Archive for November, 2006
« Previous EntriesLIBERAL BLOGGER WRITES THAT RYBAK’S CHANCES IN ’08 HURT BY “APPOINTING AN UNQUALIFIED LESBIAN TO BE FIRE CHIEF”
Thursday, November 30th, 2006"Finally, does this hurt Rybak '08. I have to say yes. But if there really is such a thing as Rybak '08, then I have to say that he has larger statewide acceptability problems than appointing an unqualified lesbian to be Fire Chief through affirmative action… not to say he can't pull it off…" Source: [...]
MDE EXCLUSIVE: NEW COMMITTEE CREATED BY DFL HOUSE LEADERSHIP RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT CONNECTION BETWEEN SPEAKER-DESIGNATE AND LEGISLATIVE LIASON
Thursday, November 30th, 2006The creation of a new committee by the DFL leadership in the Minnesota House of Representatives that will determining funding for the Minnesota Historical Society is raising concerns in St. Paul. The reason for the concern is that the legislative liaison for the Minnesota Historical Society, David Kelliher, is married to the new Speaker-designate Margaret Anderson Kelliher. The new [...]
COMING SOON: NEW COMMITTEE CREATED BY DFL RAISING CONCERNS
Thursday, November 30th, 2006I'm working on a story about a new committee created by the DFL House leadership and it should be posted in the next hour. UPDATE: I've decided to wait a little longer for comments from the people mentioned in this post.
SEIFERT DESCRIBES UPCOMING BUDGET BATTLE IN CLEAR LANGUAGE
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006"'When you have a boatload of money, your job is to keep the drunken sailors off the ship,' said Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall and the incoming House minority leader." Source: Associated Press, November 29, 2006
MN GOP STATEMENT ON STATE BUDGET FORECAST
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006St. Paul-Republican Party of Minnesota Ron Carey today issued the following statement on the state’s $2.17 billion budget surplus. "Today's $2.17 billion budget surplus is fantastic news for Minnesota. After inheriting a record $4.5 billion deficit, Governor Pawlenty and Republican legislators have kept our state's economy strong by holding the line on taxes and making [...]
POGEMILLER CONSPICUOUS BY HIS ABSENCE AT DFL PRESS CONFERENCE
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006Capitol sources are buzzing today about Senator Larry Pogemiller's absence at today's DFL press conference. When asked by a reporter as to why Pogemiller didn't attend today's press conference, Senator Tarry Clark responded that Pogemiller had a prior appointment. Clark added that numerous DFL senators would be speaking on behalf of the caucus, not just Pogemiller. [...]
DFL LEGISLATOR WITH X-RATED PAST WILL BE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEE, ACTIVE IN RESOLVING STATE BUDGET SURPLUS
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006"Rep. Loren Solberg, a top House DFLer on budget matters, said Tuesday he didn't think legislators or the public wanted a rebate at the expense of other priorities." Source: Associated Press, November 29, 2006 "Rep. Loren Solberg, DFL-Grand Rapids, the incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, suggested that that will be a [...]
NOVEMBER FORECAST TO BE RELEASED THIS MORNING #2
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006The budget surplus is actually $2.17 billion: "Minnesota finance officials expect the state treasury to run a $2.17 billion surplus through June of 2009. That includes a projected surplus of $1.038 through June of next year, and $1.132 billion for the following two years." Source: Associated Press, November 29, 2006
DEAN JOHNSON RIPS NEW DFL SENATE LEADER POGEMILLER: “I THINK IT’S A DIFFICULT TASK FOR SENATOR POGEMILLER TO ORDER SIMPLY A HAMBURGER WELL DONE AND FRENCH FRIES”
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006"'I think it's a difficult task for Senator Pogemiller to order simply a hamburger well done and french fries. He wants to know where the meat comes from and where the potatoes were grown and what temperature these items were cooked at and all of that. He's very analytical,' according to Johnson." Source: MPR, November 29, [...]
NOVEMBER FORECAST TO BE RELEASED THIS MORNING
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006The Minnesota Department of Finance releases the November economic forecast for the state today at 10:30 a.m.. Governor Pawlenty and both legislative caucuses will have press conferences to respond to new budget forcast. I'll have post throughout the day about the budget forcast and DFL response. UPDATE: "Minnesota finance officials expect the state treasury to [...]
RYBAK’S TREATMENT OF MCMANUS, APPOINTMENT OF FARBY AND BLASKACHEK WILL HURT CHANCES OF SENATE RUN IN ’08
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006After spending time over the last two days reading and writing about Rybak's treatment of Bill McManus and his appointment of Klara Fabry and Bonnie Bleskachek, I'm becoming more convinced that a Rybak candidacy for the U.S. Senate may never get off the ground. Rybak is attempting to show leadership by giving the impression he is [...]
ANOTHER TURN IN THE SAGA OF RYBAK’S FIRE CHIEF
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006"Efforts to remove embattled Fire Chief Bonnie Bleskachek will proceed, after Mayor R.T. Rybak and City Council members rejected a proposed settlement Tuesday that would have allowed her to remain a supervisor in the department. The unanimous vote of the city's executive committee, led by Rybak, to reject the deal came as a surprise to [...]
NICK COLEMAN CRITICAL OF BLESKACHEK & RYBAK
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006"When a city fire department is running smoothly, few people know the name of the fire chief. If the chief is a household name, it means trouble. And it means the taxpayers are up in arms. Minneapolis has been in that category for eight months or more, ever since the name Bonnie Bleskachek became, rather [...]
MDE FROM THE ARCHIVES: POLICE CHIEF RYBAK APPOINTED LEAVES MINNEAPOLIS, RYBAK CRITICIZED FOR FAILING TO SUPPORT CHIEF
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006RYBAK FAILED TO DISCLOSE IN TIMELY MANNER IF HE WOULD REAPPOINT MCMANUS TO SECOND TERM "While he praises McManus, Rybak also recently said it was 'too soon to tell' whether he would reappoint the chief when his term is up in 2007." Source: Star Tribune, November 4, 2006 MCMANUS LATER LEAVES MINNEAPOLIS, RYBAK CRITICIZED FOR FAILING [...]
MDE FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE LOWLIGHTS OF R.T. RYBAK
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006Since Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak is considered a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate in '08, I'm going through the archives of Minnesota Democrats Exposed to organize all of my post about him. Below are some my favorite Rybak posts. ### TIMING OF RYBAK NEWSLETTER CALLED "COINCIDENTAL" "Regardless of who they voted for, every Minneapolis household either has or [...]
MDE FROM THE ARCHIVES: RYBAK SUPPORTED RALPH NADER IN 2000
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006"R.T. Rybak, a longtime Minneapolis DFL activist, recently and very publicly condemned Gore and said he would support Nader's candidacy. Rybak, an organizer of former Sen. Bill Bradley's failed presidential bid, said the widely shared assumption that Nader will merely hurt Gore 'is a very simplistic idea that sounds good on the Washington-based talk shows. [...]
MDE FROM THE ARCHIVES: RYBAK FIRES PUBLIC WORKS CHIEF HE APPOINTED
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006RYBAK CALLS FOR REMOVAL OF MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC WORKS CHIEF HE APPOINTED: "We're going to need a much stronger manager and a much stronger communicator." Source: Star Tribune, January 4, 2006 BUT RYBAK HAD PREVIOUSLY PRAISED FARBY'S LEADERSHIP: "[Klara Fabry] will provide the kind of leadership needed as we find smarter, more efficient ways to deliver essential services…" [...]
RYBAK CALLS FOR REMOVAL OF FIRE CHIEF HE APPOINTED
Monday, November 27th, 2006RYBAK CALLS FOR REMOVAL OF MINNEAPOLIS FIRE CHIEF: "I am not confident that Ms. Bleskachek can lead the Fire Department in a way that best positions the Department to protect the citizens of Minneapolis." Source: Mayor R.T. Rybak, November 27, 2006 BUT RYBAK PRAISED BLESKACHEK'S LEADERSHIP AND TOOK CREDIT IN DEBATE WITH '05 OPPONENT FOR HER [...]
ROWLEY BLAMES LOSS ON STUPID VOTERS AND MEDIA
Monday, November 27th, 2006"Our Founding Fathers were right to worry about a misinformed electorate. For a long time, I thought our independent news media would conduct 'reality checks' on the falsehoods in Kline's negative ad campaign. But it just didn't happen." Source: Pioneer Press, November 27, 2006 Click here for the complete article. ### Coleen Rowley sounds just [...]
DEMOCRAT ON FRANKEN: “I JUST DON’T THINK THE OVERALL ELECTORATE WILL TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY”
Monday, November 27th, 2006"Given that no DFLers have declared their candidacy, it is a bit early to speculate on who the candidate will be, but anyone paying attention to Minnesota politics knows that comedian and radio personality Al Franken has shown interest in a possible candidacy. As a Democrat, I am far from making up my mind as [...]
« Previous Entries