Jason Isaacson will serve as campaign manager for Maureen Reed as she seeks to defeat U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. Isaacson previously worked on Al Franken’s U.S. Senate campaign. He’s also done field work for campaigns run by Judi Dutcher, Bill Luther and David Lillehaug.”Jason has extensive experience and expertise in field organizing and management, especially in Minnesota’s sixth congressional district,” Reed said in a statement announcing the hire. “In fact, Jason was the field director for the last Democrat who won the sixth district.” Democrat Bill Luther represented the 6th Congressional District for four terms starting in 1995. Continue Reading
“I’m a dinner jacket.” That’s how someone instructed Tim Pawlenty “the other day” to say the name of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the governor told his weekly radio audience Friday morning. The presidential prospect also tried to show he’s no empty suit on international affairs, twice pronouncing an Iranian nuclear-weapons program a certainty. Pawlenty is in line with conventional conservative wisdom on that, but out of step with one of the state’s leading experts on Iran. University of Minnesota anthropology Prof. William Beemon told Minnesota Public Radio this week there’s no evidence that Iran is trying to manufacture nuclear arms. As for the governor’s sudden interest in pronouncing the names of foreign leaders correctly … who could have been prodding Pawlenty on that? Continue Reading
On Friday, a backhoe pulled up to the corner of Plymouth and Sheridan avenues and began ripping apart the building that was once home to Uncle Bill’s Food Market. The corner shop had sold milk and bread to North Minneapolis residents for more than two decades. But neighbors complained that it also served as a safe haven for drug dealers and was a blight on the community. In 2007 it was shut down after the building was condemned. To those supporting the demolition of Uncle Bill’s it was a sign of significant progress in the fight against crime and economic blight on the North Side. Continue Reading
Gov. Tim Pawlenty announces the launch of his Freedom First political action committee today. He’ll surely repeat, as he’s been telling everyone, that the PAC is not about him and his pursuit of the presidency. But the website for his new PAC suggests otherwise, starting with the web address that gets you there: timpawlenty.com.Looking for signs that Freedom First is about Pawlenty and a presidential run is like shooting tea leaves in a barrel: The logo says “Tim Pawlenty’s Freedom First PAC.” The top headline in the box that lists “The Latest” is “Gov. Pawlenty Paves Way for a 2012 Run.” A “Tim Pawlenty” of “Eagan, MN” offers the first quote under the “Freedom Means” banner. Continue Reading
The Minnesota governor’s PAC is rolling out today with a media blitz reflecting the talent of his staff (such as former Republican National Committee spokesman Alex Conant) and the credibility he’s built up in the political press corps. Tim Pawlenty’s Freedom First PAC is co-chaired by William Strong of Morgan Stanley and former Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.), whom 2008 campaign veterans remember as a key, quotable ally of Mitt Romney. One surprising hire: Sara Taylor, the former Director of the Office of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush. Taylor was a key figure in the 2007 controversy over the firing of U.S. attorneys who declined to press 11th hour cases of “voter fraud” before the midterms. She may be best remembered for her revealing comment during hearings on the issue that she “taking that oath [of office] means that I need to respect, and do respect, my service to the president.” Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) reminded her that her oath was to the Constitution, not the president. Continue Reading
Tarryl Clark has been rolling up endorsements from labor unions all week. The Minnesota AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union’s state council and the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council all announced that they’ll be backing the state senator in her campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. So it was perhaps fitting that she addressed the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s annual political conference today.Clark started out her brief lunchtime address with a reference to Bachmann’s recent appearance in a calendar featuring conservative women. “Michele stands with Ann Coulter and Phyllis Schlafly, and I stand with the working men and women of this state,” she said. “That’s the difference.” Continue Reading
The Teamsters Local 120 union – the largest Teamsters local in the state and the fifth largest in the country – is backing Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak for governor, even though he hasn’t officially put his name in the race.The union, which represents 14,000 members, supports Rybak because they are most confident in his chances for wining a statewide election, union officials said.Rybak is currently seeking a third term as mayor of Minneapolis, but said he hasn’t ruled out a run for governor in 2010.Supporting Rybak wasn’t an easy decision, however, as the union has other friends and allies that have officially announced their candidacy for the state’s top position, Brad Slawson Jr., president of the local union, said.”Many of the candidates in the running are good friends of ours and have worked on issues with us at theCapitol,” Slawson said. “But we feel that Rybak has the best chance in a statewide run.”Draft R.T. Rybak for Governor, a grassroots organization collecting petition signatures to convince Rybak to run, hopes to collaborate with the union in their work to elect Rybak.”[The union is] extremely active and one thing the Teamsters bring to an operation is people power,” John Sylvester, vice chair of Draft R.T. Rybak for Governor, said. “If you ask them to help with an event they are incredibly supportive that way.”The organization, which started in July, has already garnered the signatures of 2,500 people who want Rybak to run for governor.”It’s growing exponentially,” Sylvester said. “It was difficult to get the first couple of hundred signatures, but once we started having meetings and going to events it really exploded.”The organization is also looking to another group to help its support of Rybak: students.Students to Draft R.T. Rybak for Governor officially registered as a University of Minnesota student group last week. Their mission is to help gather petition signatures in support of Rybak running, Garrett Peterson, a graduate student in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and president of the group, said.Down the road, if Rybak officially joins the race, Peterson hopes that their group can morph into one that will create support for his campaign.”I think that he has shown amazing leadership in Minneapolis in terms of balancing the budget and paying debt here,” Peterson said. Continue Reading
A handful of financial reports from Minneapolis political committees and candidates remain as imaginary as the just-pretend primary election that made them mandatory more than two weeks ago. The reports are supposed to let voters know who is putting money into political funds, how the committees are spending their money, and how much money they have on hand. The size of individual candidates’ purses is kept in check by donation limits, but greater quantities of unrestricted cash can go to political action committees (PACs) – about a dozen of which still haven’t filed. Several of the PACs for which no reports are available have proven active and influential in the past. A group registered with the county as Parks Present Future (and chaired by Park Board President Tom Nordyke) successfully battled back a proposed city charter amendment this year that would have done away with the city’s quasi-independent park board. Continue Reading
Tarryl Clark has received endorsements from the Minnesota AFL-CIO and the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council in her campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. The state senator has been garnering widespread support from organized labor. Among the other union endorsements: AFSCME Councils 5 and 65, Teamsters Joint Council 32 and the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters.”As a community leader, as a state senator and as the senate’s assistant majority leader, Tarryl Clark has shown us that she is proud to stand with working people,” said Minnesota AFL-CIO president-elect Shar Knutson in a statement announcing the move. “Now we are proud to stand with her. Tarryl is a strong leader, a tough campaigner – and she’ll be a great Congresswoman.” Continue Reading
In one term on the Minneapolis city council, Elizabeth Glidden emerged as a leader for workers’ rights and ally of organized labor. Now running for a second term to represent the city’s Eighth Ward, Glidden says, “I want to continue that strong partnership with Labor. I think it’s been a really good one.” Glidden is running for re-election as the AFL-CIO endorsed candidate. She also is DFL endorsed. Continue Reading
