Seven questions the DFL isn't asking

Here are the questions The Race for 64B submitted to the candidate forum on March 9th. As you can see, they didn't get asked at Macalester on Sunday.

But it would still be good to hear the answers:

For all candidates:

The DFL caucus in the House is typically divided into three factions: Minneapolis and its suburbs, St. Paul and its suburbs, and the Iron Range, including Duluth. A majority often requires two of the three: Minneapolis and St. Paul, or St. Paul and the Range. That's how the Vikings stadium passed: St. Paul and the Range voted for it. Given the needs of the East Metro, like redeveloping the Ford Plant and building out the Gateway Corridor, can St. Paul lawmakers afford to openly oppose copper nickel mining and risk losing allies in the Range delegation if Minneapolis won't support East Metro economic development? Are you willing to make that trade-off?

For Beth Fraser: 

You talk a lot about voting rights, and you talk often about your support of access to the democratic process. But in 2012, District 64B has some of the highest voter turnout in the state, maybe even the nation. Michael Paymar ranked 8th in vote totals in the House in the last election, and five of the seven above him were competitive races. Is moving ahead of DFLers Frank Hornstein and Paul Thissen in turnout really a priority for 64B? Why wouldn't you be a better candidate for secretary of state, where you could have a more direct impact on the issue?

For Melanie McMahon:

You're a committee administrator at the Capitol. You declared the same day your committee chairman, Michael Paymar, said he wasn't running again. He's since come out publicly in support of you. How do you respond to people to whom this looks like the machinations of Capitol insiders, or feel like the political machinery in the district excludes them if the DFL only puts you on the ballot in August?

For Matt Freeman:

Your voting record and your career show that you've worked practically all over the state.You're young and relatively new to the neighborhood and you're drawing a lot of support from outside 64B, from your family and from the mayor's office. The district already elected a former Duluth City Council member and Duluth mayoral contender. Why shouldn't 64B voters prefer someone with deeper ties to the district to succeed him?

For Dave Pinto:

You talk a lot about your work in the Ramsey County attorney's office to protect children and fight crime. These are important issues and 64B surely has some of these cases. But child abuse and neglect and sex trafficking are probably not as great a public concern in 64B that they are in other neighborhoods. You DID run for Ramsey County attorney in 2010: isn't your agenda more suited for that office, and can't you serve 64B better as a prosecutor?

For Greta Bergstrom:

You have a long history here and strong ties to the district. But you also work for TakeAction Minnesota and now have their endorsement. Their involvement has proven sometimes difficult for the DFL. Jeremiah Ellis lost in 65A in 2010, despite the party endorsement. In Minneapolis, Betsy Hodges battled to a no-endorsement with a former DFL party chair last year. Are you more than another TakeAction candidate for the Legislature? Can you give two examples a priority for 64B for you that's different from TakeAction's agenda? 

For Gloria Zaiger:

You have been very active in the DFL and in some local issues, like the city's capital budget committee and animal welfare. But you don't make a living in public policy or a related field. You haven't said much about experience working at the Capitol and its many constituencies. Why shouldn't 64B look for someone with more direct experience in state policy?

Matt Freeman on higher education

Here's the letter Matt Freeman has out on higher education and student debt, with a coda on K-12 schools at the end:

Freeman Higher Ed Letter

With comment period closing, 64B candidates weigh in on copper-nickel mining

There is about 24 hours left to weigh in on the PolyMet proposal to start copper-nickel mining in northeastern Minnesota.

So the candidates in St. Paul are weighing in.

Here are letters from Greta Bergstrom and Beth Fraser on the topic:

Bergstrom PolyMet Letter by Tim Nelson

Fraser PolyMet Letter

Video: Candidates wrap up the Macalester forum

You are NOT going to watch all 96 minutes of the 64B candidate forum. Really.

So, in lieu of the full buffet, have a look at the dessert. Here are the final statements from the District 64B candidate forum held at Weyerhauser Chapel at Macalester College on Sunday.

They're in the order in which they were presented:

Listen: Hear the full 64B candidate forum

The 64B Candidates (l. to r.): Dave Pinto, Matt Freeman,
 Melanie McMahon, Greta Bergstrom, Beth Fraser, Gloria Zaiger.

The six candidates vying for the DFL endorsement in District 64B on March 23 met at Macalester College's Weyerhauser Chapel today for a 90 minute candidate forum. They talked about health care, the environment, public safety, transportation, education and voter participation.

The forum was opened by Senate District 64 DFL Party Chair Elizabeth Wefel and state Sen. Dick Cohen. The discussion was moderated by former DFL state Rep. Kathleen Vallenga.

It was a pretty polite affair, without a lot of distinction between the two candidates -- and no direct interaction between the candidates. But you can hear a little daylight between them, at least stylistically, during the debate.

You can see most of the questions and responses, liveblogged in the previous post. If you want to actually hear what they had to say, well, we got yer debate right here:

Live: District 64B Candidate Forum at Macalester College

Could a lesbian treehugger be the most conservative candidate in this race?

Gloria Zaiger is not happy. The National Organization for Women gave her a C rating when it screened the six candidates running for the DFL endorsement in 64B.

"I was shocked," she said in an interview. "I didn't think they'd hit me this hard."

Zaiger says she's as pro-choice, pro-environment, liberal and Democratic as anybody in the race to succeed Michael Paymar in Minnesota's 64B House seat. She attributes the NOW rating to her answer to several of the questions on the NOW political action committee screening questionnaire:

• There is currently a five-year lifetime limit for a family to receive welfare benefits. Do you think this time limit should be eliminated or extended?
• Do you support eliminating or waiving any of the welfare work requirements?

She says she answered "No." And she says she has good reason. And for the record, Zaiger says she doesn't consider this idea, or herself, conservative in any way. Zaiger says she's a believer in self-empowerment. 

Here's the story she's telling delegates about her own upbringing: 

I was raised in a low income family. My father had an 8th grade education and supported his eight kids by driving a taxi. We didn't have much money before he died, and things were even worse after. My mom used every program she could to keep a roof over our head and food on the table, and, to go to night school. One of my earliest memories is of her teaching herself to type on a manual typewriter, and doing the lessons from her classes, so she could get a job. She said over and over, education is the way out, and that we needed to prepare so we would never end up in the situation she was in. From those beginnings, and with other programs to help, all eight of us went to college.

"I believe in welfare," Zaiger said in an interview. "I do think we need to give people a helping hand. But I think welfare can be a program of dependence. Use it, but then help move people to a place of empowerment. That's what I saw when I was a kid."

She also says that other programs, like housing assistance, job training and employment assistance are good investments and a good alternative to open-ended welfare benefits: "It's not just about cutting people off. It's about finding alternatives."

Zaiger says she's gotten some blowback from the rating. One delegate emailed her in disbelief.

But Zaiger hopes there's an upside: that it separates her from the pack. "I think it shows that I'm not a rubber stamp, that I think for myself -- that and how important I think opportunity is."

Here's Zaiger's response to the NOW rating (adapted from her campaign email):

Zaiger Response by theracefor64b

Here's the NOW questionnaire:

NOW PAC Questionnaire by theracefor64b

Beth Fraser's education letter to convention delegates

Beth Fraser is outlining her education position in a letter to delegates to the March 23 convention. Here's it is:

Fraser Education Letter by theracefor64b

Candidate Forum tomorrow, follow it here live

The Senate District 64 DFL is hosting a candidate forum at Macalester College tomorrow for the six candidates vying for the party endorsement on March 23.

Weyerhauser Chapel, in warmer days

The Race for 64B will be covering the event live, and will have the full audio of the forum available shortly after it concludes. You should also be able to hear the event, as it happens, via Mixlr. Here are the deets:

Don't forget to join us this Sunday, March 9, at Macalester College's Weyerhauser Chapel from 1-2:30pm for a forum for the 64B candidates. If you'd like to chat with the candidates in advance, we're doing an optional meet & greet starting at 12:15. Former State Representative Kathleen Vellenga will be moderating. We'll be focusing more on policy issues for this forum. If you have topics/questions you'd like to suggest, please send them to chair@sd64dfl.org.

On the DFL agenda: Beat the Clock

The rules for the Senate District 64 convention are out. You can see the whole shebang below.

A couple of observations: The drop off rules aren't exactly steep. Anybody with less than 10 percent of the ballots in the first round will be dropped -- which could easily leave EVERYBODY in the race for the second ballot. The drop-off only goes up by 5 percent per round, which may mean the runners up may linger on a little longer.

Here's the relevant rule:

Candidates receiving less than 10% will be dropped after the first ballot. On subsequent ballots, the drop-off percentage will be raised by 5% each ballot. In addition, after the 3rd ballot, the lowest remaining candidate will be dropped, regardless of the candidate’s percentage.
However, in no case will this drop-off rule be used to reduce the number of candidates remaining on the next ballot to less than two.

And there are a couple of fail safes in the rules. The Senate District DFL will NOT endorse before the primary if the convention doesn't pick a candidate -- it's do or die on Sunday. Also, no "no endorsement" motion can be introduced before the 7th ballot. That's some pressure to endorse.

Will it go that many rounds? With three candidates reporting five-figure war chests in 2013 alone, as well as the Take Action and womenwinning endorsements for Greta Bergstrom, the top four could have the resources for a long, drawn out battle later this month - possibly setting up a scenario like last year's mayoral race in Minneapolis where delegates had to decamp from the Convention Center before endorsing either Mark Andrew or Betsy Hodges. And this time, since there's NO ranked-choice voting, it would set up a battle royale for the Aug. 12 primary.

The Senate District 64 convention start has been moved up to 11 a.m. on March 23rd at Central High School to give the party more runway. But the convention has to wrap up its business by 9 and be out of the building by 10, according to district chair Elizabeth Wefel.

"We're going to be taking steps, both in the rules and the preparations to try to get through the business as soon as possible," says Wefel, although the 64B endorsement is the last scheduled business before the adjournment.

She noted the agenda floor fight in the 64A endorsement battle when Matt Entenza retired and Erin Murphy won the DFL nod in 2006, and said this time, they're going to keep the agenda moving -- including electing state delegates from the "A" side first, so they don't have to stick around for the "B" side politicking, if they don't want to.

Here's the rules of the game:

SD 64 DFL Convention Rules Final

Melanie McMahon's calling card

Here's the postcard Melanie McMahon is walking around as she doorknocks delegates ahead of the March 23 convention.

McMahon Card

Matt Freeman's education letter

Here's a letter from Matt Freeman talking about his education priorities:

Freeman education letter

Beth Fraser's "Endorsements" card

The delegate mail is starting to come in ahead of the March 23th convention. Here's a card from Beth Fraser: