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?

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

Gloria Zaiger delegate letter

Sorry to be a little post-holiday on this letter from Gloria Zaiger. She sent it to DFL 64B convention delegates before Valentine's Day:

Zaiger Delegate Letter

A look at the DFL Precinct caucuses

Here's what it looked like last night at the DFL precinct caucuses in District 64B on Tuesday night. 

Candidate Greta Bergstrom waited for caucus business to officially begin

Gloria Zaiger talked to caucus goers about her DFL party work

Beth Fraser talked about her record as deputy Secretary of State

Assistant County Attorney Dave Pinto spoke to would-be delegates

Matt Freeman said he wanted to listen to voters

Melanie McMahon talked about her work as a legislative staffer

In money race, Pinto leads with Freeman close behind

Dave Pinto leads the money race

Legislative candidates for 2013 had to file their paperwork, and it was made public by the state's Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.

The reporting period only covers 2013, so it isn't the whole picture. But it tells a lot. Dave Pinto lead the pack with nearly $20k, and a ton of cash on hand. Matt Freeman was just a handful of big contributors behind him, and Beth Fraser in third. 

The numbers dropped off pretty substantially after that. Melanie McMahon, in fourth, had less than half of Pinto's war chest. Gloria Zaiger's fortunes were boosted in no small part by a $500 personal loan.

Here's the chart:

Not much too surprising here, although Greta Bergstrom ran when this seat was open last, and has the longest standing ties to the district. As communications director for TakeAction Minnesota, she's also got a ready network of contacts in hand. It's a little surprising to see her in 5th place in the money race.

Fraser

Also, despite a comparatively short stint in the district, and without the kind of family and local political ties that Pinto and Freeman have, Fraser was pretty clearly punching above her weight in fundraising last year. And remember, she didn't officially get into the race until more than three weeks after incumbent Michael Paymar announced he wasn't running again, and his would-be successors first took the field. (UPDATE: Her third place, it should be noted, does include a $5,000 self-financed contribution, which isn't listed as a loan in her finance report.)

But again, this is 2013 money, and a lot can change in a race this short. The precinct caucuses are Tuesday.

Here's the details of their finances. Click on the link to see their CFPDB report:

Dave Pinto
Matt Freeman
Beth Fraser
Melanie McMahon
Greta Bergstrom
Gloria Zaiger
Matthew Bergeron

(Note also that Matthew Bergeron has dropped out, but still had to disclose his fundraising.)

Hear this: The 64B candidate forum on Jan. 29th

The six candidates running for the DFL nomination for the 64B race met at the St. Paul Jewish Community Center last night for a pre-caucus candidate forum. We'll have some analysis of what they had to say later.

But in the meantime, for the record, here is the debate.

It ran from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and went in round-robin order, starting with Deputy Secretary of State Beth Fraser, attorney and House committee administrator Melanie McMahon, assistant Ramsey County attorney Dave Pinto, Take Action Minnesota communications director Greta Bergstrom, political organizer and campaign manager Matt Freeman and longtime DFL activist Gloria Zaiger.

Mitch Gordon, an former neighborhood candidate and DFL party official, moderated the debate. It's a long discussion. There's about 87 minutes of audio.





(Please note that there was a technical glitch at the 43:50 point and about 2 minutes of audio was lost in a Beth Fraser and Melanie McMahon response.)

Video: Meet the candidates!

There's a big field running for the 64B House seat right now, and it's hard to get a look at all the candidates. But The Race for 64B is doing the legwork for you.

All seven of the announced contenders graciously agreed to offer their introductions for posterity in The Race for 64B's palatial and high-tech video facility.

None of them are perfect, but if you've seen these folks in person, particularly at the Senate District 64 gathering last month, they seem to ring pretty true to the candidates.

Have a look for yourself.

Beth Fraser

Dave Pinto

Melanie McMahon

Matthew Bergeron

Gloria Zaiger

Matt Freeman

Greta Bergstrom

Look for more from the field in the weeks to come. The Race for 64B has more plans for candidate interaction that you'll find very interesting.

We'll also have complete coverage of the DFL candidate forum scheduled for January 29th.

(A brief note on production: The candidates are listed in this posting in the order that they agreed to come in and be videotaped. The red highlights in some candidates' video come from the studio lights. All candidates were limited to an approximately 2 minute time limit. The videos were trimmed to length but are otherwise unedited.)

More 64B events

Get out your calendar. There are only about four weeks left before caucuses, and the political agenda is filling up some more.

Here are the upcoming events for 64B:

Jan. 9

Gloria Zaiger meet and greet, at her home, 1917 Bohland Ave., St. Paul,  6:30 to 9:00 p.m.

Greta Bergstrom fundraiser, home of Jay Benanav & Lucy Kanson, 1898 Ashland Ave., St. Paul, 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Matt Freeman fundraiser, home of Carol Sime and John Grafstrom, 2130 Watson Ave., St. Paul, 6 to 7 p.m.

Jan. 11

Beth Fraser meet and greet, Espresso Royale, 475 Fairview Ave. S., St. Paul, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Jan. 12

Greta Bergstrom meet and greet, Coffee Bene, 53 Cleveland Ave. S., St. Paul, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Jan. 13

Dave Pinto meet and greet, hosted by Deborah Moses at Caribou Coffee, 2340 7th St. W., St. Paul, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 18

Gloria Zaiger meet and greet, location TBA, 10:00 a.m. to noon

Jan. 21

Dave Pinto house party at Rich Gehrman's, 2148 Eleanor Ave., St. Paul, 6 to 8 p.m.

Jan. 23

Melanie McMahon meet and greet, Flat Earth Brewing Company, 2035 Benson Ave., St. Paul, 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 25th

Dave Pinto coffee party hosted by Joan Wittman, 525 Fairview Ave., St. Paul (Carondelet Village Homes), 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Jan. 31st

Dave Pinto caucus kick off party hosted by former St. Paul mayor George Latimer (754 Linwood Ave., St. Paul), 6 to 8 p.m. Alternate event from 3 to 5 p.m. for those folks who are observing Shabbat services.

Feb. 1
Melanie McMahon meet and greet at Hillcrest Rec Center, 1978 Ford Parkway, St. Paul, 10:10 a.m. to noon.

Party time: Upcoming campaign events in 64B

Campaigning is shifting gears in 64B. With the holidays over, the candidates are starting to mount gatherings around the district. 

A few are coming up soon. Here's a quick listing:

Today:

Beth Fraser meet and greet, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m, J&S Bean Factory, 1518 Randolph Ave., St. Paul.

Sunday, Dec. 29:

Gloria Zaiger meet and greet, 1 to 4 p.m., 1917 Bohland Ave., St. Paul.

Matt Freeman meet and greet and fundraiser, 4 to 6 p.m., Buca de Beppo, 2728 Gannon Road, St. Paul

Saturday, Jan. 4:

Beth Fraser meet and greet, 12:30 to 2 p.m., Quixotic Coffee, 769 Cleveland Ave. S., St. Paul.

Sunday, Jan. 5: 

Greta Bergstrom meet and greet, 4 to 5 p.m., J&S Bean Factory, 1518 Randolph Ave.

Thursday, Jan. 9:

Gloria Zaiger meet and greet, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., 1917 Bohland Ave., St. Paul

Sunday, Jan. 12:

Greta Bergstrom meet and greet, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Coffee Bene, 53 Cleveland Ave. S.

Gloria Zaiger says "C'mon over!"

Gloria Zaiger is turning out to be the most prolific lit dropper of the campaign so far. Here's another letter from the would-be DFL nominee, with a brief "meet the candidate" introduction AND an invite to her house. She's holding two events there (one during the Vikings game, but who wants to watch them play the Lions anyway).

You can't see it on the PDF here, but this letter is also signed by hand. Zaiger is working it.

Zaiger Letter by theracefor64b

Glora Zaiger mailer

Between basketball practice, swim meets, winter recitals and holiday parties, things here at The Race for 64B are getting a little crazy, but politics wait for no one.

This is a little late getting up, but here's Gloria Zaiger's super-sized post card.

It's pretty slick, and again, Zaiger is one of the first out of the gate with the campaign apparatus, and pushing all the political and DFL buttons while she's at it: the union bug, the blue theme, the home address. Even the subtle "a better Minnesota" reference on the back side.

If you've got lit, or a candidate sent you some, pass it along to The Race for 64B. See the contact information at right.

Seven Up: DFLers make their debut at Mac meeting

64B candidates (l to r.) Matthew Bergeron, Matt Freeman, Greta Bergstrom, Melanie McMahon, Gloria Zaiger, Beth Fraser and Dave Pinto) Photo: Tim Nelson

Seven of the candidates vying to replace outgoing state representative Michael Paymar made their party debut at a Senate District 64 DFL meeting at Macalester College last night. All offered a quick 2-minute introduction to party officers and DFLers.

Much of the detail was biographical, and you can read some of the information in the previous candidate postings here at The Race for 64B: (In the order above: Matthew Bergeron, Matt Freeman, Greta Bergstrom, Melanie McMahon, Gloria Zaiger, Beth Fraser, and Dave Pinto.)

Three of the candidates, Dave Pinto, Gloria Zaiger and Matt Freeman kicked off their speeches by emphasizing their party ties: "I know many of you," said Dave Pinto. "I've phone banked with you, I've been to caucuses with you." Gloria Zaiger ran quickly down her DFL resume as a party activist and Freeman laid out his campaign bone fides, including work on the Barack Obama and Amy Klobuchar campaigns and running Chris Coleman's re-election campaign. "We need somebody that's going to go out and organize," he said, as he wrapped up his pitch.

Both Melanie McMahon and Greta Bergstrom talked up their ties to the district. "My grandma moved to Randolph Avenue nearly 70 years ago, as single mom," McMahon told the crowd. She said she and her husband even bought a house near her grandmother's. Greta Bergstrom, who ran once before for the seat, started her pitch with her background: "I have been a resident of this district most of my life."

Matthew Bergeron, a House committee administrator, and deputy Secretary of State Beth Fraser, emphasized their state government experience. Bergeron talked about his service for the Health and Human Services Policy Committee and said it's a key aspect of state government and his experience would serve the district well. Fraser talked about her work on elections and the Voter ID amendment last year and with the Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action. "My track record has 17 years of experience working at the Capitol," Fraser told the crowd.

The question and answer afterward had a couple interesting points. All were asked about the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine proposed for northern Minnesota. None expressed any real support.

•  "I want to make sure we don't do any environmental damage we can't undo," said McMahon.
• Bergstrom questioned whether 300 jobs was worth potentially centuries of cleanup: "I don't see a reason to vote for that," she said.
• Freeman said he was open to it, "but for me, the threshold would be very high to move forward."
• Bergeron called the employment "tempting," but added that "there are a lot of things that would have to be worked out before I'd be comfortable supporting it."
• Pinto said he was concerned about the potential lengthy environmental cleanup, noting that 500 years of potential water treatment was daunting: "Think about what happened 500 years ago," he said, by comparison.
• Fraser said she thinks the state needs to find something else to revitalize the Iron Range. "I want to find other economic options," she said. "How can we find alternatives."
• Zaiger was outright against it. "I sympathize with the need for jobs, but there hasn't been enough research, and I am right now opposed," she said.

And finally, the last question of the night: Would the candidates abide by the DFL endorsement? Six offered an emphatic "Yes!" and McMahon said "Absolutely!" So there you go.

Other news from the meeting:

• Beth Fraser said she will officially be getting in the race and plans to put out a release today. Look for that later here at The Race for 64B.
• Greta Bergstrom is planning a campaign event for the Chatterbox Pub in Highland Village on Sunday, from 4 to 6 p.m. She says there will be a formal invite and announcement as soon as today.
• The Feb. 4 precinct caucuses for 64B are scheduled for now for Highland Junior High. The Senate District 64 Convention is looking like it'll be March 23, a Sunday, at noon, at Central High.
• Party officials said last night they hare planning to have a pre-caucus candidate forum, likely some time in the last two weeks of January, so that would-be delegates to the convention can get a better look at who they'd like to support before Feb. 4.

And now, a word from Gloria Zaiger

This may be the internet age, but the campaign for 64B is still being fought in the trenches. Or at least the political equivalent: on the phones.

There's lots of calling going on, and The Race for 64B is always standing by to hear from the prospects in the race.

Here's a voice mail from DFLer Gloria Zaiger, working the phones last week. Have a listen:




If you hear from one of the candidates and are willing to share a voice mail or other communications, The Race for 64B would LOVE to hear about it. You can email tim@theracefor64b.com or call 315-4900.

You know the area code.

A look at the voting records of 64B candidates

Flickr photo: Bill Roehl

The great thing about Minnesota is that you can get some idea of the voting records of candidates before they even get to the Legislature.

And they may be telling, depending on how you feel about a candidate and her or his habits.

In the interest of fuller disclosure, The Race for 64B is doing the legwork for you. Here are the voter registration records for the candidates who have declared or say they're thinking about a run for the office next year.

The registrations histories don't tell you WHO they voted for or even what races were on their ballots. But the voter files have some important data -- like how often they exercise their franchise. It also tells you where they did it.

Take a look for yourself. 

It's all public information, taken right from the state's voter database, at the request of The Race for 64B. The database only covers Minnesota, and only goes back as far as the state's electronic records started in 1993, according to Ramsey County elections manager Joe Mansky. So these records may not reflect the full history of each voter.

Several candidates also say there are errors in their records (see the explanations below), but Mansky said in an interview today there is no independent way to check those claims outside of the state database.

Feel free to add comments to this post if the data gives you any insight. Click on each name to see the documents.

• Matthew Bergeron
• Brian Bergson
• Greta Bergstrom
• Beth Fraser
• Matt Freeman *
• Martin Ludden
• Melanie McMahon **
• Dave Pinto
• Gloria Zaiger

* Matt Freeman says his voter registration record does not reflect a ballot he cast in 2008. Freeman says he was working for Barack Obama's presidential campaign in Minnesota that fall and voted in-person absentee at the Isanti County courthouse in Cambridge.

** Melanie McMahon says her voter registration record does not reflect ballots she cast in 2000, and 2007. She said she voted by absentee ballot in 2000, when she was traveling in Europe. She says she's sure she voted at the polls in the 2007 election, but doesn't know why her record doesn't reflect that vote.

UPDATED: "Game on" says Gloria Zaiger for 64B seat

Gloria Zaiger says she's in.

Zaiger is an IT specialist for US Bank, where she's been for the last 24 years. She's a long time St. Paulite, and long time Como Park area resident. She was also campaign manager for DFL state Rep. Alice Hausman in the 2006 and 2008 cycles. 

Zaiger is making a very enthusiastic commitment on her Facebook page. Here's her announcement:

"I am very excited to make my Big Announcement! I want to let everyone know, I have announced my candidacy for the MN State House of Representatives! I am running for Rep Paymar's open seat in district 64B. I am excited to have this opportunity to serve my district and my state. I long admired Rep Paymar's willingness to take on tough issues, like better background checks on gun purchases and animal cruelty issues. I want to continue his work on those issues and more. I have long been passionate about the environment, especially open space preservation and climate change. Being married to a public school teacher, I am intimately aware of the struggles happening in our schools, and believe we need to do more to highlight the daily battles our educators face to educate our kids. But, I feel we aren't accomplishing all we could for our state because of the anger and bitterness between the parties. I want to emulate our great Senator Amy Klobuchar, who worked with Republican women in the Senate to end the federal shutdown. I know it will take a lot to change the tone in politics, but it has to start somewhere. I want to reach out, listen, and find common ground, and disagree with respect. That's who I am, that why I'm running. I look forward to speaking with you more about the issues and the campaign. Woohoo- game on, folks!"

She moved to 64B in 2009 and has been a caucus organizer for the last two cycles. Zaiger has served in the past as an envelope stuffer, door knocker, affirmative action chair and picnic organizer. 

"I've worn a lot of hats in the DFL," she said in an interview tonight, although she says, most of her work has been has been in District 66.

Zaiger says she's long wanted to see politics as a candidate, and wants primarily to work on environmental issues if she wins.

"I will seek the DFL endorsement," she says. "And I will abide by it."

You can see her campaign Facebook page here.