Capitol View: June 2, 2010 Archive
The Daily Digest
Posted at 7:28 AM on June 2, 2010
by Tom Scheck
(2 Comments)
Filed under: Daily Digest
Candidate filings closed on Tuesday and there were no real surprises.
Former DFL Rep. Barb Goodwin will challenge DFL Sen. Satveer Chaudhary in the primary.
Chaudhary says he isn't surprised by the challenge and said some people are unhappy that he "likes to hunt and fish."
The Senate Ethics Committee will also hold a hearing on Chaudhary today.
Here's a list of the other incumbents facing primary challenges (or a clear path to reelection).
The biggest free for all may be the race to replace DFL Sen. Mee Moua. Eleven candidates are running.
Tom Horner picked Jim Mulder, who served twenty years with the Association of Minnesota Counties, as his running mate. MPR, the Pi Press, the Star Tribune, AP and MinnPost have stories.
Here's video of Horner's news conference.
The Minnesota Secretary of State's race will focus on the military vote.
Congress
The federal government opens a criminal probe of the oils spill.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will visit the Mayo Clinic on Thursday to tour the clinic and hold a discussion. DFL Sens. Al Franken, Amy Klobuchar and DFL Reps. Tim Walz and Betty McCollum will be in attendance.
WCCO looks at which members of Minnesota's Congressional delegation received the most in oil and gas contributions. GOP Rep. John Kline received the most of the current members.
DFL Rep. Keith Ellison will hold a town hall forum on financial services reform tonight in Minneapolis.
Ellison says Israel should end the blockade of Gaza.
GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann says the U.S. should stand with Israel and questioned whether the Obama Administration remains committed to Israel.
The Senate Ag committee scheduled a round of Farm Bill hearings. DFL Rep. Collin Peterson is mentioned.
Pawlenty for Prez Watch
Gov. Pawlenty has added a second stop to his July New Hampshire trip.
Finally
Dale Peterson, the Alabama Ag Commissioner candidate who promised in an ad to run the thugs and criminals out of the state, lost his bid.
PoliGraph: Horner's budget accounting off
Posted at 11:00 AM on June 2, 2010
by Catharine Richert
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor, PoliGraph
Gov. Tim Pawlenty and members of the state Legislature balanced the budget for this biennium, but left a problem in the next fiscal cycle.
Tom Horner says the problem will be enormous.
"Instead of facing up to the hard choices, legislators have created a budget deficit that will be as much as $9 billion in the first year of the new governor's term," said the Independence Party gubernatorial candidate during a May 21, 2010, speech.
In fact, the budget deficit is far less than that. Horner has double-counted payments to schools that the Legislature has deferred until the next budget cycle, and exaggerated the size of deficit.
The Evidence
The most recent projected budget deficit for the next biennium is about $5.8 billion, a big problem to be sure, but far less than Horner claimed.
Horner is counting $1.2 billion in inflation, a factor not included in the official deficit estimate, according to Marti Jones, Horner's spokeswoman. That brings Horner's calculation to about $7 billion.
The additional $2 billion reflects money the government owes schools, which the state has postponed paying until the next budget cycle, Jones wrote in an e-mail.
That would bring the budget deficit to $9 billion. But here's the catch: Minnesota Management and Budget has already included the deferral, which totals about $1.2 billion, in its deficit projection.
The Verdict
Horner is double-counting what the state owes schools. Minnesota is facing a big budget problem in the next biennium, but Horner's estimate is off by at least $1.2 billion.
As a result, Horner fails his first PoliGraph test.
Sources
Minnesota Public Radio News, Horner speech, May 21, 2010
Minnesota State Legislature, 2010 Legislative Session, First Special Session: Summary of General Fund Budget Conditions, accessed May 26, 2010
Minnesota Management and Budget, February 2010 Forecast, accessed May 26, 2010
The Grand Forks Herald, Payback time arrives for some Minnesota schools, Associated Press, May 26, 2010
The Minnesota Budget Project, Governor's budget spares K-12, but cost shifts remain, accessed May 26, 2010
E-mail interview, Marti Jones, spokeswoman, Tom Horner, May 25, 2010
E-mail interview, Christina Wessel, deputy director, Minnesota Budget Project, May 26, 2010
E-mail interview, Mark Haveman, executive director, Minnesota Taxpayers Association, May 27, 2010
E-mail interview, Dane Smith, president, Growth & Justice, May 27, 2010
Phone interview, Curt Yoakum, spokesman, Minnesota Management and Budget, May 26, 2010
Phone interview, Lonnie Hartley, spokesman, Education Minnesota, May 26, 2010
Phone interview, Jeff Van Wychen, tax policy fellow, Minnesota 2020, May 26, 2010
More
Ethics panel scolds Chaudhary over fish flap
Posted at 5:35 PM on June 2, 2010
by Tim Pugmire
(2 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, MN Legislature
A Minnesota Senate ethics panel has reprimanded Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, for "violating the accepted norms of Senate behavior" and "threatening public confidence" in the Legislature.
But members of the bipartisan subcommittee found that Chaudhary did not have a conflict of interest when he pushed for new walleye regulations on a lake where he owns a cabin. During testimony under oath, Chaudhary argued that a conservation measure for a public body water benefits all Minnesotans. He also successfully convinced the panel to soften its proposed letter of reprimand, taking out the phrase "betrayed the public trust." Chaudhary said that phrase was inaccurate.
"There was no money here," Chaudhary said. "This was for a public benefit. This was brought by the community. And yes, it was done quickly. And perhaps what I'm guilty of is being over zealous for the environment. And I need to curb my enthusiasm."
But Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, said the end-of-session episode made the whole system look bad. Ingebrigtsen, one of two GOP members of the ethics panel, told Chaudhary that he should have known better after 14 years in the Legislature.
Sen. Linda Scheid, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said she was convinced that her colleague did not have a conflict of interest. But Scheid wanted the subcommittee to send a strong message about Chaudhary's behavior.
"I don't think Sen. Chaudhary has brought the Senate into dishonor or disrepute," Scheid said. "But I think that doing this amendment the way it was done does betray the public trust and makes people think there they go again. And that bothers me."
Kelliher picks up additional union support
Posted at 5:40 PM on June 2, 2010
by Tom Scheck
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor
Democrat Margaret Anderson's campaign for governor picked up some more union support today. The Laborers District Council of Minnesota announced this morning that it was backing Kelliher. Kelliher's campaign also announced that the United Auto Workers will announce that they're backing Kelliher at a Thursday morning news conference.
Kelliher is running against former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton and former legislator Matt Entenza in the August primary.
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