrontation with Teicher, the no-contact clause stemmed from a pattern of erratic and demanding behavior at City Hall that had created a chilling effect on the staff.

"The staff at City Hall and other employees will feel more at ease and more comfortable dealing with the council and not having to worry about getting questioned about things on the job," Tveit said Tuesday. "I want them to worry about their job and not what council members will say to them when they're trying to do their job."

For his part, Schaffer said Monday that the vote was a "popularity contest," and that he had a right to disagree with Teicher's handling of the public works employee's resignation.

"I'm not supposed to be a human being," he said. "I'm not supposed to have emotions."
Schaffer, who was the top vote-getter in a 2006 citywide election and whose term runs through 2010, has been in the hot seat before over conduct issues.

In May he was censured after the city attorney found that he had publicly humiliated the 19-year-old daughter of City Council adversary Tim Brown. In June 2008 residents called on Schaffer to resign after he called 911 to ask police to check the immigration status of a crew of Spanish-speaking roofers. In December 2007 he was censured for making what the council called inappropriate sexual remarks to a young woman during a community event. Last December he survived a recall vote that sought to cut short his four-year term.

After Schaffer's first censure, the council drafted a pledge of personal conduct for city officials; Schaffer abstained from voting when the code was adopted in January 2008.

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409

ST. PAUL ELECTION NIGHT PARTY UPDATE

I am at St. Paul Hotel for Saint Paul DFL and Mayor Chris Coleman's Election Night party ataint Paul Hotel in Downtown St. Paul. People arrived around 7:30PM.

Mood are very festive among people. House Speaker Margret Anderson Kelliher and some Saint Paul School Board Members such as Ann Carroll and Elona Stewart-Street are here.

As of 8:30PM more people arrive.

I will be live-tweeting what is going on at the party. I also will have pictures posted on Twitpic as well.

MnCapitolGirl's Twitter

MnCapitolGirl's Twitpic

Election Day: What will ranked choice bring?

By STEVE BRANDT, Star Tribune

Last update: November 3, 2009


Minneapolis voters go to the polls today to tackle ranked-choice voting, a new method of filling municipal offices, amidst uncertainty over the effect it could have on the final results.

City election officials didn't predict a turnout figure for the city's first election without a primary to winnow the field of candidates. But while the most prominent election of the day, the mayor's race, is not considered close, city officials offered conflicting opinions about whether the new method would stimulate voting or discourage it.

Voters will be asked to rank their first-, second- and third-choice candidates for each office, but not when they are voting yes or no on a charter amendment.

Although the results should be fairly evident in lopsided races, it could be weeks before a victor is known in contests where nobody achieves the required number of votes on first choices. Then the more complicated hand sorting of second and third choices will be required to declare a winner. That's where rankings of candidates could be the most influential.

While turnout remains a big question, city officials said they'll have 230,000 blank ballots -- one for every registered voter in the city.

The turnout for city general elections in the past 20 years has varied considerably. In 1993, when Sharon Sayles Belton defeated John Derus to become the city's first woman and first black mayor, more than 103,000 residents voted in the election. But in 1989, the last election in which an incumbent mayor faced such low-profile opposition, the turnout was just over 56,000.

The election will be watched beyond Minneapolis, as St. Paul voters decide whether to approve ranked-choice voting for their city. Their decision has implications for Minneapolis, according to interim Election Director Patrick O'Connor.

That's because demand determines the willingness of companies to develop vote-counting products that could automate the hand-counting process now required to handle voter choices. The more Minnesota cities using similar ranked-choice voting laws, the more willing equipment manufacturers will be to supply that market for the 2013 election, O'Connor said.

Raw results from Minneapolis voting will be posted on the Secretary of State's website but ought to be viewed with caution, O'Connor said. That's because the threshold for determining the winner in each race won't be determined until after election night, making it hard to be sure if a candidate has the necessary votes.

Overwhelming leaders on first-choice votes should be safe, but if nobody reaches the threshold, second- or third-choice votes have the ability to propel a lower-ranked candidate ahead of those leading in the first round.

Ranked-choice voting was approved by Minneapolis voters in 2006 and survived a legal challenge. That challenge was based on the potential harm the system could cause to voting, and thus faced a high legal bar.

A spokesman for the Minnesota Voters Alliance, which brought that challenge, said it plans another legal challenge based on how the method is applied in actual voting and counting, which would face a lower legal threshold.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438

Star Tribune Voter's Guide

If you are in hurry and need to decide at last minute, you could go to Star Tribune's Voter Guide.

Click here to go to Star Tribune Voters Guide.

'Not a whole lot of problems' in Minneapolis voting

By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune

Last update: November 3, 2009


On a light-turnout, local Election Day, the brave new voting method in Minneapolis appears to be running smoothly.

All day, lines of voters were short, according to reports from polling places.

The ballot itself may be the most interesting aspect of this election across Minnesota, with Minneapolis voters giving a test drive to ranked-choice voting, informally known as instant runoff voting.

"Most of our voters were very well-informed and understood ranked-choice voting," said Richard Hollenzer, an election judge at Bancroft Elementary School in south Minneapolis "Most people knew exactly what they were doing."

Among the first 90 voters at the precinct was Paula Keller, a freelance photographer who said simply, "I didn't have a problem with it."

Another, 25-year Minneapolis resident Brad Berquist, said he "thought it might be more complicated than it was, but it went very smoothly."

The races with the highest profiles -- for mayor of Minneapolis and St. Paul -- have some of the least drama, since the incumbents in both cities are heavily favored to win another term.

Elsewhere across Minnesota, city council and school board races predominate on the ballot, along with bond issues and referendums.

Officials in Minneapolis were braced for confusion on the part of voters unfamiliar with a system that allows them to rank their preferences among candidates, a procedure that eliminated the city's primary election.

But through early afternoon, voting was essentially trouble-free, said city elections director Pat O'Connor.

"It's been pretty good, with not a whole lot of problems," he said. "The problems have been the kind of little picayune things that always pop up."

The extremely low turnout provided O'Connor with his biggest disappointment of the day.

"It's been very low and that's kind of disappointing," he said. "I guess I was hoping more people would want to come out and try [the new voting method. We sent word to every single household in the city."

Voters across the city said the new procedure seemed to go smoothly, with elections officials carefully walking each voter individually through how to cast multiple votes.

O'Connor said workers in the precincts -- their numbers augmented to help explain the new voting method -- trained extensively on "how to help people through the process."

At King Park, another south Minneapolis precinct, an elections judge reported that among the first 50 voters this morning, only two made errors on their ballots. In one case, the voter discovered her mistake; the tabulating machine found the other. Both voters got new ballots and fixed their errors.

Voters at the precinct seemed to like the new voting method but they admitted that they were hard-put to use all three rankings they were allowed.

"I never got to a third choice," said voter Dale Wiehoff. "I didn't know the candidates that well."

"I actually sort of like it," he said of his experience with ranked-choice voting. "I came in sort of skeptical."

Eunice Randolph, a park worker who has also served as a past election judge, said the election this year is low-key even by the low-turnout standards of city elections. "You can practically read a book in the off years," she said.

Across the river, officials in St. Paul also will be keeping a close eye on how well it goes in Minneapolis, because if voters approve, the capital city will be adopting the same voting procedure.

One early election-related glitch: Because of an unspecified snafu at the U.S. Postal Service, tens of thousands of sample ballots prepared by the Minneapolis DFL never got delivered.

"They were supposed to be delivered on Friday and when they weren't, we called the post office on Saturday," said Tim Bonham, the party's treasurer. "They went looking but said they couldn't find them. Some are supposed to be delivered today, but that's kind of late."

Party officials are concerned that the lack of sample ballots could hurt their candidates if voters are confused by the new ballot setup, "but nobody really knows what'll happen," he said.

Lacking drama and highly competitive races, Minnesotans who are political junkies will have to turn their attention elsewhere. Gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia and a special congressional election in upstate New York are being billed as referendums on the performance of President Obama.

Check back throughout the day for updates on how the election is unfolding. Full information on candidates and voting procedures is available here. And the Star Tribune's Whistleblower is keeping an eye on Election Day here.

Staff writers Emily Johns and Steve Brandt contributed to this report.

Where to find your polling place to vote today

Today is Election Day so some area in Minnesota do have election so in case if you don't know where your polling place is, feel free to click on one of those link that would direct you to right place.

City of Minneapolis

City of Saint Paul and Ramsey County

Secretary of State Ritchie's Pollfinder

Schwarzenegger to Shriver: Put down the cell phone

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."

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

March is possible trial date for hit and run suspect Eric James Hunter

Left: Joan LeVasseur a hit & run victim and Right: Eric James Hunter's mugshot

By Rach Eggert, Rach’s Political Report

September 26, 2009

Possible trial date for Eric James Hunter who is suspect in Joan LeVasseur’s hit and run accident death is set for March 16, 2010. They are trying to move trial date back to sometimes in January, 2010 but not certain when due to court calendar being full.

Eric James Hunter made an initial appearance at Dakota County Court in Hastings on Monday, September 21st. He chose trial instead of going to jail immediately.

Once information become more available at later date, it will be updated.

Connecticut company unveils Michele Bachmann action figure

by Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio

September 25, 2009


St. Paul, Minn. — Rep. Michele Bachmann has attracted national media attention for her denunciation of ACORN and for suggesting that President Obama might be "anti-American," but on Friday she achieved a new level of celebrity status -- in the form of her own action figure.

The Connecticut-based toy company Herobuilders plans to release the doll today on its website.

The $39.95 Bachmann action figure will share the catalog with Rod Blagojevich, (a $149.95 limited edition figure), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (sporting a t-shirt that reads "Let them eat yellow cake"), Joe the Plumber (with his own custom-made crow bar), and a talking Joe Wilson, among others.

Emil Vicale, CEO of Herobuilders, said that choosing who gets to be an action figure can be difficult.

"There's a lot of thought that goes into that," he said. "Sometimes it's just very easy, like Joe Wilson when he called Obama a liar. I mean you have to be an action figure then. Sarah Palin, that was pretty obvious."

"I think you just have to strike my fancy, I guess."


When asked what aspects of Bachmann "struck his fancy," Vicale said, "She's hot. Did I say that out loud? Yeah, I guess I did."

Bachmann will be dressed in a business suit. Vicale said he originally thought about having her hold a gun, "but I'm thinking 'no' this time."

"We're not going to do anything over the top," he said. "I think she'll look good in a nice tailored business suit."

Dave Dziok, a spokesperson for Bachmann, said the Congresswoman hadn't heard about the action figure. "That's pretty cool," he said.

Herobuilders started in 2002, when it released a President George Bush action figure, after Vicale was inspired by President Bush's appearance at Ground Zero.

But Vicale said that Sarah Palin and Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, the former Iraqi Information Minister, have been the most popular.

He declined to provide specific sales figures, other than to say that he once sold 20,000 al-Sahhaf action figures in 24 hours, when the minister gained the nickname "Baghdad Bob" for his bizarre statements during the Iraq War.

Vicale has considered and rejected several action figure candidates, including Rep. Ron Paul, whose denunciation of the Federal Reserve has attracted national attention.

"I've been asked that before," he said, speaking about Paul. "He doesn't look like an action figure at all, does he?"

Vicale said his company, despite designing sometimes outrageous figures, is a business like any other.

"We're really trying to sell product," he said. "So you really have to look at the broad base and the appeal of the person first, and then what it would look like as an action figure second, and will someone buy it. Will an adult actually want this as a collectible?"

The Bachmann action figure, manufactured in Oxford, Connecticut, will be limited to 250 figures, although Vicale said more could be produced if demand is high.

Teamsters unit backs Rybak for governor

Source: Star Tribune

September 26, 2009

Teamsters Local 120, the largest Teamsters unit in Minnesota, has endorsed Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak for governor.

Local President Brad A. Slawson Jr. said in a statement issued Saturday that the union is "most confident in Rybak's prospects for winning statewide election and moving forward."

Rybak, who has been Minneapolis' mayor since 2001 and is running for reelection in November, hasn't declared his intentions but has said it is "very likely" he will run for governor next year. DFLers who have already declared they will run include House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Sen. Tom Bakk, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, Rep. Tom Rukavina, Rep. Paul Thissen, Sen. John Marty and former Sen. Steve Kelley. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman also has indicated he may run.

Local 120, which has 14,000 members, based its endorsement on the relationships it has with politicians, a spokesman said. No candidates appeared before the union to request endorsement.

MARY JANE SMETANKA

DFL moves party convention from June to April

Source: KARE 11

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota DFL Party says it will hold next year's state convention two months earlier than previously scheduled, moving it to the week before the state GOP convention.

The DFL said Saturday its convention will be in Duluth from April 23-25, instead of in June as previously planned.

The state Republican convention is slated to run from April 29 to May 1 in Minneapolis.

DFL Chair Brian Melendez says the party's decision to move its convention up two months will make its endorsed candidate even more competitive.

He says DFLers will have more time to rally behind their candidate, which will help the party build momentum for the general election.

Obama to appear at Target Center

By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune

Last update: September 9, 2009


President Obama will bring his campaign to overhaul the nation's health care system to the Twin Cities on Saturday with what's being billed as a "health care reform rally" at Target Center.

The event will begin at 12:30 p.m. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. with airport-style security, and seating will be on a first-come, first-seated basis.

No bags, no sharp objects, no umbrellas, no liquids, no strollers, and no signs will be allowed into the venue. Cameras are permitted.

Obama's arrival and departure on Air Force One will not be open to the public.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said late Tuesday night that she had heard that the president might be in Minnesota but hadn't received confirmation of the trip from White House officials.

But a trip to Minnesota would make sense, she said, because Obama has used Minnesota as a "shining example" of health care services. Specifically, Obama has cited the Mayo Clinic in Rochester as a system that works, praising its integrated system as an example of efficient, coordinated care.

However, Mayo officials have at time been at loggerheads with both the White House and Democratic congressional leaders over health care reform plans being considered.

Earlier this summer, the clinic blasted House Democrats' bill, saying "the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher quality, more affordable health care for patients."

Nonetheless, a Mayo official was scheduled to be in the audience tonight when Obama makes his case for health care reform before a joint session of Congress.

Jeffrey Korsmo of Mayo's Health Policy Center was invited to the speech by Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., who represents the clinic.

Also attending the speech will be Peter Olsen, a University of Minnesota medical student.

He was invited by Klobuchar after he spoke during a recent roundtable she held to stress the need for more primary care physicians, particularly in rural areas.

He was invited by Klobuchar after he spoke during a recent roundtable she held to stress the need for more primary care physicians, particularly in rural areas.

Obama may pay visit to Twin Cities for health care talk

By MARY LYNN SMITH, Star Tribune

Last update: September 9, 2009

A presidential visit may be in the works for the Twin Cities.

President Obama reportedly will be in Minnesota on Saturday, most likely to deliver a speech on health care reform at either the Target Center in Minneapolis or the Xcel Center in St. Paul.

White House officials haven't disclosed details about the trip, and on Tuesday local Democratic officials said they hadn't received any official word about a visit.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said late Tuesday night that she had heard that the president might be in Minnesota but hadn't received confirmation of the trip from White House officials.

But a trip to Minnesota would make sense, she said, because Obama has used Minnesota as a "shining example" of health care services. Specifically, Obama has cited the Mayo Clinic in Rochester as a system that works, praising its integrated system as an example of efficient, coordinated care.

Ousted Illinois Gov. Blagojevich explains himself, pick for Obama's Senate seat in new book

Source: Star Tribune

By DEANNA BELLANDI, Associated Press

Last update: September 1, 2009

CHICAGO - Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says in a new book that White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel wanted his help in arranging to leave the Obama administration after two years to reclaim his seat in Congress.

Blagojevich writes in "The Governor" that Emanuel spoke with him about whether it was possible to appoint a "placeholder" to the congressional seat Emanuel was giving up so that he could win back the seat in 2010 and continue his efforts to become speaker some day.

"As we have done for many months, we will continue to decline comment," Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Feinberg said in an e-mail Monday.

Blagojevich also admits that he wanted something in exchange for appointing President Barack Obama's replacement in the Senate, but it wasn't the deal described in federal corruption charges against him.

The Chicago Democrat says that the night before his arrest in December, he had launched a plan to appoint Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to the Senate seat because he hoped to cut a deal on pet projects with her father, powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

That plan was ruined by his arrest. Blagojevich writes that he eventually appointed Roland Burris, in part because of Burris' famously big ego. No one else but Burris would accept the appointment and fight to be seated under the circumstances, Blagojevich says.

Burris' office declined to comment.

The ex-governor's 264-page book, published by Phoenix, comes out Sept. 8. It offers a benign picture of events surrounding Blagojevich's arrest in a corruption scandal that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said would make Abraham Lincoln "roll over in his grave."

The scandal cost Blagojevich his job when lawmakers impeached and threw him out of office in January. The once-rising political star is scheduled to stand trial next year. Blagojevich, who has pleaded not guilty, repeatedly asserts his innocence in the book.

He says his discussions about Obama's possible successors amounted to "ordinary and routine politicking."

But federal authorities cast it in a much different light, alleging Blagojevich was caught on FBI wiretaps discussing what he could get in exchange for the seat, from jobs to campaign contributions.

Blagojevich says that story is "upside down" and that he never asked for, or raised the subject of, campaign contributions in exchange for the Senate seat.

Others approached his administration with offers of campaign money, he says in "The Governor" without naming names. "If anyone should have been charged with a crime for this, it should have been them and not me," he writes.

When Blagojevich talked to Emanuel after the election about the Senate pick, Obama's right-hand man "did not lobby for anyone in particular," according to the book.

Blagojevich says Emanuel was interested in his own career because he had to give up his congressional seat to work in Obama's White House. Blagojevich writes that Emanuel dreamed of being speaker of the U.S. House and wanted to know if Blagojevich would work with him to name a successor to "hold" his seat until he wanted it back.

Blagojevich says he told Emanuel he didn't think he could do that and the House vacancy would have to be filled by special election. But Emanuel reportedly told him "his lawyers thought there was a way."

Blagojevich writes that he struggled with the idea of appointing Lisa Madigan to the Senate. The prospect "repulsed" him because of bad blood with her father.

But in the end, Blagojevich saw it as a way to entice Michael Madigan to support legislation he wanted, including a long-stalled statewide construction program that he said would create jobs and expand health care access for families.

Blagojevich says he told his chief of staff, John Harris, to begin working on a deal to appoint Lisa Madigan. The deal was halted when both Blagojevich and Harris were arrested the next day, Dec. 9, 2008.

"Mr. Fitzgerald didn't stop a crime spree. He stopped me from doing a lot of good for a lot of people," Blagojevich writes.

Harris has since agreed to testify against Blagojevich after pleading guilty and admitting that he repeatedly talked to the then-governor about ways he could profit from his authority to appoint Obama's successor.

It's unclear if the Madigans were aware of Blagojevich's intentions. Lisa Madigan said last November she thought there was a "less than zero" chance Blagojevich would appoint her.

Madigan's spokeswomen, Robyn Ziegler, said the attorney general hasn't read the book and doesn't intend to.

Madigan was widely seen as a potent challenge to Blagojevich if he ran for a third term in 2010. After he was arrested, Blagojevich writes, he was a "political leper."
He decided to fill the Senate vacancy by appointing Burris, the former state comptroller and attorney general and the first black man to hold a major statewide office in Illinois. Blagojevich said Burris was qualified and had the self-confidence to accept the appointment despite the scandal.

"It was that self-esteem that I was counting on to be able to withstand the storm of protest that was inevitably going to come," he said.