Capitol View: July 6, 2010 Archive

Interest group goes after Emmer in ad buy

Posted at 9:14 AM on July 6, 2010 by Tim Pugmire (1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor

A left-leaning special interest group is making a big TV advertising buy to criticize Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer.

The Alliance for a Better Minnesota Action Fund says it will spend more than $500,000 on ads statewide. Here's the group's news release:

Saint Paul - Alliance for a Better Minnesota Action Fund today released the first television and online ads it will be running during the election to share Republican Tom Emmer's abysmal record of voting against Minnesota's economic interest, and siding with Tim Pawlenty.

The ads, which are running starting July 6 on broadcast and cable statewide, share with viewers just some of the countless ways Emmer has voted against the things that make our state great, and prosperous.

"We need a leader who will fight for us," said Denise Cardinal, Executive Director of Alliance for a Better Minnesota Action Fund. "Voters need to know that Tom Emmer is just like Tim Pawlenty, who sides with the big corporate special interests over working families. Emmer's record shows he's not on our side."

The size of the buy for this ad is more than $500,000 for television and is the first ad ABMAF plans on running this year, with others coming in the following weeks and months. ABMAF is also launching online ads statewide as well.

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Dayton releases tax returns

Posted at 11:42 AM on July 6, 2010 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor

DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton released his 2009 federal and state tax returns today and challenged other candidates to do the same.

The documents show Dayton's total income last year of $172,475 came from capital gains, dividends income, interest income and a prior tax refund. The heir to the Dayton department store fortune noted that most of the income came from family trusts, which he had no investment control. Dayton says he wants to be transparent to voters.

"They should be able to see that my income is not what it has been in the past,' Dayton said. "I've made major financial commitments through the years to my campaigns, to charitable contributions and to other peoples causes. And so I'm still well off and relative to other Minnesotans I'm extremely fortunate. But my income is less than it used to be."

The information shows Dayton took a $56,337 loss from the sale of two pieces of fine art, one by Renoir and another by Toulouse-Lautrec. Dayton explained that he inherited the art from his mother's estate.

"I sold those works of art to finance my current campaign," Dayton said. "They were at an appraised value for the estate considerably higher than what I was able to get in the art market at the time, about a year ago."

Dayton pledged two weeks ago that he would release his tax returns. So far, DFLer Margaret Anderson Kelliher is the only other gubernatorial candidate making the same pledge.

UPDATE
The return also shows Dayton made a $30,000 profit last year when he sold a relief by artist Charles Biederman.

Kelliher releases her tax returns too

Posted at 2:31 PM on July 6, 2010 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor

Margaret Anderson Kelliher, the DFL-endorsed candidate for governor, released her 2009 tax returns today, a few hours after primary challenger Mark Dayton released his.

Kelliher filed jointly online with her husband David. Their total adjusted gross income for the year was $143,968.

In a news release, Kelliher called on all candidates running for governor to release their income tax returns.

"Minnesotans should know how their Governor earns a living," Kelliher said. "This is a basic disclosure all candidates for Governor should be willing to make voluntarily."