Capitol View: December 11, 2009 Archive

Kelliher to file letter with Campaign Finance Board admitting "mistake."

Posted at 12:21 PM on December 11, 2009 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor

DFL House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher says she will send a letter sent a letter to the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board today telling the board her campaign for governor made a mistake regarding donor contributions.

Kelliher said her campaign directed three donors to give to the DFL Party to help her pay for using the party's voter database, after getting party approval to do it. Party attorneys later said the donations were illegal and returned $1,500 in contributions to the donors. She said three people, Ruth Usem, Blanche Hawkins and Rich Ginsberg contributed $500 each to the party on Kelliher's behalf. Kelliher said Ginsberg, a lobbyist for several groups including the Mille Lacs Band of the Ojibwe and Hennepin County, already gave the maximum contribution of $500 to Kelliher's campaign.

Kelliher said she will accept any penalty the Campaign Finance Board imposes on her campaign.

"We have since corrected the mistake. And I take responsibility for not having gone to, you know, directly to an attorney from the beginning of this. That process has changed on our campaign from here on out."

Here's my interview with Kelliher: Listen

But that isn't enough for Minnesota Republican Party Chair Tony Sutton. He and the MNGOP filed a complaint today with the Campaign Finance Board asking them to investigate the situation.

"This scheme needs to be investigated and we think that it's important that we get to the bottom of this. I think that the speaker coming forward is the politically sensitive thing to do but this isn't over yet."

Here's Sutton's news conference: Listen

Meanwhile Republican state Representative Tom Emmer, who is also running for governor, wants Kelliher to step down as Speaker of the Minnesota House. Kelliher's spokesman in the Speaker's office hasn't returned a call regarding Emmer's statement. Kelliher's campaign manager says Kelliher will not step down as Speaker.

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For your viewing pleasure...

Posted at 3:16 PM on December 11, 2009 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor

Here's a look at who will be on this weekend's public policy shows:

TPT's Almanac:
Mayo Clinic President Dr. John Noseworthy talks health care reform... St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington explains why he is stepping down... and noted children's writer Kate Di Camillo discusses her latest book.

KSTP's At Issue:
Sen. Dick Day - talking about why he's leaving the MN Senate to pursue a racino full time. Political analysts: Sarah Janecek, Blois Olson, Cathie Hartnett and Dave Thompson.

WCCO's Sunday Morning:
We are having RT Rybak and B. Todd Jones of the U.S. Attorney's Office on for our Sunday show.

Capitol Report:
Sen. Amy Koch details her bill to allow Minnesota voters a say in capping government spending. Moderator Julie Bartkey talks with Tax Chair Tom Bakk and Lead Republican Julianne Ortman about the plan, and their concerns. Sen. Satveer Chaudhary recently attended the President's State Dinner. He describes the event, and its impact on him.

ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos:
Guests: National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers; House Republican Whip Eric Cantor.

CBS's Face the Nation:
Topic: "What's Next for Health Care?" Guests: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Sen. Ben Nelson, Sen. Joe Lieberman.

CNN's State of the Union with John King:
National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va)., Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.).

NBC's Meet the Press:
Guests: Christina Romer, chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers; former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan; Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; Jim Cramer, host, CNBC's "Mad Money."

Fox News Sunday:
Sen. Judd Gregg, (R) New Hampshire and Sen. Claire McCaskill, (D) Missouri discuss President Obama's economic plan. Sen. James Inhofe, (R) Oklahoma and Rep. Ed Markey, (D) Massachusetts discuss The UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

No love for NCLB in race for governor

Posted at 3:39 PM on December 11, 2009 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor

Republicans and Democrats running for governor have at least one common concern. They all think the federal No Child Left Behind law is a bad deal for Minnesota schools.

All seven GOP candidates say they favor opting out of the testing and accountability requirements of NCLB, even if it means losing about $230 million a year in federal education funding. Most of the 10 DFL candidates want Congress to fix the law, while the state keeps the money.

Here's what candidates had to say about opting out of NCLB:

Pat Anderson Listen
"We need to get out of No Child Left Behind."

Leslie Davis Listen
"I don't like the federal government to send mandates to the state of Minnesota telling us what to do."

Tom Emmmer Listen
"I object to the federal government having any law that tells the state of Minnesota, more importantly parents of children in the state of Minnesota, this is how your schools are going to be run."

Bill Haas Listen
"Under my administration, all mandates relating to education will be on the table."

David Hann Listen
"I don't think that it's right for the states to allow the federal government to dictate education policy for us."

Phil Herwig Listen
"Cut the ties that bind, and let's get our kids educated, which is not happening."

Marty Seifert Listen
"We have not had people that have stood up to the federal government. I'm someone willing to do that."

Tom Bakk Listen
"I think the notion of because we don't like some policy provisions or we don't like some testing requirements that we're going to pass up federal money is not very realistic."

Mark Dayton Listen
"I would do everything possible to urge the federal government to provide a waiver."

Matt Entenza Listen
"No Child Left Behind has been a disaster that is labeling all of our schools as failures when they most certainly aren't."

Susan Gaertner Listen
"The less that Washington has to do with Minnesota education the better."

Steve Kelley Listen
The first step though is to work with the president and with Congress to change No Child Left Behind so we don't lose the funding."

Margaret Anderson Kelliher Listen
"The underlying idea behind rigorous standards and accountability is the right sort of thing."

John Marty Listen
"I think we should be asking our congressional delegation, make sure we can get out of it without losing the funding."

Tom Rukavina Listen
"The federal government doesn't give us that much money for education. They give us more mandates than money."

R.T. Rybak Listen
"I think the problem with No Child Left behind is it measured a very narrow part of what we need to teach our children."

Paul Thissen Listen
"I think it is a little bit of political rhetoric to say you're just going to opt out, because there are consequences, including financial consequence to that."