Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak looked back on his failed attempt to win the DFL's nod for governor and looked ahead to tackling the city's problems, including those nasty potholes.
By STEVE BRANDT, Star Tribune
Last update: April 28, 2010
His voice is still hoarse from last weekend's DFL convention, and R.T. Rybak is nursing it this week with mugs of tea.
Back in his Minneapolis City Hall office, he says he's relieved that two years of compartmentalizing his life between the duties of a mayor and the grind of campaigning for governor are over. He says that even focusing on potholes is refreshing.
"It's a little like taking a duplex and turning it into a single-family house," Rybak said this week, reflecting after finishing runner-up to House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher for DFL endorsement Saturday in Duluth. "I'm taking one side out of my brain and filling it with the other."
Does he still want to be governor? That depends on circumstances.
"I'm open to it,'' he said. "It won't have much to do with me having a personal ambition. If I died tomorrow, I would be incredibly fulfilled knowing I got to be mayor of Minneapolis. I don't need another notch on my professional belt.
"I ran for governor because the state was in such a mess and ... that jeopardizes everything we've accomplished, so whether I do something again will depend on large part on whether the state gets straightened out and whether the issues I care about get fixed."
What about Congress, if a Democrat there moved on?
Rybak, an early and tireless Barack Obama supporter, said he's not ruling anything out, but added: "My place in public service is as an executive and as far as Washington goes, I had a great opportunity to go to Washington when President Obama got elected. ... [My wife] Megan and I talked about that and we're Minnesotans."
Why he didn't get endorsed
He said a major factor in losing his endorsement bid was because he couldn't overcome the loyalty of super-delegates to Kelliher, whom he has pledged to support. Those were the convention's 190 state and federal elected and party officials.
Endorsements of her by Sen. John Marty and Rep. Tom Rukavina as they dropped out helped to seal the deal.
Others say that building trades' hostility to Rybak cost him votes, as well as his inability to convert his lead within a band of progressive Democrats known as ReNEW Minnesota to the 60 percent threshold needed to bind its bloc of delegates.
Some were surprised that he couldn't draw more overt support from Obama and his operatives. Rukavina's fiery speech also may have siphoned off some delegates early on. Some Rybakers complain privately that some Minneapolis legislators bad-mouthed his mayoralty.
Still, some say the urban mayor proved political viability statewide, and that it's no shame to finish second in a crowded field. "His ability to motivate and inspire people are tremendous attributes," said Dan McGrath, executive director of TakeAction Minnesota, a progressive political arm.
Training for the future
Rybak said his new statewide contacts will help Minneapolis at the state level, where a negative perception of the state's biggest city has sometimes prevailed.
He's also building some political chits. He'll return to Montgomery's Kolacky Days contest in July, not only for the rubber match in his kolacky-eating contest with that city's mayor, Mick McGuire, but also to stump in the parade for McGuire's legislative bid.
On a personal level, odds are that he might be spotted in an antique store as he restores equilibrium to his personal life. "Megan has built up many chits that I'm sure she'll cash in," he explained. You may also spot him training for the two or three triathlons he hopes to enter after limiting himself to one last summer while campaigning for mayor.
Inside City Hall, Rybak's relatively painless supplemental 2010 budget, which accommodates new state aid cuts, is expected to pass Friday. He'll go from there to meet with department heads to craft his 2011 proposal. Job creation and youth are tops on his agenda.
He's working with other mayors and business on regional competitiveness issues, working with St. Paul on developing green manufacturing jobs, and developing jobs from his homegrown food initiative. He's beating the bushes for more summer jobs for teens, reassessing the city's youth violence prevention effort, looking for college money for city high school graduates and working with others to revive the state's bid for competitively awarded federal school dollars.
"I planned to work on all of these issues some way. But it was unclear whether I'd be doing that as a mayor or a governor," he said. "Now it's quite clear that I'll be doing it from here and it's OK."
Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438
Showing posts with label Mayor RT Rybak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mayor RT Rybak. Show all posts
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, November 5, 2009
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."
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."
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.
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.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Two mayors test waters - and their friendship
R.T. Rybak and Chris Coleman are strongly hinting at rival bids for governor.
By RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER, Star Tribune
Last update: October 3, 2009
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman have been popping up all over the state lately, in places Twin Cities mayors don't usually frequent.
Both stopped by Kolacky Days in Montgomery to fete the prune-filled pastry. They were spotted at a recent Coon Rapids pig roast. Rybak has posted photos of himself standing next to a farmer in a Pope County cattle pasture and addressing a crowd in Austin on his Facebook page. Meanwhile, Coleman campaign signs -- with "for St. Paul" in small letters -- have turned up as far north as Duluth. DFL political activists from Pequot Lakes to Hutchinson report visits from each of them.
"I see them everywhere. When don't I see them?" said Marge Hoffa, DFL chair of the Third Congressional District, which spans the western suburbs.
The two mayors are blunt about what's behind their statewide sojourns -- they're both seriously considering a run for governor next year, even as they run for reelection as mayors this November.
If both jump into the governor's race, it would appear to mark the first time a Twin Cities mayor has faced direct political competition from the mayor across the river, and could test the notion that big-city politicians struggle once they move their shows statewide. No mayor from either city has gone on to become governor since Alexander Ramsey in 1860, who had earlier served a stint as St. Paul mayor.
A Rybak-Coleman contest for endorsement could also strain what has been one of the closest working relationships between St. Paul and Minneapolis mayors in recent memory.
Neither one is ready to formally declare a gubernatorial candidacy, nor do they deny the governor's office is in their sights.
Rivals in both parties have suggested it's time for the two to join the field of 11 DFL candidates who have already announced. Republicans have filed a complaint against Rybak and Coleman, accusing them of skirting state campaign finance law with what amounts to informal campaigning.
But Coleman and Rybak are sticking to their own timetables for now.
Coleman says he'll decide this month, so voters in St. Paul's mayoral contest this fall will know his intent. Rybak's announcement may not be quite that soon, but he said Minneapolis voters should know that he is "increasingly likely" to run for governor. An early supporter of candidate Barack Obama, Rybak says he has even told the president of his possible intentions.
Friends who may be rivals
Coleman and Rybak each claim the other as a friend. They've met socially on occasion as well as politically and say they'll maintain cordial relations even if they become competitors.
"We have a good relationship, and I think that's very important," Rybak said. "But I have a good relationship with most of the other mayors in the region and most of the other people in this race."
Said Coleman: "People are appreciative of the fact that the two cities, which have been at odds with each other more often than not, are actually getting along."
As they explore possible gubernatorial runs, the mayors have continued to work together. They recently co-authored a newspaper opinion piece about health care and they've collaborated on environmental concerns, economic issues and the Central Corridor light-rail line. Their partnership, in part, helped bring the Republican National Convention to Minnesota last year.
There's also a practical reason for them to handle things carefully.
"One of them is not going to be the nominee to be governor," said Blois Olson, a Democratic pundit and executive vice president at Tunheim Partners public affairs firm. Both could remain at their city's helm for the next four years.
No fighting -- yet
Politics watchers report that the mayors, along with myriad other DFL candidates, have remained civil on the stump.
"There's been no animosity, no fighting. They've just been standing on their own soap box," said Paul Wright, DFL chairman of the Seventh District in western Minnesota.
The formal DFL field is already flooded with candidates: House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, state Sens. Tom Bakk and John Marty; state Reps. Tom Rukavina and Paul Thissen, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner and former state legislators Matt Entenza and Steve Kelley. Registered lobbyist Peter Roess and frequent candidate Ole Savior have also filed campaign committees.
With so many candidates in the race, spending time attacking just one potential DFL opponent could be "very, very dumb" strategically and a waste of time, said former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer, who has encouraged Coleman to run.
But that could change should the two mayors end up competing for the same delegates, each trying to prove their city is better run.
Can they win outstate?
Could either DFL mayor from a liberal city win statewide?
"People who are not from a big city or the big cities are going to say, 'Well, is he going to understand my issues in Crookston?' I think it is a legitimate concern, and I think it has to be," said Latimer, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1986.
Twin Cities politicians have had mixed success recently in plying their wares outside their borders. As Hennepin County attorney, Amy Klobuchar trounced U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy in the 2006 U.S. Senate race, winning in a landslide against the Watertown Republican. Gov. Tim Pawlenty, with a home base in Eagan, won an election against a candidate from outstate Minnesota and one against a candidate from the suburbs. Norm Coleman, a former St. Paul mayor, lost to suburban mayor Jesse Ventura in the 1998 governor's race but won a U.S. Senate seat four years later -- only to lose it to Minneapolitan and Democrat Al Franken after last year's extended recount.
Bakk, a DFL candidate who said both mayors have been on the stump enough that they should file their candidacies, said the Democrats' real battle will be in the western and southern parts of the state.
DFL First District chair Lori Sellner, whose swing district comprises southern Minnesota, said her delegates will look for someone who understands the issues non-big-city residents face, but that doesn't preclude urban candidates.
"It is just one of many factors that delegates will look at it," Sellner said.
Don Bye, longtime DFL chair in the Eighth District that includes the DFL bedrock that is the Iron Range, said any metro DFL candidate simply has "more to prove" to outstate voters.
But, he said, "I think it is provable."
Rachel E. Stassen-Berger • 651-292-0164
By RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER, Star Tribune
Last update: October 3, 2009
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman have been popping up all over the state lately, in places Twin Cities mayors don't usually frequent.
Both stopped by Kolacky Days in Montgomery to fete the prune-filled pastry. They were spotted at a recent Coon Rapids pig roast. Rybak has posted photos of himself standing next to a farmer in a Pope County cattle pasture and addressing a crowd in Austin on his Facebook page. Meanwhile, Coleman campaign signs -- with "for St. Paul" in small letters -- have turned up as far north as Duluth. DFL political activists from Pequot Lakes to Hutchinson report visits from each of them.
"I see them everywhere. When don't I see them?" said Marge Hoffa, DFL chair of the Third Congressional District, which spans the western suburbs.
The two mayors are blunt about what's behind their statewide sojourns -- they're both seriously considering a run for governor next year, even as they run for reelection as mayors this November.
If both jump into the governor's race, it would appear to mark the first time a Twin Cities mayor has faced direct political competition from the mayor across the river, and could test the notion that big-city politicians struggle once they move their shows statewide. No mayor from either city has gone on to become governor since Alexander Ramsey in 1860, who had earlier served a stint as St. Paul mayor.
A Rybak-Coleman contest for endorsement could also strain what has been one of the closest working relationships between St. Paul and Minneapolis mayors in recent memory.
Neither one is ready to formally declare a gubernatorial candidacy, nor do they deny the governor's office is in their sights.
Rivals in both parties have suggested it's time for the two to join the field of 11 DFL candidates who have already announced. Republicans have filed a complaint against Rybak and Coleman, accusing them of skirting state campaign finance law with what amounts to informal campaigning.
But Coleman and Rybak are sticking to their own timetables for now.
Coleman says he'll decide this month, so voters in St. Paul's mayoral contest this fall will know his intent. Rybak's announcement may not be quite that soon, but he said Minneapolis voters should know that he is "increasingly likely" to run for governor. An early supporter of candidate Barack Obama, Rybak says he has even told the president of his possible intentions.
Friends who may be rivals
Coleman and Rybak each claim the other as a friend. They've met socially on occasion as well as politically and say they'll maintain cordial relations even if they become competitors.
"We have a good relationship, and I think that's very important," Rybak said. "But I have a good relationship with most of the other mayors in the region and most of the other people in this race."
Said Coleman: "People are appreciative of the fact that the two cities, which have been at odds with each other more often than not, are actually getting along."
As they explore possible gubernatorial runs, the mayors have continued to work together. They recently co-authored a newspaper opinion piece about health care and they've collaborated on environmental concerns, economic issues and the Central Corridor light-rail line. Their partnership, in part, helped bring the Republican National Convention to Minnesota last year.
There's also a practical reason for them to handle things carefully.
"One of them is not going to be the nominee to be governor," said Blois Olson, a Democratic pundit and executive vice president at Tunheim Partners public affairs firm. Both could remain at their city's helm for the next four years.
No fighting -- yet
Politics watchers report that the mayors, along with myriad other DFL candidates, have remained civil on the stump.
"There's been no animosity, no fighting. They've just been standing on their own soap box," said Paul Wright, DFL chairman of the Seventh District in western Minnesota.
The formal DFL field is already flooded with candidates: House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, state Sens. Tom Bakk and John Marty; state Reps. Tom Rukavina and Paul Thissen, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner and former state legislators Matt Entenza and Steve Kelley. Registered lobbyist Peter Roess and frequent candidate Ole Savior have also filed campaign committees.
With so many candidates in the race, spending time attacking just one potential DFL opponent could be "very, very dumb" strategically and a waste of time, said former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer, who has encouraged Coleman to run.
But that could change should the two mayors end up competing for the same delegates, each trying to prove their city is better run.
Can they win outstate?
Could either DFL mayor from a liberal city win statewide?
"People who are not from a big city or the big cities are going to say, 'Well, is he going to understand my issues in Crookston?' I think it is a legitimate concern, and I think it has to be," said Latimer, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1986.
Twin Cities politicians have had mixed success recently in plying their wares outside their borders. As Hennepin County attorney, Amy Klobuchar trounced U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy in the 2006 U.S. Senate race, winning in a landslide against the Watertown Republican. Gov. Tim Pawlenty, with a home base in Eagan, won an election against a candidate from outstate Minnesota and one against a candidate from the suburbs. Norm Coleman, a former St. Paul mayor, lost to suburban mayor Jesse Ventura in the 1998 governor's race but won a U.S. Senate seat four years later -- only to lose it to Minneapolitan and Democrat Al Franken after last year's extended recount.
Bakk, a DFL candidate who said both mayors have been on the stump enough that they should file their candidacies, said the Democrats' real battle will be in the western and southern parts of the state.
DFL First District chair Lori Sellner, whose swing district comprises southern Minnesota, said her delegates will look for someone who understands the issues non-big-city residents face, but that doesn't preclude urban candidates.
"It is just one of many factors that delegates will look at it," Sellner said.
Don Bye, longtime DFL chair in the Eighth District that includes the DFL bedrock that is the Iron Range, said any metro DFL candidate simply has "more to prove" to outstate voters.
But, he said, "I think it is provable."
Rachel E. Stassen-Berger • 651-292-0164
Saturday, September 26, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
When it's about city taxes, devil's in details for Minneapolis, St. Paul mayors
Rybak and Coleman must juggle nursing their budgets, staving off tax revolts and keeping political options viable.
By STEVE BRANDT and ANTHONY LONETREE, Star Tribune staff writers
Last update: August 22, 2009
When Minneapolis hardware store owner Jim Welna got the chance to buy a building in the next block on Franklin Avenue and quadruple his floor space, he sat down to run the numbers.
They didn't add up -- in large part because of the property tax he'd have to pay. He figured that he would have to budget nearly $140 from each day's proceeds just to pay that $50,000 annual bill.
"I couldn't see a business model that would allow me to factor those taxes in and keep prices affordable," said Welna, who is chairman of the Seward Civic and Commerce Association.
Property taxes, which have risen steadily in Minneapolis and St. Paul, are likely to continue that trend. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak proposes to raise city property tax collections by 11.3 percent next year, the most during his two terms, after a string of 8 percent increases dating to 2003.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman proposed a 6 percent increase in the city's share of property taxes after levy increases of 9 percent, 15.1 percent and 8 percent during his first three years as mayor.
Both mayors are acting like potential gubernatorial candidates, and they blame Gov. Tim Pawlenty's no-new-state-tax policy for the local increases that could be drags on their campaigns.
Still, there's no sign of a property tax revolt in either city.
Few show up to protest at the annual public hearings before levies are adopted. Support for Pawlenty's tightfistedness has eroded, according to one pollster.
Both mayors are buffeted by offsetting pressures when they recommend raising property taxes. Not enough, and there aren't enough cops, workers to fill potholes or clerks to staff counters. Too much, and people such as Welna feel the pain.
Rybak swears that he puts political blinders on when he crafts a city budget and any tax hike he thinks is necessary to support it. He says his job is to do what's in the city's long-term interests. He blames tax increases on Pawlenty's policies and inherited problems such as a growing pension burden.
Coleman says that he's had to raise taxes in part to keep police and firefighters on the streets after state aid cuts. While his predecessors avoided significant levy increases for 12 years, Coleman says that was when state aid was dependable.
Just how much each mayor would be hampered by their taxing records in a statewide race depends on whether they're competing inside their parties or running in a general election, and whether President Obama's stimulus efforts pay off or are seen as a waste of money, analysts say.
Pollster Bill Morris of the Minneapolis research firm Decision Resources found a substantial drop in support for the no-new-taxes approach since Pawlenty's first legislative session in 2003 -- from 61 percent then to 33 percent this summer. Yet property taxes remain the most unpopular of the big three taxes, the other two being income tax and sales tax.
That puts mayors in the awkward position of raising the most unpopular tax to fund their budgets. Legislators who might vie with them for governor control less-unpopular taxes, although their fiscal decisions influence local property levies.
Still, the mayors' records concerning property taxes are likely to have much less impact on DFL delegates and intra-party contests than the crucial swing voters whom Hamline professor David Schultz estimates at 30 percent of voters.
"I can see Republicans trying to frame one of those two candidates as a classic tax and spend liberal," he said.
'Willing to pay'
In St. Paul's West End area, at Jefferson Avenue and Fulton Street, Matt Long, co-owner of Tavern on the Avenue, sees the city's police force as exceptional and worth protecting. Across the avenue, John Evanson, 37, who owns a single-story Craftsman-style home, values the city's culture and history.
Here, where home values mirror the city's median value, St. Paul is investing.
A block away, workers are building a new refrigerated ice rink at Palace playground. A half-mile away, a new fire station and headquarters building is going up.
Evanson said that he's had job offers elsewhere but that he loves St. Paul. He said a 6 percent tax increase is significant, but that "if we want what we want, then we have to be willing to pay for it."
Long said he's been hit with the federally imposed minimum wage increase and the state's new 3/8-cent sales tax, and that he'd prefer not being dealt another property tax increase.
He calculated that, if Coleman's plan passes, the tavern will need to ring up more than 100 extra sales a month to cover the property tax hikes imposed on the bar since Coleman took office.
'It just went skyward'
In Minneapolis, Welna has seen the city's valuation assessment on his 108-year-old building jump from $70,000 to $325,000. With many home values falling, property tax increases fall more heavily on commercial property. His annual tax bill is almost $7,700.
Welna is no rabid anti-tax guy. He has seen city assistance bolster businesses on Franklin. The space he considered buying was vacated by the Seward Co-op. It left for an even bigger store that was financed in part by city loans, an investment Rybak touted in his budget proposal.
But Welna and other businesspeople feel that their tax load is getting burdensome. Joanne Christ, whose family owns the Black Forest restaurant on Nicollet Avenue, described it this way: "It was a nice gentle climb until about seven years ago, maybe eight. Then it just went skyward."
Rybak's projected budgets portend a hefty tax increase for the city's $216,000 median home. The city's levy against that property is projected to rise 55 percent between now and 2015. That's not counting county or school taxes.
The Northrop neighborhood in south Minneapolis abounds with houses close to that example, and Judy O'Brien's bungalow is one of them. She has lived there all but about five years of her life, buying it from her parents in 1980. She thinks her tax bill was about $500 then; now it's $2,718.
"It's hard to see things go up like that every year," O'Brien said. "But it's unrealistic to expect it to go down."
She pays almost twice as much in taxes on her house as do her friends in the suburbs. But that hasn't driven her out of town. "I wouldn't have chosen to live in the suburbs," she said. "I like older neighborhoods. I like to watch the neighborhoods change."
sbrandt@startribune.com • 612-673-4438 alonetree@startribune.com • 612-673-4109
By STEVE BRANDT and ANTHONY LONETREE, Star Tribune staff writers
Last update: August 22, 2009
When Minneapolis hardware store owner Jim Welna got the chance to buy a building in the next block on Franklin Avenue and quadruple his floor space, he sat down to run the numbers.
They didn't add up -- in large part because of the property tax he'd have to pay. He figured that he would have to budget nearly $140 from each day's proceeds just to pay that $50,000 annual bill.
"I couldn't see a business model that would allow me to factor those taxes in and keep prices affordable," said Welna, who is chairman of the Seward Civic and Commerce Association.
Property taxes, which have risen steadily in Minneapolis and St. Paul, are likely to continue that trend. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak proposes to raise city property tax collections by 11.3 percent next year, the most during his two terms, after a string of 8 percent increases dating to 2003.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman proposed a 6 percent increase in the city's share of property taxes after levy increases of 9 percent, 15.1 percent and 8 percent during his first three years as mayor.
Both mayors are acting like potential gubernatorial candidates, and they blame Gov. Tim Pawlenty's no-new-state-tax policy for the local increases that could be drags on their campaigns.
Still, there's no sign of a property tax revolt in either city.
Few show up to protest at the annual public hearings before levies are adopted. Support for Pawlenty's tightfistedness has eroded, according to one pollster.
Both mayors are buffeted by offsetting pressures when they recommend raising property taxes. Not enough, and there aren't enough cops, workers to fill potholes or clerks to staff counters. Too much, and people such as Welna feel the pain.
Rybak swears that he puts political blinders on when he crafts a city budget and any tax hike he thinks is necessary to support it. He says his job is to do what's in the city's long-term interests. He blames tax increases on Pawlenty's policies and inherited problems such as a growing pension burden.
Coleman says that he's had to raise taxes in part to keep police and firefighters on the streets after state aid cuts. While his predecessors avoided significant levy increases for 12 years, Coleman says that was when state aid was dependable.
Just how much each mayor would be hampered by their taxing records in a statewide race depends on whether they're competing inside their parties or running in a general election, and whether President Obama's stimulus efforts pay off or are seen as a waste of money, analysts say.
Pollster Bill Morris of the Minneapolis research firm Decision Resources found a substantial drop in support for the no-new-taxes approach since Pawlenty's first legislative session in 2003 -- from 61 percent then to 33 percent this summer. Yet property taxes remain the most unpopular of the big three taxes, the other two being income tax and sales tax.
That puts mayors in the awkward position of raising the most unpopular tax to fund their budgets. Legislators who might vie with them for governor control less-unpopular taxes, although their fiscal decisions influence local property levies.
Still, the mayors' records concerning property taxes are likely to have much less impact on DFL delegates and intra-party contests than the crucial swing voters whom Hamline professor David Schultz estimates at 30 percent of voters.
"I can see Republicans trying to frame one of those two candidates as a classic tax and spend liberal," he said.
'Willing to pay'
In St. Paul's West End area, at Jefferson Avenue and Fulton Street, Matt Long, co-owner of Tavern on the Avenue, sees the city's police force as exceptional and worth protecting. Across the avenue, John Evanson, 37, who owns a single-story Craftsman-style home, values the city's culture and history.
Here, where home values mirror the city's median value, St. Paul is investing.
A block away, workers are building a new refrigerated ice rink at Palace playground. A half-mile away, a new fire station and headquarters building is going up.
Evanson said that he's had job offers elsewhere but that he loves St. Paul. He said a 6 percent tax increase is significant, but that "if we want what we want, then we have to be willing to pay for it."
Long said he's been hit with the federally imposed minimum wage increase and the state's new 3/8-cent sales tax, and that he'd prefer not being dealt another property tax increase.
He calculated that, if Coleman's plan passes, the tavern will need to ring up more than 100 extra sales a month to cover the property tax hikes imposed on the bar since Coleman took office.
'It just went skyward'
In Minneapolis, Welna has seen the city's valuation assessment on his 108-year-old building jump from $70,000 to $325,000. With many home values falling, property tax increases fall more heavily on commercial property. His annual tax bill is almost $7,700.
Welna is no rabid anti-tax guy. He has seen city assistance bolster businesses on Franklin. The space he considered buying was vacated by the Seward Co-op. It left for an even bigger store that was financed in part by city loans, an investment Rybak touted in his budget proposal.
But Welna and other businesspeople feel that their tax load is getting burdensome. Joanne Christ, whose family owns the Black Forest restaurant on Nicollet Avenue, described it this way: "It was a nice gentle climb until about seven years ago, maybe eight. Then it just went skyward."
Rybak's projected budgets portend a hefty tax increase for the city's $216,000 median home. The city's levy against that property is projected to rise 55 percent between now and 2015. That's not counting county or school taxes.
The Northrop neighborhood in south Minneapolis abounds with houses close to that example, and Judy O'Brien's bungalow is one of them. She has lived there all but about five years of her life, buying it from her parents in 1980. She thinks her tax bill was about $500 then; now it's $2,718.
"It's hard to see things go up like that every year," O'Brien said. "But it's unrealistic to expect it to go down."
She pays almost twice as much in taxes on her house as do her friends in the suburbs. But that hasn't driven her out of town. "I wouldn't have chosen to live in the suburbs," she said. "I like older neighborhoods. I like to watch the neighborhoods change."
sbrandt@startribune.com • 612-673-4438 alonetree@startribune.com • 612-673-4109
Monday, July 6, 2009
Rach at Twin Cities Pride Parade June 2009
Top: Rach with Minnesota House Speaker Margret Anderson Kelliher
Bottom: Rach with Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak
Friday, June 12, 2009
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and weather guy Sven Sundgaard lobby to end Facebook's 5,000-friend limit
Pionner Press
By Amy Carlson Gustafson
agustafson@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 06/11/2009 08:58:31 AM CDT
How many do YOU have?
How many Facebook friends do you have?
I'm not on Facebook.
Fewer than 50
51-250
251-500
More than 501
One is a popular meteorologist; the other is in charge of Minnesota's largest city. Their common mission? Getting rid of the 5,000-friend limit for personal Facebook pages. KARE-TV's Sven Sundgaard and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak topped out at the maximum friend capacity — Rybak a few months ago and Sundgaard on Monday. Now they're stuck with an ever-growing waiting list of potential "friends."
"Well, I guess it's better than if you opened it up and nobody added you as their friend," Sundgaard said about the more than 100 friend requests he can't do anything about.
Rybak said he's talked to people at the social networking site and has asked them to lift the 5,000-friend limit.
"It's good to be in the same boat with Sven. I hope that together we can convince Facebook that they shouldn't keep us from having more friends," laughed Rybak, who has 2,2000 unanswered friend requests.
Last year, there were rumblings that Facebook might ditch the limit, but that never happened. (An interview request on Wednesday with Facebook management went unanswered.) Many folks who want more than 5,000 friends create "fan" or "group" pages where there is no cap on how many followers a person can have. Rybak already has three separate pages on the site, but he, along with Sundgaard, say they prefer their personal pages because they allow more interaction between people.
"Both Sven and I use our Facebook pages to have two-way conversations with people," said Rybak, who noted that when he first joined the site they didn't have a mayor category. "I do it myself. This isn't some staff-driven, phony deal — this is a place where I can legitimately have an ongoing conversation with people. ... Having this Facebook page has been a great way for me to learn about things that are going on in the community, catch up with people I haven't known and have fun."
Speaking of fun, Sundgaard plans to shower his 5,000th friend with a grand prize that includes dinner with him, a tour of KARE studios, a T-shirt, and a chance to meet Sven's beloved goat, Abigail.
As far as fighting Facebook's 5,000-friend limit, Rybak plans to continue his quest to get the company to change its ways.
"It's one thing to deny the mayor of Minneapolis, but I don't know too many people who can say no to Sven," Rybak laughed. "I hope Facebook can't."
So, now the question is: Who's going to create the "Let R.T. and Sven have more friends" group on Facebook?
Update! As of this morning, people are starting to join this newly created (not by us) group on the site. To find it, just type the phrase "Let R.T. and Sven" into the Facebook search bar.
Amy Carlson Gustafson can be reached at 651-228-5561
By Amy Carlson Gustafson
agustafson@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 06/11/2009 08:58:31 AM CDT
How many do YOU have?
How many Facebook friends do you have?
I'm not on Facebook.
Fewer than 50
51-250
251-500
More than 501
One is a popular meteorologist; the other is in charge of Minnesota's largest city. Their common mission? Getting rid of the 5,000-friend limit for personal Facebook pages. KARE-TV's Sven Sundgaard and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak topped out at the maximum friend capacity — Rybak a few months ago and Sundgaard on Monday. Now they're stuck with an ever-growing waiting list of potential "friends."
"Well, I guess it's better than if you opened it up and nobody added you as their friend," Sundgaard said about the more than 100 friend requests he can't do anything about.
Rybak said he's talked to people at the social networking site and has asked them to lift the 5,000-friend limit.
"It's good to be in the same boat with Sven. I hope that together we can convince Facebook that they shouldn't keep us from having more friends," laughed Rybak, who has 2,2000 unanswered friend requests.
Last year, there were rumblings that Facebook might ditch the limit, but that never happened. (An interview request on Wednesday with Facebook management went unanswered.) Many folks who want more than 5,000 friends create "fan" or "group" pages where there is no cap on how many followers a person can have. Rybak already has three separate pages on the site, but he, along with Sundgaard, say they prefer their personal pages because they allow more interaction between people.
"Both Sven and I use our Facebook pages to have two-way conversations with people," said Rybak, who noted that when he first joined the site they didn't have a mayor category. "I do it myself. This isn't some staff-driven, phony deal — this is a place where I can legitimately have an ongoing conversation with people. ... Having this Facebook page has been a great way for me to learn about things that are going on in the community, catch up with people I haven't known and have fun."
Speaking of fun, Sundgaard plans to shower his 5,000th friend with a grand prize that includes dinner with him, a tour of KARE studios, a T-shirt, and a chance to meet Sven's beloved goat, Abigail.
As far as fighting Facebook's 5,000-friend limit, Rybak plans to continue his quest to get the company to change its ways.
"It's one thing to deny the mayor of Minneapolis, but I don't know too many people who can say no to Sven," Rybak laughed. "I hope Facebook can't."
So, now the question is: Who's going to create the "Let R.T. and Sven have more friends" group on Facebook?
Update! As of this morning, people are starting to join this newly created (not by us) group on the site. To find it, just type the phrase "Let R.T. and Sven" into the Facebook search bar.
Amy Carlson Gustafson can be reached at 651-228-5561
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Changing School Options
Posted on May 5, 2009 by R.T. Rybak
Much discussion is currently underway as Minneapolis parents, teachers, school administrators, community leaders and many others grapple with the challenges faced by the Minneapolis school system. Major demographic shifts are underway in this city, state and country that require our school district to change, to reform and to improve the way we prepare our kids for the future. The recently proposed Changing School Options is one way the school district administration is trying to make the changes that need to be made in our schools.
Although the city charter does not give the Mayor direct authority over school policy, I am following this issue closely. I am listening to residents and communicating with the school district’s leadership about the Changing School Options plan. I am especially focused on helping the district streamline their transportation expenses so that more dollars can be used directly in the classroom. I support the goal of having a balance of magnet and community schools available to all neighborhoods.
On May 26, the school board is scheduled to vote on the staff recommendations. The most important thing Minneapolis residents can do is to continue to share your views directly with the school district. I encourage you to attend the upcoming public forums to learn more and voice your concerns about the Changing School Options proposal.
I’m glad to see so many people caring so much about Minneapolis Public Schools. These are difficult issues, there are no easy solutions, and parents rightfully have passion about how schools serve families and communities. Having a great school system is the key to the vitality of our city.
I will continue to look for ways to play a constructive role at this critical time. I spend a lot of time in the schools. There is great learning going on, so let’s keep raising the bar. With the support of engaged people, we can lay the solid foundation for all students to succeed.
Much discussion is currently underway as Minneapolis parents, teachers, school administrators, community leaders and many others grapple with the challenges faced by the Minneapolis school system. Major demographic shifts are underway in this city, state and country that require our school district to change, to reform and to improve the way we prepare our kids for the future. The recently proposed Changing School Options is one way the school district administration is trying to make the changes that need to be made in our schools.
Although the city charter does not give the Mayor direct authority over school policy, I am following this issue closely. I am listening to residents and communicating with the school district’s leadership about the Changing School Options plan. I am especially focused on helping the district streamline their transportation expenses so that more dollars can be used directly in the classroom. I support the goal of having a balance of magnet and community schools available to all neighborhoods.
On May 26, the school board is scheduled to vote on the staff recommendations. The most important thing Minneapolis residents can do is to continue to share your views directly with the school district. I encourage you to attend the upcoming public forums to learn more and voice your concerns about the Changing School Options proposal.
I’m glad to see so many people caring so much about Minneapolis Public Schools. These are difficult issues, there are no easy solutions, and parents rightfully have passion about how schools serve families and communities. Having a great school system is the key to the vitality of our city.
I will continue to look for ways to play a constructive role at this critical time. I spend a lot of time in the schools. There is great learning going on, so let’s keep raising the bar. With the support of engaged people, we can lay the solid foundation for all students to succeed.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Minneapolis mayor pushes for DFL endorsment today, jets to China tomorrow
by Jessica Mador, Minnesota Public Radio
May 16, 2009
Minneapolis — Rybak is looking for the DFL's endorsement of his 2009 mayoral campaign, although he is also reportedly considering running for Governor in 2010.
The mayor was one of many candidates seeking the Democratic party's support at the convention, which was held at Washburn High School.
More than 1,000 delegates attended the convention to endorse a candidate for mayor and other offices up for election this year.
Rybak said he's continuing to focus on the agenda he's been pushing all year.
"I want to come out of here with a unified party, a unified city and just come roaring into these next few years moving the economy forward, continuing to keep crime going down, improving our schools," Rybak said
"We have a very aggressive agenda in very tough times; we need a united city to get it done and my job is to unite the party and then go on and unite the city and make sure that we keep building a great Minneapolis."
The mayor's endorsement push kicked off with a short rally outside the school.
The mayor leaves tomorrow for China. The trip is part of Minneapolis' strategy to strengthen the city's ties to major Chinese cities.
Rybak was invited to speak at the International Forum on Development of High-Tech Enterprises at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Rybak is the only U.S. Mayor and one of a few Americans speaking at the Forum. The mayor also plans to visit Minneapolis' Sister City Harbin, including a stop at the new "Minneapolis Hall" in Harbin's Sister Cities Museum.
Rybak said the recent Northwest-Delta merger has well-positioned the Twin Cities as a global and regional business destination with a major airline hub.
"If we can build these bridges now, we can bring millions of dollars into the community when there is a job to be had," Rybak said. "I'll grow it in Minneapolis or I'll grow it in China and this is a good use."
Officials said the trip, which will cost about $3,000, is funded through a designated convention and tourism expansion fund.
May 16, 2009
Minneapolis — Rybak is looking for the DFL's endorsement of his 2009 mayoral campaign, although he is also reportedly considering running for Governor in 2010.
The mayor was one of many candidates seeking the Democratic party's support at the convention, which was held at Washburn High School.
More than 1,000 delegates attended the convention to endorse a candidate for mayor and other offices up for election this year.
Rybak said he's continuing to focus on the agenda he's been pushing all year.
"I want to come out of here with a unified party, a unified city and just come roaring into these next few years moving the economy forward, continuing to keep crime going down, improving our schools," Rybak said
"We have a very aggressive agenda in very tough times; we need a united city to get it done and my job is to unite the party and then go on and unite the city and make sure that we keep building a great Minneapolis."
The mayor's endorsement push kicked off with a short rally outside the school.
The mayor leaves tomorrow for China. The trip is part of Minneapolis' strategy to strengthen the city's ties to major Chinese cities.
Rybak was invited to speak at the International Forum on Development of High-Tech Enterprises at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Rybak is the only U.S. Mayor and one of a few Americans speaking at the Forum. The mayor also plans to visit Minneapolis' Sister City Harbin, including a stop at the new "Minneapolis Hall" in Harbin's Sister Cities Museum.
Rybak said the recent Northwest-Delta merger has well-positioned the Twin Cities as a global and regional business destination with a major airline hub.
"If we can build these bridges now, we can bring millions of dollars into the community when there is a job to be had," Rybak said. "I'll grow it in Minneapolis or I'll grow it in China and this is a good use."
Officials said the trip, which will cost about $3,000, is funded through a designated convention and tourism expansion fund.
Minneapolis mayor heads to China to promote city
KARE 11
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak is traveling to China to promote the city as a travel destination and to promote Minneapolis companies doing business in the country.
Rybak is leaving Sunday and will return on May 28. He is addressing an international economic development forum in Beijing where he will be the only U.S. mayor and one of only a few Americans speaking.
Rybak will also travel to the cities of Shanghai and Harbin, and will meet with a variety of government, business, technology and academic leaders.
The mayor says it's important to promote Minneapolis as a global city for business and tourism, especially given that China's travelers are the world's fastest growing travel market.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak is traveling to China to promote the city as a travel destination and to promote Minneapolis companies doing business in the country.
Rybak is leaving Sunday and will return on May 28. He is addressing an international economic development forum in Beijing where he will be the only U.S. mayor and one of only a few Americans speaking.
Rybak will also travel to the cities of Shanghai and Harbin, and will meet with a variety of government, business, technology and academic leaders.
The mayor says it's important to promote Minneapolis as a global city for business and tourism, especially given that China's travelers are the world's fastest growing travel market.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Rybak-O' Hara residence is up for sale
That's right, Mayor RT Rybak and First Lady Megan O' Hara decide to downsize and be empty nesters since their kids, Charlie and Gracie will be off to college this fall.
Price Tag: Under 750,000 in Southwest Minneapolis. The house have four bedrooms and three bathroom.
Rybak O' Hara House for Sale on Star Tribune
Price Tag: Under 750,000 in Southwest Minneapolis. The house have four bedrooms and three bathroom.
Rybak O' Hara House for Sale on Star Tribune
Mayor RT Rybak's State of City Address
I have forgetten that Minneapolis RT Rybak had given State of City Address at end of March which I couldn't make it due to illness. You could find his speech on his city website in case you missed the speech like I did.
RT Rybak's 2009 State of City Address.
RT Rybak's 2009 State of City Address.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Mayor Rybak to officially kick off his third term campaign
Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak who is in his second term is going to officially announce that he will be running for third term as Mayor. There were rumors flying around that he would run for Governor next year or being appointed to an important post in Obama-Biden Administration. Both rumors turned out to be false. Now we know that Rybak is seeking third term so we don’t have to worry what is his next step.
His kick-off event will be at Riverview Theatre at 9:15 to 11:30AM tomorrow (Saturday) . The address is 3800 42nd Avenue South in Minneapolis. The theatre is accessible on busline.
Many of you may remember he formally announced his candidacy on Facebook and Youtube. You could find it here.
His kick-off event will be at Riverview Theatre at 9:15 to 11:30AM tomorrow (Saturday) . The address is 3800 42nd Avenue South in Minneapolis. The theatre is accessible on busline.
Many of you may remember he formally announced his candidacy on Facebook and Youtube. You could find it here.
What a surprise in Minneapolis’ Mayor race
Most of us thought that Minneapolis RT Rybak would not have an opponent but it turned out he does. His name is Bob Miller, a Director for Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) in Minneapolis. It was very surprising news a day before Rybak’s announcement for third term running as Mayor.
There may be more but have to wait and see. In 2005 Hennepin County Peter McLaughlin ran against Rybak for DFL endorsement but none was endorsed.
RT Rybak’s campaign website
Bob Miller’s campaign website
There may be more but have to wait and see. In 2005 Hennepin County Peter McLaughlin ran against Rybak for DFL endorsement but none was endorsed.
RT Rybak’s campaign website
Bob Miller’s campaign website
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Update on Mayor Rybak's announcement
Yes, it turn out to be true. Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak has decided to run for third term as Mayor and is not interested in running for Governor as the rumors previously has prompted RT to announce his decision today.
He made announcement on his YouTube video so click here and listen to his announcement.
He made announcement on his YouTube video so click here and listen to his announcement.
BREAKING NEWS! MAYOR RYBAK TO ANNOUNCE HIS RE-ELECTION BID!
Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak is going to announce his intention to run for third term as Mayor of Minneapolis later today.
Stay tuned for further announcement.
Stay tuned for further announcement.
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