Polinaut: April 23, 2007 Archive

The Daily Digest: 4-23-07

Posted at 8:23 AM on April 23, 2007 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Daily Digest

Conference committees will start meeting this week to discuss their differences on spending bills. We're told that the House and Senate will also have their spending targets done by Friday. The House Tax Chair also says she will release her tax bill today with a possible full House vote by the end of the week. AP says Gov. Pawlenty is getting the veto pen ready.

The House passed the HHS budget bill after a monster floor debate that went all day Friday and into the early Saturday morning hours. AP has the story.

Dedicated funding for natural resources and the arts is also in a Senate committee this week. The Star Tribune's Dennis Anderson has another column on it.

Should the state put more limits on teen drivers?

The Star Tribune says politics colored the probe into an autism center.

The Timberjay says nursing homes on the Iron Range are struggling.

The St. Cloud Times says VIPs on the road can cause problems (in light of the accident involving NJ Gov. Jon Corzine).

Congress

GOP Sen. Norm Coleman went to Iraq over the weekend. He sees mixed results or progess (depending on which story you read).

If the situation in Iraq doesn't change, Democrats hope Coleman will shift gears and sign on to their benchmark troop funding bill says US. News and World Report.

Coleman made the trip as several DFLers in Minnesota's Congressional delegation discuss the war in Iraq at a town hall forum.

DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar also delivered the Democratic response to the president’s weekly radio address. Here’s the transcript.

Klobuchar is also mentioned in this WCCO story on soldiers returning home from war.

The Washington Post says hedge funds are getting into the political game. GOP Sen. Norm Coleman is mentioned.

He also wants to modernize tax lien filings.

DFL Rep. Tim Walz celebrates Earth Day at Whitewater.

Someone also breaks into Walz' office.

GOP Rep. John Kline wants to expand a program that helps national guard members reintegrate into society.

Impeach for Peace meets with DFL Rep. Keith Ellison.

The Des Moines Register says corn growers want to link yield and revenue to subsidy payments. DFL Rep. Collin Peterson is mentioned.

DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar pushes for a federal ballast law.

2008
MSNBC's Tom Curry writes about the Supreme Court decision on partial birth abortion. Some wonder if Coleman's anti-choice views will hurt in 2008.

The Rothenberg Political Report calls Coleman vulnerable.

The Rochester Post Bulletin writes about the Al Franken/Mike Ciresi matchup.

Franken will speak to students at William Mitchell on Wednesday.

Franken and Ciresi will also speak at the Senate District 29/Dodge County fundraiser next Saturday.

Senator Stumpf treated for heart condition

Posted at 10:58 AM on April 23, 2007 by Tom Scheck

DFL state Senator LeRoy Stumpf has been treated for heart condition and will may miss the rest of the legislative session. Stumpf was hospitalized on Friday after having chest pains. A statement released by Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller says doctors gave Stumpf an angiogram and the prognosis is good. He will receive an unspecified medical procedure at the beginning of May. Stumpf is the chair of the K thru 12 Education Finance Committee and was preparing to be the lead Senate negotiator on the Education Conference Committee with the House. Assistant Senate Majority Leader Tarryl Clark will now lead the conference committee. Stumpf is a farmer from Plummer in Northwestern Minnesota. He was first elected to the Senate in 1982. He and his wife have three children.

UPDATE: I'm now being told Stumpf may be back at work but will NOT be chairing the conference committee. An official with the Senate Majority says "whether or not he returns this session is still up in the air."

Independence Party elects new State Party Chair

Posted at 5:20 PM on April 23, 2007 by Tom Scheck

Here's the release:

Veteran campaign activist nicknamed “MacGyver” for his resourcefulness will focus on State House campaigns in 2008

The Independence Party elected a new State Party Chair at its Convention on Saturday. Craig Swaggert, who most recently served as the State Party Treasurer, was unopposed and received overwhelming support from the delegates. 2006 Lt. Governor Candidate Dr. Maureen Reed nominated Mr. Swaggert describing him as “the ultimate team player with a knack for getting things done”. Chair-Elect Swaggert subsequently delivered a presentation entitled “Charting the Future of the Independence Party” outlining four main goals:

1. Be a pro-active voice in the public debate.
2. Raise sufficient money to ensure the Independence Party can effectively communicate its message.
3. Identify attractive candidates and position them to win.
4. Establish and affirm the Independence Party brand.

These goals were the culmination of numerous campaign debriefings, candidate suggestions, Central Committee input and Executive Committee review over the last four months.

Party delegates also elected Tom Moss as Vice Chair, Laura Knudsen as Secretary and Ellen Brown as Treasurer. Moss served as Deputy Commissioner of Human Services in the Carlson and Ventura administrations. He ultimately rose to become the Director or Results Management. He is a consultant for government and non-profit organizations and most recently served as Deputy Campaign Manager for the Team Minnesota campaign. He lives in St. Paul with his wife Susan. Knudsen was the party’s endorsed house candidate for district 62B in 2002 and served as the party’s Public Relations chair for the last four years. She lives in Alexandria with her husband Steve and son Axel. Brown, a former executive with Control Data and small business owner, recently served as Treasurer for the (Peter) Hutchinson for Minnesota Campaign. She lives in St. Paul with her husband Peter.

Chair-elect Swaggert stated “Our prime focus will be to identify, run and support solid candidates for State House races in 2008.” He continued, “We will continue to build upon the depth and strength of our candidate field” Referring to a segment on Friday night’s Almanac program where Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Minority Leader Marty Seifert were debating which caucus health care plan had more of IP gubernatorial candidate Peter Hutchinson’s ideas in it, Swaggert pointed out that “Our candidates continually win the public policy debate and present the best ideas, but we now must work even harder to ensure that they win.”

Chair-elect Swaggert, 55, is a self-employed commercial real estate developer with a successful history of acquiring and restoring historic properties. He also serves as a court appointed Guardian Ad Litem for the Hennepin County Court system speaking for the best interests of abused and neglected children who are involved in the juvenile courts. He is a veteran volunteer for the Tim Penny Governor campaign in 2002 and the Team Minnesota campaign in 2006. Team Minnesota staff nicknamed him “MacGyver” (after the main character in the 80’s television action series) for his resourcefulness in accomplishing monumental tasks and meeting impossible deadlines. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife Tanna Moore, President and CEO of Meritas, an international alliance of commercial law firms. Their have two sons, Mitch 29 a construction manager of alternative energy plants, and Nick, 26 a United States Marine Corps officer whose light armored division will be deployed to Iraq this August.

Outgoing Party Chair Jim Moore said, “Craig is precisely the right person to lead the Independence Party. He has the time, energy and resourcefulness to accomplish our party’s goals. “ Moore, continued, “He has been such a valuable IP contributor that up until last summer, my wife thought there were two Craig’s.” Moore surmised, “Most importantly, he is an extremely capable leader with the ability to merge existing party member talent with the new party member talent brought in during the last campaign season.”

2006 gubernatorial candidate Peter Hutchinson addressed the delegates on what they can do to ensure the ideas presented in his campaign are acted upon in the legislature. “We have no trademarks or copyrights on what we proposed; they are free to implement them to serve the best interest of all Minnesotans.” He noted that the legislature has been a “G-free zone” where issues surrounding “guns, gays, God, gambling, gynecology, green cards and stadiums for gladiators” have taken a back seat to the “main things” which are health care, education, transportation and the environment.

Former State Party Chair and best selling author Jack Uldrich also addressed the delegates challenging them to take a leadership role in the defining public policy issues arising from emerging technologies. Biotechnology, nanotechnology and computing advances are in the midst of exponential growth that will completely change our daily lives over the next 5-7 years. There are endless public policy ramifications that will come about as a result of longer life expectancies, technology to fight crime, and significant medical breakthroughs.

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Sviggum to Humphrey School

Posted at 5:28 PM on April 23, 2007 by Tom Scheck

Rep. Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, has landed a teaching job at the University of Minnesota's Humprey Institute of Public Affairs. He will be a senior fellow in the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance.

Sviggum was the House Speaker for eight years but lost that job when DFLers took control of the House in November. He says he will remain in the House of Representatives.

Here's the release and a story by the AP.