Capitol View: July 1, 2009 Archive

Hann officially exploring run for governor

Posted at 6:41 AM on July 1, 2009 by Tim Pugmire

State Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, is getting more serious about a campaign for governor in 2010. He made his intentions known today with this news release:

SAINT PAUL, MN - State Senator David Hann (R-Eden Prairie) submitted documents on Tuesday to the Campaign Finance Board forming a committee to explore his candidacy for Governor.

"I have been encouraged to take this step by the depth of support I have received in recent days, and I will continue to talk to party activists and supporters across the state about the future of Minnesota," Hann said. "In the next election, we must engage the public in a debate about the direction our state will take in the coming years. We have to control state spending and lower taxes to encourage investment in our economy. We need to structure our education system to enable all students to succeed and take steps to ensure health care decisions remain between patients and their doctors."

"We plan to run an aggressive campaign for the Republican endorsement" Hann continued, "This will be a competitive process, but my record shows that time after time I have stood for the issues that will benefit all Minnesotans." Kathy Veurink, a constituent and resident of Eden Prairie said, "Senator Hann has been a strong advocate for my family and for the taxpayers of Minnesota for the past seven years in the State Senate. His record is unmatched. I am very excited that Senator Hann is considering serving as our next Governor."

Senator Hann is in his second term representing Eden Prairie and Minnetonka in the Minnesota State Senate, and serves as a member of the senate's Education Committee; the Health, Housing and Family Security Committee; the Agriculture and Veterans Committee; and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He is now a business process consultant after spending 25 years with Eden Prairie based E.A. Sween Company.

In his second year at Gustavus Adolphus College, Hann enlisted in the U..S. Army and served a tour of duty in Vietnam. After completing his degree in Religion, he did graduate work at the University of Chicago. He served eight years on the Eden Prairie School Board prior to his election to the state senate. Hann has been recognized by the Minnesota School Board Association for his service to education in the legislature, and has been named "Best Friend of the Taxpayer" four times by the Taxpayers League. He and his wife, Anne, have four children.

Pawlenty approves unallotment cuts and shifts

Posted at 11:02 AM on July 1, 2009 by Tim Pugmire (1 Comments)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty marked the start of the new fiscal year today by formally approving a plan to erase a $2.7 billion budget deficit. His office sent out the following news release:

Governor Pawlenty today approved the unallotments and administrative actions proposed by Management and Budget Commissioner Tom Hanson for the biennium that begins today and ends June 30, 2011. Over approximately the next month and a half, MMB will make changes in the state accounting system to reflect the unallotments and other administrative actions. Just under half of the actions will impact spending in Fiscal Year 2010 ($1.3 billion net change), just over half will impact spending in Fiscal Year 2011 ($1.38 billion net change)

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Bachmann gets GOP blowback from census stand

Posted at 2:50 PM on July 1, 2009 by Tim Pugmire (2 Comments)

Roll Call reports that three House Republicans are asking Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., to rethink her decision to boycott the 2010 Census.

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New party chairman says Republicans feel robbed

Posted at 3:27 PM on July 1, 2009 by Tim Pugmire (4 Comments)

As Democrats celebrated Al Franken's long-delayed U.S. Senate victory, Republicans were still criticizing the court ruling that gave him the seat.

State GOP Chairman Tony Sutton says he thinks the Minnesota Supreme Court was wrong in its ruling against Norm Coleman. Sutton told reporters today that he's convinced the inconsistent handling of absentee ballots disenfranchised thousands of Minnesota voters. Coleman conceded to Franken shortly after Tuesday's ruling. But Sutton said many Republicans are ticked off that Franken won.

"The feeling among the activists that I've talked to even in the last 24 hours, Republican leaders around the state, is we got robbed," Sutton said. "And this guy's got a bigger asterisk next to his name than Barry Bonds. We got to work. This will be a motivator for us in the coming election."

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Jungbauer joins the GOP list of candidates for governor

Posted at 3:46 PM on July 1, 2009 by Tim Pugmire

State Sen. Mike Jungbauer, R-East Bethel, announced today that he's running for governor.

The two-term senator handed out a news release say that his priorities include education, transportation and public safety. He's also interested in renewable energy.

"Minnesota needs a governor who understands the social economic and environmental impacts of renewable energy sources as they come to market," Jungbauer said.

Jungbauer is employed as a water resources manager, planner and urban designer for the engineering firm Landform. He is also an ordained minister. Jungbauer and his wife Vicki have four children.