Anderson will buck party in House 17B race

Cliff Buchan, News Editor, Forest Lake Times

After seeing Democrats hold the state House seat serving Chisago County for 26 of the past 30 years, Sheldon Anderson said he could sit idle no longer and watch the Republican Party repeat history this fall.

On Tuesday, Anderson, a three-term mayor of Wyoming, filed papers in Center City to run for the House seat in District 17B as a Republican. That will mean a primary election on Aug. 10 as the party last month endorsed Bob Barrett of Shafer to seek the House seat that Rep. Jeremy Kalin, DFL-North Branch, is vacating after two terms.

It was the endorsement process and blow back and the party’s lack of success over the past three decades that motivated Anderson to not abide by the decision of the endorsing convention, he said.

“When I agreed to abide by the endorsement, I was assuming it would be an ethical process,” Anderson said. “It turned out not to be.”

Anderson lost on the fourth ballot to Barrett during the April 17 convention in North Branch. The tide went against Anderson, he said, when Chisago City Mayor Don Taylor and Wyoming Councilman Russ Goudge, the other two announced candidates for the endorsement, backed Barrett.

Taylor lost to Kalin in the 2008 election. Anderson also lost a four-ballot endorsement contest to Taylor in 2008 before throwing his support behind Taylor in the fall election, he said.

But Anderson said the process and attacks against family and friends motivated him to take the next step.

During the convention, Anderson said he heard remarks that his wife, Olga, who is from Belarus, Minsk, was a communist.

Anderson said Chip Cravaack of Lindstrom, the Republican endorsed candidate to run against Rep. Jim Oberstar in the Eighth Congressional District, ignored subtle pleas from party members to not step forward and second Anderson’s nomination for the endorsement.

The mayor said he was also critized for serving as campaign manager for former St. Paul Police Chief William Finney’ during his run for Ramsey County Sheriff four years ago because Finney had strong DFL backing in the race.

Stacked Deck

After being rejected in 2008 and again this year, Anderson said it was clear he would never win favor of the party leaders in House District 17B.

And the fashion in which the endorsement process was completed says it clearly, Anderson said.

“I’m not in the upper echelon of the party,” Anderson said. “I don’t dance to the party’s line.”

Anderson said he could have lived with the endorsement had it been based on records. “Not once was my six-year record as mayor of Wyoming challenged,” he said.

During that tenure, Anderson said he help lead a process that brought the former Wyoming Township and the city together as one city. Under his lead, Wyoming became the second city in the state to adopt a rigid sexual predatory ordinance, he said. He said he was the first city official in the county to step forward and back the LS Power proposal and was an activist in working to assist Xccent, Inc. to relocate 100 jobs from Osceola, WI, to a new plant in Wyoming.

“I am willing to let my record stand,” he said. “My message will resonate with the people in Chisago County who did not go to the caucus.”

Anderson said he believes he can win in August because he has better name identification, a stronger resume and leadership skills.

Anderson said he made the decision to file after evaluating the situation and hearing encouragement from other party members who shared his concerns. “They didn’t feel the endorsed candidate is the guy who can win in November,” he said.

The mayor said he will count on a strong grassroots movement in his attempt to win the primary.

“He’s [Barrett] going to have the financial backing of the Republican Party,” Anderson said. “There is no doubt that I am going to be outspent.”

Barrett Reacts

“I look forward to running in the primary with the full backing of my party,” Barrett said on Tuesday after learning of Anderson’s decision.

Bob Barrett, left, of Shafer, is the Republican-endorsed candidate in the House District 17B race.

During the endorsement process, Barrett said all four candidates were given ample opportunity to meet with delegates, both privately and during public forums. It was the result of that process that led to his endorsement on April 17, he said.

“To my knowledge, all four candidates agreed to abide by the endorsement process,” Barrett said.

In it to Win

Anderson said he believes he is the race for the right reason.

“I didn’t get into politics to make friends,” he said.”I got into politics to help make our community a better place for our kids, families and businesses.”

Anderson, 48, is a Maplewood native who has lived in Wyoming just under 10 years. He is co-owner of Capital Investigations and Security Services, Inc., St. Paul, a 20-year-old business.

Barrett, who works at Hazelden Foundation in Center City, moved to Shafer after living in the Elk River area.

In 2000 while a resident of Orrock Township, Barrett was as member of the DFL Party. That year he challenged incumbent Rep. Leslie Schumacher in the DFL primary and was defeated by a margin of 1804 to 1037.

The winner of the Republican primary is expected to face a challenge from Cindy Erickson, the DFL district chairwoman who has been endorsed by her party to run for Kalin’s seat.

On the Independence Party ticket, Curtis Lendt of Wyoming, a former Chisago County commissioner, said this week he will file to run for the House 17B seat as a third-party candidate.

The Republican Party primary is the first such vote in more than 30 years for the district.

Molnau endorses Emmer's candidacy for Minnesota governor

Pioneer Press

01/25/2010

Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau on Monday endorsed state Rep. Tom Emmer for governor, saying he's a strong leader who knows that "less government is better than more."

"If I didn't think there was a strong candidate in this race, I'd be there," Molnau said at a Capitol news conference.

Emmer, one of seven candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor, said Molnau's endorsement shows his campaign is gaining momentum. He said he would seek her advice since she has been part of two successful statewide campaigns.

Molnau said she had not discussed her endorsement of Emmer with Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has said he plans to remain neutral in the race to succeed him.

She and Pawlenty are the only statewide elected Republican office holders in Minnesota.

Meanwhile, Rep. Marty Seifert announced that Republican National Committeewoman Evie Axdahl, of Maplewood, has joined his gubernatorial campaign's leadership team.

— Bill Salisbury

Race for governor has a cast of many

Republicans in particular face the challenge of discerning what role Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who isn't seeking a third term, will play as the race progresses.

By MIKE KASZUBA, Star Tribune

Last update: August 21, 2009

More than a dozen candidates to be Minnesota's next governor are hustling across the state for support this summer -- so many that one joked they should simply carpool.

Yet the role of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, particularly in pushing the chances of the Republicans trying to succeed him, remains unclear.

At a soggy picnic in Roseville this week, one Republican gubernatorial candidate after another talked to the crowd without ever mentioning Pawlenty, the two-term Republican they all have said they admire.

DFL candidate Matt Entenza said Pawlenty has already fundamentally changed the race by deciding not to enter it, a move Entenza said made the overall campaign "considerably less expensive." He estimated that had Pawlenty sought reelection the race for governor would have approached $10 million.

These are the early, but important, days of a race where the election is still 15 months away. On any given weeknight and weekend, a not-so-small gang of Republicans and DFLers crisscrosses Minnesota, moving from political breakfasts to private fundraising dinners in an often-lonely journey to gain political traction. In the coming months, the field will inevitably decrease as many candidates, realizing the odds, bow out.

The pace can be demanding. Schedulers for Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, had him speaking in Minneapolis on Thursday night, appearing Friday afternoon at a county fair in Alexandria and then finishing the day at a DFL picnic in Glenwood. Today, he began with an early morning appearance at another county fair in Owatonna and by noon was scheduled to be at a second DFL picnic, this time in Burnsville. Marty said the candidates -- including himself -- are "like a swarm of bees" these days.

For the Republicans, the campaign has an added challenge: how to sell themselves as independent from Pawlenty, while making sure they have the support of a governor who remains popular within his party. Conversely, the Republicans also have to cope with how much time Pawlenty, who is crisscrossing the country in pursuit of his national political ambitions, will devote to get them elected.

"None of us are Tim Pawlenty," said Rep. Paul Kohls, R-Victoria, after finishing a 10-minute speech at the Roseville picnic. As his opponents took their turns in front of the microphone, Kohls added, "I wouldn't read too much" into the fact that he and others did not mention the governor during their speeches. "I don't think any of us want to be Tim Pawlenty. We want to be who we are," he said.

With Pawlenty largely silent on the subject, and the Republican endorsing convention not until next year, the lobbying for the governor's support has been muted.

"I'm trying to give him breathing room," said former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, another gubernatorial candidate. "You can't be putting pressure on someone ... when you've got all of his friends running for governor at the same time."

Seifert said he introduced Pawlenty at a rally recently in Redwood Falls and said the governor said "some very kind things about me." But Seifert also acknowledged that relations between Republicans in the Legislature and Pawlenty, who has sailed his own course politically, have been hard to define. Asked whether they had been less than ideal, Seifert responded: "It depends what your definition of ideal is.

"What's the word [to describe the relationship]? I don't have a thesaurus with me," said Seifert, who resigned as House minority leader to run for governor.

Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, another gubernatorial candidate, said the Republicans obviously would welcome Pawlenty's endorsement.

As Emmer and Kohls stood together at a rally this week, Emmer joked that the race for Pawlenty's endorsement was well underway. "I hear Kohls has been kissing [up to Pawlenty] for about three weeks now," said Emmer, smiling.

"My lips are right here, Tom," said Kohls, laughing.

Pawlenty's role

But Emmer also turned serious. "We're not running with Tim Pawlenty. We're not running for Tim Pawlenty," he said. "Tim is great, and he's done a great job. [But] you're going to have to stand on your own ... message."

Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Tony Sutton said Pawlenty will play a large role in the party's quest to retain the governor's office. "Governor Pawlenty is going to be a big part -- his record is going to be a big part -- of our message," he said. "My expectation is he'll be fully engaged in the governor's race."

Former U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger, a Republican, said he is not so sure. "What happens in Minnesota is not going to be of great concern to him," Durenberger said.

If circumstances were changed and Republicans held majorities at the Legislature and elsewhere in the state, he said, Pawlenty might be more inclined to help "because they could be helpful to him" as he seeks a larger national profile.

"I doubt if he's going to use the weight of [the governor's] office ... to try to get one or the other of that list of candidates elected in Minnesota," he added. "I'm just not sure that he's driven by saving Minnesota from the Democrats."

Distracted by other matters

While they have their own crowded race, DFLers said that Republicans running for governor would likely need to try to separate themselves from Pawlenty at some point, especially during a general election campaign.

"I think they'd be wise to be a little careful," said Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, a candidate himself. "Because what you don't want to do is hand the Democrats the issue [of], 'Well, here's four more years of the same.'"

For now, said Sen. Michael Jungbauer, R-East Bethel, another Republican candidate for governor, the focus should not be on Pawlenty.

"I'd just as soon see him fairly hands off,'' said Jungbauer. While agreeing that "we all would love" to have Pawlenty's backing, Jungbauer added that he has differed at times with the governor. "I think he's made some wrong decisions," he said.

"[But] I think he'd be a heckuva great president," Jungbauer added.

Mike Kaszuba • 651-222-1673

Republicans to lose only officeholder in St. Paul

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Emily Johns • 612-673-7460

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