Thank you for being part of my campaign to transform Minnesota. I have been continually grateful for your words of encouragement, your advice, volunteer work and financial support over the last year. I am one of the fortunate Minnesotans who has had the opportunity to see firsthand the spirit of involvement that thrives in our state.

Even with your support, and the amazingly hard work of a dedicated and talented campaign team, I have not been as successful as we had hoped when the campaign began. As a result, I have decided to withdraw from the race for governor.

My wife Sophie has been a perfect partner in this campaign and in my public service. Our children Paul and Eleanor and our son-in-law Corey Orehek have worked hard and inspired me to work hard for them and for the future. And my parents and brothers and sisters have given me their support in ways beyond measure.

You have been generous in your support. One of the sad outcomes of this decision is that I will have fewer opportunities to work with you to make Minnesota the kind of place we see in our best dreams. I intend to return to my work at the Humphrey Institute where I have been privileged to be able to serve Minnesota.

I also intend to support the DFL-endorsed candidate for governor. To repair the damage done to our state, we must endorse a candidate in April, unite behind that candidate and win in November. Our fellow citizens deserve a DFL Governor in January 2011.

During the campaign I had the pleasure of getting to know better the other dedicated public servants who are seeking the DFL nomination. Through innumerable candidate forums and other visits with Minnesotans, I learned new insights from them about the challenges we face together and the solutions we must pursue.

I am immensely proud of my campaign team. Over many months they applied energy, intelligence and dedication to a challenging goal. It is has been a privilege to work with them.

I am confident that with the right leadership that engages the amazing Minnesotans that I met on the campaign trail, we can build a better home for our children.

Photo: MNHS.org

The Minnesota Universal Health Care Coalition released a questionnaire on Monday polling candidates for governor on their stance on single-payer health care (pdf). All DFLers and one Republican responded. The majority support a single-payer health plan in Minnesota.

The survey asked, “As governor would you sign the Minnesota Health Care Act if it passed in the Legislature?” The Minnesota Health Care Act would create a single-payer health care system in the state.

Only Republican Pat Anderson and DFLer Steve Kelley said they wouldn’t sign the bill. DFLers Tom Bakk, Mark Dayton, Matt Entenza, Susan Gaertner, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, John Marty, Tom Rukavina, RT Rybak, and Paul Thissen all said they would sign such a bill.

The survey also solicited responses from the candidates on how they foresee fixing the health care system if they are elected governor. Here’s a sampling of those responses:

Mark Dayton:

Currently, there is a significant difference in access to health care between rural and urban Minnesota. Rural Minnesota is home to 13% of the state’s population but just 5% of all doctors. This gap creates shameful inequality and needs to be fixed.

Tom Bakk:

Changing both the way physicians are reimbursed and the current pricing mechanisms of drugs would be good steps in the right direction toward removing inefficiencies from our health care system.

Pat Anderson:

Essentially less government, not more government is the route to expanding access, increasing quality and lowering costs of health care – recognizing that there are always tradeoffs among those characteristics.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher:

Minnesota can and should be the healthiest state in the country, and that starts with preventative care. As Governor, I will support funding for our public health system that focuses on providing information that keeps Minnesotans healthy.

Tom Rukavina:

If we can’t pass a full single payer health plan right off the bat, I will work towards opening the state health plan to people without insurance because Minnesotans are entitled to health care coverage that’s as good as what their Governor has.

Paul Thissen:

We need a comprehensive approach that tackles expanded access, improved quality, reduced cost increases and creating healthy communities in the broadest sense. We need to move away from an employer-dependent health care system, eliminate denials for preexisting conditions and, above all, return decision-making in health care back to the patient and medical provider.

RT Rybak:

[W]e need national health care reform. It is becoming increasingly clear that national health insurance reform will not be perfect, but it will advance some important goals: that people never lose access to health care if they move, change their job or get sick; that people with pre-existing conditions can get affordable coverage; that young adults can stay their parent’s insurance plan; and that health insurance costs come down.

John Marty:

The solution to this problem is to develop a health care system that works. This is what I have been working on. The Minnesota Health Plan (MHP) is designed to address the health needs of people, keeping them healthy so they need less medical care, and delivering the health care in a rational, efficient, cost-effective manner.

Steve Kelley:

Our moral obligation is to make sure that every Minnesotan has access to affordable, quality care. Minnesota can build on the federal plan using state savings to ensure all of us are covered. Universal coverage is attainable in Minnesota in conjunction with (not opposition to) federal plans.

Susan Gaertner:

As governor I will fight for a system of universal coverage based on public/private partnership that recognizes our changing workforce, ensures Minnesotans have a choice in coverage, and is financed in a way that works for both businesses and individuals of all income levels.

The word from Kelley came via Twitter: “I am proud to have earned Congresswoman Betty McCollum’s support in my campaign for Minnesota governor!”

In May, McCollum’s fellow DFLer in Congress, Keith Ellison, endorsed Matt Entenza, another former state legislator seeking the governorship.

In 2008, McCollum endorsed Mike Ciresi over Al Franken in the race among DFLers to replace Republican Norm Coleman in the U.S. Senate, switching to Franken weeks after he received the party’s endorsement.

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning …

MINNEAPOLIS: Paid for, done that. Mayor Rybak reneged a long time ago on pledges to reform how he and other city candidates finance their campaigns. [Star Tribune]

ST. PAUL: Governor, Dems break their fast. By the time you read this, Gov. Pawlenty and top DFLers will have shared a morning meal and decided how to unmake the hash that is the state budget. [ECM Publishers]

STATEWIDE: An uncrowded gubernatorial field. Slim pickings so far for the Independence Party. [Minnesota Public Radio]

ST. PAUL: Abe Lincoln in Minnesota. He never was, but a panel explores his legacy here today. [Associated Press]

MAHTOMEDI: Kelley might try primary. DFL Party endorsement is not the be-all, end-all this time around for former state Sen. Steve Kelley in the governor’s race. [Associated Press]

ST. PAUL: Al Franken behind on recount bills. Numbers don’t yet add up for the Harvard math major turned U.S. Senator. [MinnPost]

]]> http://minnesotaindependent.com/47556/am-mn-paulsen-bonoff-nelson-meffer/feed 1 http://minnesotaindependent.com/47438/am-mn-pawlenty-bachmann-california-connecticut http://minnesotaindependent.com/47438/am-mn-pawlenty-bachmann-california-connecticut#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:30:28 +0000 Chris Steller http://minnesotaindependent.com/?p=47438 With shipments heading to both coasts, it was a good weekend for Minnesota’s leading export: rightwing political rhetoric. In California, a conservative group took delivery of a 36-minute speech from Gov. Tim Pawlenty. (Note to Customer Service: T-Paw’s speech…]]> With shipments heading to both coasts, it was a good weekend for Minnesota’s leading export: rightwing political rhetoric. In California, a conservative group took delivery of a 36-minute speech from Gov. Tim Pawlenty. (Note to Customer Service: T-Paw’s speech was “too long” but those who heard him said they “still didn’t know a lot about him.”) Meanwhile across the country, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann was “informed and inspiring” as she urged the Connecticut Liberty Forum to stop health care reform.

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning … 

MAHTOMEDI: Kelley to announce for guv today. A simple twist of fate kept former state Sen. Steve Kelley from the governor’s mansion last time around, one theory goes. [Associated Press; Minnesota Brown]

ROCHESTER: Against Afghan surge. A “less ambitious” counterterrorism approach is needed, said U.S. Sen. Al Franken.  [Rochester Post-Bulletin]

MINNEAPOLIS: Against Afghan, Iraq wars. Hundreds marched on Hennepin Avenue, but a student protester is not optimistic about troop withdrawals. [Star Tribune; Minnesota Daily]

ST. CLOUD: Franken holds health-care roundtable. None of the 10 participants or 10 observers was hospitalized for gagging after the senator used words like “incentivize” and “win-win,” then a doughnut-hole metaphor. [St. Cloud Times]

ANOKA COUNTY: Top officials all old. “Silver tsunami” of retirements will leave county without anyone who knows which is the business end of a snow shovel. [Star Tribune]

ROCHESTER: Instant-runoff voting, anyone? A city council member wants the system they’re debating in St. Paul in St. Paul and debuting in Minneapolis. [Rochester Post-Bulletin; St. Paul Pioneer Press; Star Tribune; Minnesota Public Radio]

Former state Rep. Steve Kelley. Photo: Paul Demko, MnIndy

A Democrat hasn’t been elected governor in Minnesota since 1986. If that trend continues in 2010 it certainly won’t be for a lack of qualified candidates. Currently nine DFLers have announced their intention to seek the state’s top office, with a few others still mulling a run. On Tuesday seven of the challengers showed up for a debate at the Minnesota State Fair: Steve Kelley, Paul Thissen, Tom Bakk, Mark Dayton, Tom Rukavina, Susan Gaertner and Matt Entenza. Notable absences included announced candidates Margaret Anderson Kelliher and John Marty, as well as likely challengers Chris Coleman and R.T. Rybak.

The nearly two-hour debate, put together by The Uptake and KTNF (AM 950) touched on health-care policies, instant-runoff voting and police tactics during last year’s Republican National Convention. Gaertner touted her executive experience heading the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office for the last 15 years. Entenza, the former House minority leader, invoked his humble origins growing up in a poor, fatherless household in Worthington. Everyone bashed the current governor, Tim Pawlenty, particularly for his fiscal policies.

Here’s the entire debate:

Elsewhere in Minnesota headlines this morning…   

VESTA: Kelley selects teacher to run guv bid. Carrie Lucking steers former state Sen. Steve Kelley’s campaign to a FarmFest candidate forum and corn feed today. [Political Animal; Redwood Falls Gazette]

BEMIDJI: Tom Emmer says Obama wants your guns. The Republican state Rep from Delano, another guv candidate, is a real son of a hockey mom who’ll “guarantee you” that fellas on the Iron Range like the way he laces his skates better than liberals from the Cities. [Bemidji Pioneer]

ST. PAUL: Doug Peterson won’t run. The ex-state rep, now president of the Minnesota Farmers Union and a “teacher, farmer, auctioneer, artist and rural leader,” says there’s one job he won’t do: governor. [Forum Communications]

MINNEAPOLIS: Big arrests in August? Somali-American immigrants’ trips to fight in their homeland have the FBI so worried about violence boomeranging back to the United States that they’ve launched the biggest anti-terror investigation since 9/11. [National Public Radio]

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Office trash now taken weekly. The daily dump of deskside wastebaskets at the state’s biggest employer is history. [Minnesota Daily]

DULUTH: Bungeed eagle OK. A motorcyclist strapped an injured bird to his Harley and took it first to the zoo and then rehab. [Duluth News Tribune]

Photo: johnmarty.org

Late results of a very early straw poll in the race for DFL governor show state Sen. John Marty slightly ahead of former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton for the lead, with Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman running neck-and-neck close behind. The number of DFL gubernatorial candidates (and near-candidates) who gathered at Farmer John’s Pumpkin Patch outside Austin on Saturday: Ten. Number of straw-poll voters: 129. Here are the results (via mnpACT):

21 – John Marty (16.28 percent)

20 – Mark Dayton (15.50 percent)

16 – Chris Coleman (12.40 percent)

16 – R.T. Rybak (12.40 percent)

12 – Tom Bakk (9.30 percent)

10 – Matt Entenza (7.75 percent)

10 – Susan Gaertner (7.75 percent)

10 – Paul Thissen (7.75 percent)

6 – Steve Kelley (4.65 percent)

4 – Margaret Anderson-Kelliher* (3.10 percent)

4 – Tom Rukavina (3.10 percent)

*Anderson-Kelliher was in Philadelphia for a legislative leadership conference and sent state Rep. Terry Morrow in her stead, according to mnpACT’s Dave Mindeman.

State Sen. Tom Bakk, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner,  House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and state Rep. Paul Thissen have made “firm drop-dead commitments” to stick to the DFL’s nominating process. That is, if any of them doesn’t get the official nod from the party, they won’t run.

Four others — former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, former House DFL Leader Matt Entenza, former state Sen. Steve Kelley and state Sen. John Marty — won’t make any such pledge, although Black points out that Dayton “isn’t seriously seeking the DFL endorsement.” (He couldn’t get through to Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.)

Since Entenza has said he’d abide by the party’s process only if all “serious” candidates do as well, Black surmises that, since Dayton likely won’t abide, Entenza won’t either.

Will it matter? Black concludes:

Lastly, it should be noted that the value of the DFL endorsee isn’t what it used to be. For decades, anyone who defied the endorsement process and risked party unity by mounting a primary challenge would be shunned. But that is no longer true. The last two gubernatorial endorsees did win nomination without serious primary challenges, but before that, primary battles were more common than uncommon and several challengers won the nomination. This year will be another test of the value of the endorsement.

Image: Minnesota Independent

Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s recently announced plans to axe state refunds for political contributions of $50 or less has set off an email stampede, as candidates urge donors to give before the program dies July 1.

In the $2.7 billion of unallotments he unveiled on Tuesday, Pawlenty included a complete cutoff of $10 million in state funding for the cash-back campaign donation program. The program has no official name in state law, but the state Department of Revenue calls it the Political Contribution Refund Program.

Republicans get more money through the program than their rivals, but Pawlenty still dissed it as welfare for politicians. On his WCCO-AM radio program this morning Pawlenty allowed, “It’s a nice program,” but he said it was a lower priority than schools and health care.

A growing number of candidates and both other major parties have jumped on the short-notice deadline to make pitches via the Internet for refundable donations. (UPDATE: Republicans, remarkably, have joined them.)

In a Web solicitation, Independence Party Chair Jack Uldrich characterized the cut as hacking off the IP’s arm.

Democrats have used less vivid imagery but are communicating urgency all the same, with email subject lines like “Time is running out,” “Just 14 days to  get your refund” and “Campaign Alert!”

In particular, those aiming to replace Pawlenty made sure to whack him as they made their appeals for fast cash. Here’s former State Sen. Steve Kelley:

By cutting off the Political Contribution Refund Program, Tim Pawlenty is impacting your voice in the governor’s race.  Over 90,000 Minnesotans use the PCR program annually to make a refundable contribution to the candidate of their choice. … Before the program expires, make a refundable $50 contribution (or $100 for couples) to a Governor who will put education first!

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner was even more pointed in her email plea:

In addition to making cuts that will disproportionately affect the poor, children and the elderly, the Governor also proposed eliminating a program that helps ordinary Minnesotans participate financially in the campaigns of their choice. … While Tim Pawlenty and other Republicans can afford to run their campaigns with large donations from PACs and wealthy individuals, we would prefer to run ours with money donated from all levels of givers.

Gaertner had a ready metaphor for donors unfamiliar with the soon-to-be-eliminated program:  ”Think of your contribution as a temporary loan to the campaign.”

State Auditor Rebecca Otto, also a DFLer, curiously made a pitch for donations of as little as $5 rather than the maximum refundable amount of $50: “Can you afford to support my work with a monthly donation of $5, $10 or $15?” her email asked.

Gary Goldsmith, executive director of the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, told the Minnesota Independent that his department doesn’t recognize pledges or plans as “contributions” under the refund program. He said donors or candidates with questions about the program’s phase-out should consult online memos from the campaign-finance board (pdf) and the Department of Revenue (pdf).

Pawlenty told his radio audience today that he’s heard more guff from legislators on the donation-refund program than any other unallotment item. Maybe that’s because it’s the one they can still do something about.

Here are some samples of appeals from candidates and parties, including those mentioned above plus state Rep. Paul Thissen and state Sen. John Marty (both gubernatorial candidates), and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie. Click on an image to enlarge. If you have seen or received other similar communications from candidates, please forward them to MnIndy.

Susan Gaertner

Steve Kelley

John Marty

Rebecca Otto

Mark Ritchie

Paul Thissen

Independence Party

DFL Party