As a battle over a ballot initiative that would place a ban on same-sex marriage in the Minnesota Constitution continues, the DFL is launching a campaign Friday to highlight why marriage is important to all families, including those headed by gay and lesbian couples. Called “Pride in Minnesota Families,” the campaign coincides with the beginning of Twin Cities Pride, a weekend-long series of events celebrating Minnesota’s LGBT community and its supporters.

“Marriage is about creating a family, sharing a life together and being able to marry the person you love –that is no different for gay and lesbian couples than it is for straight couples,” DFL Chair Ken Martin said in a statement on Friday. “Families come together in many different forms to love, support and care for each other, and with these videos we’re highlighting the stories of Minnesotans and what family means to them. Because, in all its different forms, a family is about love.”

The video campaign focuses on five families. Randi and Phil Reitan spoke about their desire to see their son, Jake, get married to the person he loves, something he’s not legally able to do in Minnesota.

Denny Smith of St. Cloud spoke about his son Kyle, whose partner is not a U.S. citizen; the pair was split up when his partner’s visa expired. He said his family would be together if it wasn’t for laws that discriminate against same-sex couples.

Cathy Harrison talked about her partner, Kris Anderson, and the fear she feels if something tragic were to happen. Harrison has no family in Minnesota, and she fears her partner would not be able to make decisions on her behalf if she can’t make them herself.

Eric Blad and Rick Perry, a couple that’s been together for 11 years, talked about their desire to marry.

Mark Shaw and David Bahl, who have been together for 28 years, said their families are very supportive of their relationship and feel that they should have the same opportunities as straight couples.

The Independence Party of Minnesota is the latest political party in Minnesota to oppose a proposed ballot initiative that would write a ban on same-sex marriage into the Minnesota Constitution, and it’s the second party with major party status here to oppose the measure.

IP leaders released a video explaining their opposition to the amendment, and the chair of the party released a statement urging Minnesotans to vote “no” in November 2012. Already, the DFL and Libertarian Party have called on voters to reject the amendment, while the Green Party of Minnesota has long supported full marriage equality for same-sex couples.

IP chair Mark Jenkins cited the party’s platform: “We oppose having the government impose state-sponsored morality or values on people of good conscience with differing views.”

“This is why I oppose legislation or a constitutional amendment that puts any government imposed definition on a religious sacrament.”

The Independence Party, always seeking the middle ground, spelled out the reasons why the “radical right” and “liberal left” are not being reasonable on the issue of gay marriage.

“If we can focus our attention on the issues of civil rights instead of marriage, we may extend the rights all of our citizen’s deserve without threatening the sacrament of marriage,” wrote Jenkins. “I’m pretty optimistic that this could work. I hear that individual rights have a big following in conservative circles. If conservatives stay true to their beliefs, gays may just find conservative allies in the pursuit of their individual rights.”

Jenkins said, “I ask members of the Independence Party, and all Minnesotans, to oppose and work to defeat an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution that outlaws same sex marriage.”

The party also put out a video opposing the amendment:

The DFL has come out against the amendment and the party’s chair, Ken Martin, released this video promising the DFL would fight the amendment “with everything we have.”

While the Green Party of Minnesota has not yet weighed in on the amendment, it has a meeting this weekend. Its platform has traditionally supported marriage equality for same-sex couples: “We support legalizing marriage for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons by applying the same standards, requirements, privileges, and responsibilities as applied to different-sexed couples.”

The Libertarian Party of Minnesota came out against the amendment during the heated debate in the legislative session.

“The proposed Gay Marriage Ban would expand government control and restrict the freedom of consenting adults to live their own lives as they choose. Libertarians believe that marriage is a private matter between individuals,” the party wrote. “We believe that marriage is a fundamental human right, and that all personal relationships, including marriage, should be at the sole discretion and agreement of the individuals involved, as well as any family, friends, or religious institutions they may choose to involve.”

In the wake of Bradlee Dean‘s controversial prayer before the Minnesota House on Friday, a number of religious and political groups condemned Dean and urged Republican leaders to disavow Dean’s prayer and his association with the House. The Minnesota Catholic Conference, which supports a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, said that Dean should not be associated with their movement. The ACLU, the DFL, the National Organization for Marriage, Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak and several legislators all weighed in on the controversy over the weekend.

Supporters of gay marriage ban respond

The Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy wing of the Roman Catholic Church, condemned Dean’s prayer. “It was wrong to have a person with extremist views, like those attributed to Dean, deliver the prayer in the House,” said Jason Adkins, the group’s executive director. “Dean disrespectfully turned the prayer into a polemic and his words divided the chamber rather than brought people together.”

Adkins added that just because Dean is anti-gay he shouldn’t be lumped in with those who seek a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

“It was also unfortunate that those who are opposed to a marriage amendment to the Minnesota Constitution used Dean’s remarks to portray supporters as ‘hate groups,’ as well as state falsely that Dean was there on their behalf,” he said. “As Speaker Kurt Zellers said in an apology today, which we welcome, the mistake was due to an internal oversight. Bradlee Dean does not speak for those supporting a marriage amendment in Minnesota.”

The National Organization for Marriage echoed that sentiment on its blog:

“The suggestion of violence (if this account is true) is abhorrent, especially from a man of the cloth. But should the people of Minnesota be deprived of the right to vote because somebody in the state legislature did not vet a so-called pastor?”

The group links to a Star Tribune story which refers to a statement by Dean during his May 15, 2010, radio show.

“Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America,” he said. “This just shows you they themselves are upholding the laws that are even in the Bible of the Judeo-Christian God, but they seem to be more moral than even the American Christians do, because these people are livid about enforcing their laws. They know homosexuality is an abomination.”

ACLU letter

The Minnesota ACLU sent a letter on Friday afternoon to leaders in both the House and Senate urging them to refrain from prayers when those chambers are in session.

“The Minnesota Legislature is designed to represent all Minnesota residents, regardless of faith,” said Charles Samuelson of the Minnesota ACLU. “While we applaud Representative Zellers for his apology, we urge you to refrain from opening future sessions with any type of prayer, so as to ensure that religious freedom is protected for all.”

“Any reasonable observer,” the ACLU letter said (PDF), “would have understood that Bradlee Dean’s prayer – featuring multiple references to ‘Jesus’ – promoted Christianity.”

Politicians speak out

And Mayor Rybak weighed in in a video interview with Capitol Conversations: “To actually invite a minister that talked the jailing of [LGBT] people to give the invocation on the floor of the Minnesota Capitol, I don’t understand that.”

Rep. Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis, sent an email to constituents condemning Dean.

“The emotions on this issue ran hot this morning when GOP legislators invited Bradlee Dean to deliver the opening prayer,” he wrote. “In case you are unfamiliar with Bradlee Dean, he is a hateful ‘preacher’ who has proclaimed that gays belong in jail and that he would ‘approve the death penalty for gays.’ His mere presence was insulting, but his ‘prayer’ was offensive as well.”

He continued, “I was very upset this kind of speech would be allowed inside the House chamber – or any place. Whether it is African Americans, women or the LGBT community, Republicans have sought policies that divide us, singling out minority communities for harsh treatment.”

DFL chair Ken Martin sent an email to party activists about Dean.

“Today, the Republican majority in the Minnesota House of Representatives invited Bradlee Dean, a controversial Reverend who has essentially advocated for the execution of homosexuals, to deliver the opening prayer for the chamber,” said Martin. “Governor Dayton said it best in response – there is no place for hate in Minnesota and especially not on the House or Senate floor.”

He added, “The fact that this man, who advocates for violence against gay people, was welcomed by the GOP onto the House floor with open arms is just abominable.”

As the Minnesota Independent has reported, Dean has long-running ties with Minnesota Republicans. Politicians, including U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, have been part of fundraisers for Dean’s You Can Run But You Cannot Hide; Emmer’s former House campaign donated to the group; and prominent Republicans, including Dan Severson (who recently announced he’ll be running against Amy Klobuchar for Senate) and state Sen. Paul Gazelka, have been guests on his weekly radio show.

In its DFL Dispatch — an email update to party activists — Minnesota DFL chair Ken Martin said last week that the party will fight to stop a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage from passing in Minnesota. Some LGBT activists had been pressuring the party to make a bold statement in its communications about the issue. In the email, Martin said, “We will work hard to ensure that the GOP is not successful in their quest to write discrimination into our state constitution.”

A Change.org petition was created that urged the party to to get engaged in fighting a constitutional amendment, something the GOP has hinted they have planned for 2012.

“Please be clear about where the DFL Party stands on LGBT equality,” the petition asked. “Please express your concerns about the looming dangers to LGBT equality in Minnesota. Please call all DFLer’s in MN to become concerned and active for the equal rights of LGBT Minnesotan’s.”

Ken Martin, who was recently elected chair of the DFL, responded. Here’s the relevant part of the DFL Dispatch:

But we also have a lot of tough battles coming up—and not just to get our candidates elected. With the Republican majorities in the legislature, it’s very likely that the GOP will drive their partisan agenda next year by putting constitutional amendments on the ballot. And while Governor Dayton can stop any extreme bills that come to his desk, the right-wing majority can use constitutional amendments on the ballot to circumvent his veto pen. That means there’s a real looming danger for many Minnesotans – especially those in the LGBT community.

Let me be clear: the DFL Party has and always will be the Party that stands for equal rights. And we will work hard to ensure that the GOP is not successful in their quest to write discrimination into our state constitution.

We are the party that supports equality and fairness. We believe that every person in Minnesota should have the ability to marry the person they love. We believe every student should be safe at school, and have a healthy, respectful learning environment free of harassment and violence. We believe in ending discrimination based on sexual orientation (and also based on gender, race, religion, disability and any other perceived or actual characteristic). And we will fight to make sure that any GOP efforts to outlaw gay marriage through a constitutional amendment will be voted down in 2012.

By the end of the first day of the recount in Minnesota’s gubernatorial race, DFLer Mark Dayton picked up 20 votes while Republican Tom Emmer lost four after less than half of ballots were recounted Monday. The Emmer team launched an aggressive campaign to challenge ballots, although many challenges were rejected as “frivolous” by election officials. The recount was not without humor, though, as some voters made some interesting write-in choices. One voter, for instance, wrote in “Who farted?” for Ramsey County Sheriff — sure to be the recount’s version of the infamous 2008 write-in candidate “Lizard People.”

The Secretary of State‘s current total in the race shows Dayton leading Emmer by 8,794 votes after the 44.65 percent of ballots have been recounted.

Emmer released a statement yesterday praising elections officials, but made no prediction on his prospects after the first day.

“First, we all need to take a moment to thank the thousands of Minnesotans, from both sides of the aisle and the nonpartisan election officials, who have taken time from their busy lives to partake in the ultimate show of civic engagement,” Emmer said. “At the day’s conclusion, Minnesotans should be proud of the open and transparent recount process on display. Minnesota deserves election integrity. We are committed to ensuring the law is followed so voters will never have to question the value of their vote.”

At a Dayton campaign press conference Monday afternoon campaign spokesman Ken Martin said, “We want there to be no doubt that who ever is the next governor of this state is viewed as the legitimate governor. That means that we can’t short-change this process during the next week to two weeks.”

Dayton’s campaign challenged far fewer ballots than Emmer’s:  86 versus 281. Those numbers do not include challenges deemed frivolous by election judges.

“We’re not in the same position as Tom Emmer,” Martin said Monday. “We don’t need to go out and challenge every ballot. What we need to do is sit back and make sure we’re advocates for Mark Dayton, that we respect this process. We don’t need to go out there and make up ground and try to challenge every ballot.”

In Renville County, Emmer challenged 423 ballots, but only one was allowed to go forward. The remaining 422 ballots are included in the recount total but have been put into a separate pile for evaluation by the state canvassing board. If the board rules those challenges to be substantiated, they will be taken out of the recount total.

A moment of levity came when Team Emmer challenged a ballot where a voter wrote in “Who farted?” for Ramsey County Sheriff, an echo of the 2008 recount’s write-in’s for candidates like “Lizard People,” the “Flying Spaghetti Monster,” and “Nickel Bag.”

Some ballots were challenged by Emmer because voters didn’t completely fill in the circle next to a candidate’s name while in other other cases the campaign argued that ballots should be counted when multiple gubernatorial candidates were marked by voters.

The Dayton campaign released several examples of Emmer challenges that were deemed frivolous by election judges on Monday (via TheUptake):

12-Examples-Emmer-Frivolous-Hennepin-11-29-10

The Republican Party of Minnesota and Tom Emmer’s gubernatorial campaign filed a petition Wednesday with the Minnesota Supreme Court alleging that more people voted in the 2010 election than registered. The GOP claims it has information from election judges who “did not witness” other election judges counting precinct sign in sheets and that “tens of thousands”of  “phantom votes” exist. The recount team of Mark Dayton said that votes have been reconciled twice in post-election reporting, and that the GOP is engaged in an eleventh-hour “Hail Mary” to postpone the recount process.

“We’re receiving reports today from election judges stating they did not reconcile the ballots cast with the number of signatures on the polling roster on Election Night 2010,” said GOP chair Tony Sutton. “These reports raise concerns about the instructions and written guides given to election judges by the Secretary of State’s office as to the statutorily required reconciliation procedures for Election Day but more importantly, raise serious questions about the integrity of the result of the election.”

Added Republican Party of Minnesota Deputy Chairman Michael Brodkorb, “Our petition today is simply asking the Supreme Court to confirm that the number of votes matches the total number of voters on Election Day, as required by state law and that election officials follow the clear statutory remedy for the removal of phantom votes before the results are certified.”

Dayton recount spokesman Ken Martin said the petition to the Supreme Court amounted to nothing more than a “Hail Mary” and that the timing shows that the ultimate goal is to delay the recount.

“There are six days now until the State Canvassing Board meets and in the eleventh-hour the Emmer campaign launched a hail mary pass,” said Martin. He said there is no way for the Supreme Court to rule on the petition and for a reconciliation to occur before that meeting.

“We respect their right to ask for info, but my question is why now? And if they are doing it now six days before the State Canvassing Board meets, does it in effect mean it’s gong to delay the process? And that’s our greatest concern,” said Martin.

He said that the reconciliation occurred on election night when election judges are required by law to count the number of votes cast and match them to the number of voters signed into each precinct. If there are more votes than voters signed in, judges are required to discard that number of votes at random.

Martin added that during the county canvassing, which is also required by law, the votes are again reconciled with the voter sign-ins.

“This whole process has worked,” he said. “We live in a state that around the country election observers have a great sense that the Minnesota system is the finest in the nation.”

“Our perspective is that the Republcan Party is calling into doubt the integrity of our election system,” he added.

Here’s the court filing:

20101117PetitionwithSupportingAffidavit

The well-heeled donors were joined by representatives from labor unions, Native American tribes and progressive policy groups. Shar Knutson, the newly elected president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO was on hand, as was Sarah Stoesz, president of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. There were also representatives from Education Minnesota, AFSCME and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

The impetus for this gathering: ending the Democrats’ more than two-decade drought in gubernatorial contests and forming a new political-action committee designed to raise money and have a major impact on the outcome of the race.

Opperman didn’t return a phone call seeking comment, and most other people who attended the meeting either declined to discuss the details or didn’t respond to calls seeking comment. “I don’t know that I feel real comfortable talking too much about it,” says Doran, in a typical response.

The organization responsible for putting the event together is Win Minnesota. The nonprofit organization has existed for several years, but the establishment of the political-action committee is a new development.

Ken Martin has been brought on as the organization’s executive director. He’s no stranger to electoral politics. In 2006 he served as campaign manager for DFL gubernatorial nominee Mike Hatch. Two years earlier he ran John Kerry’s presidential campaign in Minnesota.

“There’s nothing too mysterious about what we do here,” says Martin. “Our focus is on building a permanent progressive infrastructure that exists beyond campaigns and elections.”

Martin declined to get into the specifics of the meeting at Opperman’s office. But according to one person who attended the gathering the initial goal is to raise $2 million to bankroll what’s being billed as The 2010 Fund. The labor unions, Native American tribes and policy groups were each asked to come up with at least $50,000 initially. That money would then be matched by individual donors.

“Pooling our resources will allow us to do more and with little to no duplication,” reads a description of the fund that was handed out to attendees.

The document, a copy of which was obtained by Minnesota Independent, also describes the obstacles facing Democrats in 2010, including a crowded primary field and the possibility of a strong Independence Party candidate. There are currently 11 Democrats who have filed to run for the post.

“A competitive endorsement and primary contest will (1) drain our candidate of money (2) focus the conversation away from the general election voters and, (3) allow the GOP and IP candidates a free ride thru the spring and summer of 2010,” the document notes.

The establishment of the political fund more than a year before the gubernatorial contest is another sign that Democrats are serious about winning the state’s top office for the first time since 1986.

The stakes in the 2010 contest are even higher than usual because of the looming census. With Democrats already carrying large majorities in the state House and Senate, a win in the gubernatorial contest would essentially mean that they would control the redistricting process that follows the census. Current projections show Minnesota losing one of its congressional seats.

In some ways the Win Minnesota effort will serve as a counterbalance to the ReNew Minnesota campaign being spearheaded by TakeAction Minnesota. While the latter effort is geared around grassroots organizing and ensuring that the eventual DFL nominee embraces a liberal policy platform, the Win Minnesota program will likely rely more on large amounts of cash and paid media.