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

Melanie McMahon's delegate letter

Here's Melanie McMahon's letter to DFL delegates heading to the March 23rd convention at Central High School:

Melanie McMahon delegate letter by theracefor64b

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

Paymar is backing Melanie McMahon for DFL endorsement, 2014 election

Michael Paymar visited a precinct caucus on Tuesday night

Outgoing state Rep. Michael Paymar was making the rounds at the precinct caucuses at Highland Middle School on Tuesday night. He thanked DFLers for their support.

But he was also quietly offering his own support, to candidate Melanie McMahon. She is his former campaign manager, and the administrator of the House committee he chairs.

He said he didn't want to formally endorse McMahon, but that he does think voters would do well to elect her. Here's an interview with Paymar from Tuesday night:

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.)

Being there: Updated candidate events in 64B

Here's an updated event list for the six 64B candidates still in the running:

Thursday, Jan. 23:

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

Beth Fraser, Meet & Greet, Hosted by David Mayo, Jim and Dixie Olmstead, and Mary Diaz, Wilder Park Condo, 1181 Edgecumbe Rd, Craft Room - 17th Floor, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 25th:

Beth Fraser, Meet and Greet, J & S Bean Factory, 1518 Randolph Ave., 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.

Dave Pinto, Randolph and Fairview Area Coffee Party, Hosted by Joan Wittman, Corondelet Village, 525 S. Fairview Ave., St. Paul, 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Sunday, Jan. 26th:

Greta Bergstrom, Meet and Greet, Home of Sara Erickson and Nick Vogenthaler, 724 Fairmount Ave., St. Paul, 4 to 6 p.m.

Dave Pinto, Mattocks Park Area Open House, Hosted by Bob Tracy and Julie Earl, 371 Macalester St., 4 to 6 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 27: 

Beth Fraser, Meet and Greet, Hosted by Marcia Avner, Wy Spano and former Majority Leader John Hottinger, home of Marcia Avner and Wy Spano, 1469 Edgcumbe Rd., St. Paul, 6 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 29th:

District 64B Candidates Forum, St. Paul Jewish Community Center, 1375 St. Paul Ave., St. Paul, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 31:

Dave Pinto, pre-caucus party, J & S Bean Factory, 1518 Randolph Ave., 3:30 to 5 p.m.

Dave Pinto, pre-caucus Kickoff Party, Hosted by former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer, 754 Linwood Ave., St. Paul, 6 to 8 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 1st:

Melanie McMahon, Meet and Greet, Hillcrest Community Center, Upstairs Meeting Room at 1978 Ford Pkwy, St. Paul, 10:30am to 12:00 p.m.

A brief word from Melanie McMahon

Melanie McMahon's letter just arrived in the mail, a sign that she, too, is raising some money.

It hits some very familiar points, although, like other candidates, she's adding the environment to her regular talking points -- just as the state starts its PolyMet hearings and the debate on the Iron Range really starts to heat up.

Like the others, the letter echoes McMahon's elevator speech, which you can see here.

Read on:

McMahon Letter by theracefor64b

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.

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.

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.

McMahon steps into 64B race, maybe into boss's shoes

The first candidate into the race to replace Michael Paymar has tossed her hat in the ring. It's Melanie McMahon.

She's a familiar name to the district. McMahon was his campaign manager for his most recent re-election campaign -- the Facebook page for the effort has the doorknocking starting at her Sheffer Avenue home.

McMahon has also been the administrator for two and a half years for the Public Safety Finance Committee that Paymar chairs.

McMahon says she's got deep roots in the area. "My dad grew up in the district," she says, and running Paymar's campaign seems to have been successful: Paymar won with 72.11 percent of the vote, against 27.6 percent for Republican Brandon Carmack. You can see the Secretary of State's results here.

Here's the release from McMahon declaring her candidacy (and her "612" area code):

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

November 20, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Melanie McMahon,

612-387-3991,

mcmahonsd64@gmail.com

McMahon Announces Candidacy for Minnesota House District 64B

November 20, 2013 -- Melanie McMahon announced that she is running to serve as the State Representative for District 64B and plans to seek the DFL endorsement.  “I’m grateful for the leadership that Representative Paymar has provided for the district.  Having had the opportunity to work closely with him as a Committee Administrator to the Public Safety Finance Division of the House of Representatives and as his campaign manager, I know that he has served the district well and I wish him well on his new endeavor with Education for Critical Thinking”, said McMahon.

A Highland Park resident, McMahon currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Long Range Capitol Improvement Budget (CIB) Committee of St. Paul, as well as serves as the Grid #5 Representative on the Highland District Council.

McMahon has worked and volunteered in politics for her entire life and plans on seeking the DFL endorsement.  “As a lifelong progressive I believe strongly in the values of the DFL”, said McMahon.  “Having worked at the capitol and volunteering in the community I can be a strong advocate for those values.”

“When my grandmother, as a single mother with two young children was looking for a good neighborhood with access to transit, jobs and good schools she chose St. Paul and Highland Park. When my husband Scott and I were looking for a community with the same values that we could make home Highland Park is where we decided to live, too.” McMahon proclaimed. 

“We have chosen to stay in Highland Park to raise our two children because of the amazing opportunities the city continues to provide and the quality neighborhoods we have” said McMahon. “I want to bring progressive values to the capitol and ensure that we can provide a world class education for our children, jobs and opportunities for adults and a support system for our elderly and vulnerable citizens.”

McMahon is an attorney and community volunteer. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts from the College of St. Benedict and her Juris Doctorate from the University of St. Thomas School of Law, she practiced law both in the private sector and worked for the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Please contact Melanie McMahon with any questions you may have at 612.387.3991 or mcmahonsd64@gmail.com