Polinaut: June 7, 2009 Archive

Bakk makes it official

Posted at 8:52 AM on June 7, 2009 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)

DFL state Sen. Tom Bakk of Cook is now an official candidate for Governor. Bakk told he Mesabi Daily News that he's going to focus his campaign on job creation.

Bakk, who will be 55 on Monday, calls himself a "good old-fashioned jobs-Democrat." He said his campaign for the DFL nomination for governor in the 2010 election will be based on job growth in the state -- which would also be the foundation of a Bakk governorship. And Bakk knows the history of job numbers in the state -- especially recent years under Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, which he says have been a "terrible failure" for working men and women in the state.

He also added that he'll abide by the party endorsement (while taking a shot at some of his DFL rivals):

To get the endorsement, Bakk said he's "got to count to 400." That's the number of delegates out of 1,200 he believes will be needed on the first ballot to move on to claim the endorsement in what will be a large field of candidates. It eventually will take 60 percent, or 720 delegates, to win the endorsement.

"If I get those 400, other candidates will start dropping out and I'm hoping delegates will see that the DFL hasn't had much luck running Twin Cities liberals. Perhaps they'll see a rural candidate with strong union ties who can reach out to business might have a much better chance of winning," Bakk speculated.

It's no surprise that Bakk is in the race. He had an exploratory committee filed for some time and has said he would officially announce this summer.

Bakk is one of many DFLers and Republicans who are either running or expressed interest in running. Get the checklist of who's in and out here.

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Pawlenty on C-Span, WCCO

Posted at 5:33 PM on June 7, 2009 by Tom Scheck

Gov. Pawlenty continued his media blitz on Sunday. He appeared on C-SPAN's Washington Journal this morning.

He later appeared on WCCO's Sunday Morning. You can watch that appearance here.

Special interests help fund Oberstar professorship at St. Thomas

Posted at 10:06 PM on June 7, 2009 by Tom Scheck

USA Today is reporting that "about" twenty transportation groups helped raise money for a professorship at the University of St. Thomas in honor of DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar. Here are the details:

In Minnesota, transportation groups are among the donors to a law school professorship named for Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House transportation committee.

Overall, about 20 transportation companies and industry groups are helping to underwrite the James L. Oberstar Professorship of Law and Public Policy, according to a release by the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Oberstar is an alumnus.

Law school spokesman Chato Hazelbaker said more than $475,000 had been raised but would not release a donor list.

The reports show several transportation companies donated last year. Among them: Oldcastle Materials, which makes gravel and concrete and builds roads and bridges, gave $10,000 to the law school in October. Oberstar "is a long-serving member of Congress and has advanced public policy in areas such as the economy, transportation and public works," company spokeswoman Joyce Watson says. "It was a good match for us."

John Schadl, Oberstar's spokesman, says the fundraising has been approved by the House ethics committee and has not influenced his policy actions. Oberstar has not solicited contributions, Schadl says.

The congressman did attend a reception organized by the university last October at the Canadian Embassy in Washington where the scholarship was announced, Schadl says. "There were obviously donors there," Schadl says, "but he really didn't know who they were."

Battleground!

Posted at 10:11 PM on June 7, 2009 by Tom Scheck

Stu Rothenberg says Gov. Pawlenty's decision to not run for a third term means the state is now a toss-up.