SD44 campaigns heat up

David Gaither, Hamel Rodeo Parade, July 8, 2012.

The campaigns in SD44 are in full swing and hotter than a firecracker on Independence Day. The candidates are door knocking, walking parades, and meeting and greeting at summer festivals in the district.

Businessman Mark Stefan, who is challenging current Rep. John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka), had supporters in campaign shirts at both the June 30 Music in Plymouth 5K run and the 40th annual music and fireworks event on July 4. Stefan, who worked on the campaign of state Senate candidate Norann Dillon, has traded places: now Dillon is managing his campaign.

David Gaither, who is challenging current Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka), had the most popular giveaway item of that sweltering evening at Music in Plymouth: handheld fans. The entire stock of several hundred were distributed in the first hour. Sen. Bonoff had a booth near one of the park entrances, handing out balloons and greeting constituents.

Voter ID advocates from ProtectMyVote.com were on hand to raise awareness and answer questions about the photo ID amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, which will be on the ballot in November.

Hard-working U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Bills walked the Hamel Rodeo Parade on a sunny and hot July 8 not once, but twice: once before the parade started, then in the parade itself. The Minnesota state legislator and economics teacher will challenge current Sen. Amy Klobuchar with a simple but powerful message of "Economics 101." Kurt and his supporters are Tweeting with the hashtag #noklo2012. Rep. Erik Paulsen's (MN-3) typically large volunteer contingent also braved the hot sun to walk the parade with his orange campaign signs. Gaither walked the parade with his wife Susan, as his volunteers handed out frozen ice pops to the crowd.

Pssst...Terri Bonoff is a Democrat

It's pretty difficult to tell from Terri Bonoff's campaign web site this year, but the incumbent SD43 senator is DFL endorsed. In fact, Bonoff's campaign generally avoids partisan labels at all, Republican or Democrat.

With the unpopularity of unsustainable Democrat spending and job-killing tax-the-rich philosophy, it's no wonder that Bonoff and many DFLers are de-emphasizing party labels this election season. With unprecedented stimulus spending (and resulting national debt) from President Obama and Congressional Democrats, the Obamacare bill that few have read and fewer understand, the spectre of the Bush tax cuts expiring on January 1, and the jobless "recovery," it isn't easy being blue, to paraphrase Kermit the Frog.

So what's wrong with eschewing party labels and focusing instead on the issues? Thomas Jefferson alternately favored and disfavored political parties:

I believe their existence to be salutary inasmuch as they act as Censors on each other, and keep the principles & practices of each constantly at the bar of public opinion. It is only when they give to party principles a predominance over the love of country, when they degenerate into personal antipathies, and affect the intercourse of society and friendship, or the justice due to honest opinion, that they become vicious and baneful to the general happiness and good. We have seen such days. May we hope never to see such again!

The Minnesota legislature was nonpartisan — candidates ran and served without party designation — from 1913 until 1973. Legislators caucused in "liberal" or "conservative" groups, but were free to vote their own or constituents' views, without influence from political parties.

Yet political parties are what we have today, and as much as Bonoff may be portraying herself in this election as neither fish nor fowl, her voting record shows her voting nearly 9 out of 10 times with her DFL caucus. Parties exist to elect candidates who can work together to advance an agenda, articulated in the party platform, which is a statement of positions on the major issues of the day. The Democrats traditionally try to solve society's problems with more and larger government, whether the issue is education, transportation, the economy, energy, the environment — or even the arts.

Norann Dillon is the Republican-endorsed candidate in the SD43 race. As a Republican, her fellow Republicans in the Plymouth-Minnetonka area endorsed her because they believe that she would be their best advocate to advance four Republican principles, which boil down to two words: freedom and prosperity. Likewise for the incumbent HD43A Rep. Sarah Anderson and HD43B challenger Brian Grogan.

When voters in SD43 elected Bonoff their state senator and John Benson as their HD43B state representative, they brought change with them in the votes cast compared with their Republican predecessors. Whether this change to DFL representation was good or bad depends on whom you ask: the Taxpayers League of Minnesota or the labor unions, automobile commuters or light rail riders, tax payers or recipients of government funding.

I believe that the vast majority of people who run for office are doing so to serve their constituents and improve our general lot, we just sometimes disagree on the best way to accomplish the job. Because the majority leaders in the legislature and the governor have such an overwhelming influence over the agenda, the rules, on how individual members vote, and on the composition of the unelected bureaucracy, I also believe that in our current partisan legislature, voters must take into account the parties of each candidate, what they stand for, and the interest groups who fund them.

Look for the union label

 

Rep. John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka) has presumably worked hard to earn the many union endorsements he touts on his campaign web site: AFSCME, AFL-CIO, SEIU, Teamsters, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (although no part of the Minneapolis Public Schools district is within the suburban district he represents, SD43B!). Benson is a former president of his union local in Edina.

In his latest campaign literature piece, Benson's opponent in this election, Brian Grogan, has documented precisely how hard Benson has worked to earn these endorsements:

• Benson voted to shift $80 million from the classroom to union penson plans (HF3281 - 2010)
• Benson voted against improving high school graduation standards, aligning with the union position (HF2 - 2009)
• Benson voted for union-favored bills that did not establish teacher accountability standards (HF4178-2009 and HF2-2010)

In his retirement speech last year, Bob Chanin, general counsel of the National Education Association, was surprisingly candid in admitting what the first priority of the union is (hint: it's not the children):

...we have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of millions of dollars in dues each year because they believe that we are the unions that can most effectively represent them, the unions that can protect their rights and advance their interests as education employees.

This is not to say that the concern of NEA and its affiliates with closing achievement gaps, reducing dropout rates, improving teacher quality, and the like are unimportant or inappropriate. To the contrary, these are the goals that guide the work we do. But they need not and must not be achieved at the expense of due process, employee rights, and collective bargaining. That simply is too high a price to pay!

Grogan, who serves on the board of the Minnesota Academic Excellence Foundation and the Special Education Advisory Council, puts issues such as redesigning the K-12 funding formula for more fairness and transparency, eliminating unfunded mandates including No Child Left Behind, and rewarding teachers for performance at the top of his education policy priorities. When push comes to shove on K-12 education policy and finance, which candidate do you think would be in a stronger position to represent SD43B students and their families?

Hey big DFL spenders

As Minnesota DFLers in close races campaign ever farther toward the right on tax, spending, and jobs issues, it is getting more difficult for voters who don't follow politics year-round (or ever) to sort out the differences between them and their Republican challengers.

Thank goodness for newspaper voter guides, like those in the community-based Sun Newspapers and the Lakeshore Weekly News. These guides take statements from the candidates in their own words. Some of these quotes can be revealing.

For example, Rep. John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka) said in the Sun Newspapers voters guide, "Any revenue proposal ought to be based upon the principals [sic] of benefits received and the ability to pay." Or as Karl Marx put it, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need."

Benson went on to advocate for a light-rail transit line to the southwest suburbs, which like all light rail transit is expensive to build and operates at a structural loss. "The state should aggressively go after every available federal dollar to fund the Southwest light-rail corridor." Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) is another outspoken candidate for light-rail transit.

In contrast, Benson's Republican-endorsed challenger, Brian Grogan, is focused on reducing state spending. "A significant portion of the state's budget deficit problem is related to the many programs that have automatic, yearly spending increases regardless of revenues," said Grogan. "This growth is unsustainable."

How a light-rail line to Eden Prairie would benefit SD43 is a little sketchy. In the Sun Newspapers voters guide, Bonoff's Republican-endorsed challenger Norann Dillon emphasized the need to add a third lane on 394 at the bottleneck in SD43, an idea that the Plymouth City Council has also advocated.

Boondoggle infrastructure spending will only increase the drag of taxes and government debt on President Obama's sputtering "summer (and fall?) of recovery." Grogan and other fiscally conservative candidates understand how to ease these burdens from all taxpayers, which is the only way to a true recovery. Increased government spending on top of bailouts and so-called stimulus spending has not and will not get us there from here.

Happy trails

We're in the home stretch to Election Day, and the race is either approaching its most exciting or most exasperating, depending on whether you are a candidate or a voter! Candidates like HD43B challenger Brian Grogan (Twitter: @bwgrogan) are hitting the campaign trail with campaign appearances, marching in parades, door knocking, attending candidate forums, and doing whatever they can to get in front of the voters and earn their support.

Wednesday evening, I had the pleasure of walking a Minnetonka neighborhood with Grogan, some of his campaign volunteers, and Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek, who is running unopposed for re-election. Grogan's support seemed strong in this particular precinct, with many Republican lawn signs evident, especially for Grogan and GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. We saw relatively few signs for HD43B incumbent John Benson.

To volunteer for your favorite Republican candidates, go to http://www.mngop.com.

Grogan speaks out for jobs, business

HD43B candidate Brian Grogan sat down with podcaster and blogger Walter Hudson for a wide-ranging interview that touched on Minnesota's jobs and business climate, tax and spending policy, and local government accountability.

You can listen to the entire interview here, or on the Podomatic web site.

John Benson would eliminate thousands of jobs in Minnesota's private health insurance industry

By Brian Grogan

In Minnesota, the DFL party has been committed to establishing a single-payer health care system in Minnesota for nearly forty years. It began during the 1970s when government leaders in Minnesota began regulating health insurance and established the HMO delivery system. We are now in the final stages of the DFL's incremental approach to government control of health care.

My opponent in State House District 43B, John Benson, is co-authoring the Minnesota Health Plan. The bill (HF135) is the DFL's final step in establishing a government controlled health care program in Minnesota. This bill exceeds President Obama’s health care bill in regulation and mandated coverage.

It is frightening to read and will eliminate thousands of Minnesota jobs! Written in 2009, the bill is currently resting in the House Finance committee.

The bill establishes six new Minnesota government agencies. The bill creates the Minnesota Health Board, the Office of Health Quality and Planning, an Ombudsman for Patient Advocacy and an Inspector General. In addition, the bill requires the government to expand mandated coverage.

This should concern every Minnesotan. Today, our state artificially escalates health care costs by requiring all private health insurance plans offered in Minnesota to cover services whether you want it or not. In particular, our state leads the nation in the number of mandated services (sixty-four) that health insurance plans must offer.

The DFL's Minnesota Health Plan bill significantly expands this government-mandated coverage. The plan if enacted would cover all citizens (including illegal immigrants). It includes such services as long term care, home health care and dental care. How does the government plan on paying for this? Don’t ask the DFL party — they will figure that out later!

This bill exceeds Obama Care in that first and foremost the plan will collapses all private insurance plans effective the date the bill is "operational." Once the bill becomes "operational," it will also collapse jobs: 1100 jobs in Minnetonka and Plymouth and thousands of additional jobs across Minnesota!

The job elimination provision is written in the bill in Section 3, Subdivision 3. These lines specifically state that the bill will collapse private health insurance plans in Minnesota.

Subd. 3. Prohibition. On and after the day the Minnesota Health Plan becomes operational, a health plan, as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 62Q.01, subdivision 3, may not be sold in Minnesota for services provided by the Minnesota Health Plan.

This means that Minnetonka-based Medica, employing 1100 employees, ceases to exist. This line means that Blue Cross Blue Shield and a division of United Health Care are out-of-business. Thousands of Minnesota jobs are eliminated by Benson's bill.

My opponent consistently states he is pro-business, stands for Minnesota jobs and is a "moderate" legislator. Is this a pro-business, jobs-oriented, moderate approach to addressing our health care issues?

It is essential that we change control of the Minnesota House. The first step in accomplishing this would be to unseat my opponent, John Benson. This bill proves he is a member of the liberal wing of the Democrat, progressive party. He wants a government-run health care system that takes away our choices and erodes our economic freedoms. He is willing to disrupt lives and eliminate jobs in order to carry out his vision for the world.

Brian Grogan (Twitter: @bwgrogan) is running for the Minnesota House of Representatives in District 43B. His web site is www.groganforhouse.com.

Photoblog: James J. Hill Parade, Wayzata

SD43 candidate Norann Dillon (Twitter: @Dillon4Senate) and HD43B candidate Brian Grogan (Twitter: @bwgrogan) and their volunteers walked the annual James J. Hill parade on a perfect afternoon this past Sunday in Wayzata.

John Benson's tax-heavy voting record

In a previous blog post, I summarized the votes that make up Sen. Terri Bonoff's (DFL-Minnetonka) poor career rating on the Taxpayers League of Minnesota's legislative scorecards. In this post, I'll show why Rep. John Benson's (DFL-Minnetonka) career score is even lower than Bonoff's.

2007: Benson repeatedly voted in favor of what the Taxpayers League called a "bloated" transportation bill, then voted to override Gov. Pawlenty's veto of the bill, which would have raised taxes by billions of dollars, by up to $500 a year for a family of four. Benson also voted in favor of the Health and Human Services Finance bill, which would have reversed many welfare reforms and increased welfare spending in Minnesota (the bill was vetoed by Gov. Pawlenty). Rating: 25.

2008: Benson earned a big zero in this year, for voting contrary to Taxpayers League positions on every one of its tracked votes, including amending the state constitution to dedicate revenue from a new sales tax to fund "natural resource protection and cultural heritage programs;" levying an additional $6.6 billion in taxes on transportation and creating a new Twin Cities metro bureaucracy (vetoed by Gov. Pawlenty, veto overridden), and a $1 billion bonding bill with according to the Taxpayers League, "hundreds of millions for local arenas, hockey rinks, parks and trails and the Central Corridor lightrail boondoggle… with no money for state priorities like road and bridge construction." Rating: 0.

2009: Benson voted in favor of the $4.3 billion transportation bill that included funding for various light rail and commuter rail projects, continuing the trend for rail funding over highways; loan forgiveness for the city of St. Paul RiverCentre Arena totaling $32.75 million (vetoed by Gov. Pawlenty); and a $1 billion tax increase including the fourth tier tax increase, liquor tax increases, and cigarette tax (vetoed by Gov. Pawlenty; Benson voted to override the veto, which did not pass). Benson also voted in favor of the last-hour, end-of-session third attempt by the DFL leadership to pass a billion dollar tax increase. Rating: 7.

2010: At least Benson's score didn't go down this year, but in 2010 and 2009 he missed another zero score by only one vote. He voted against lowering the corporate tax rate (Minnesota has the third highest corporate income tax rate in the world!), in favor of adding a new fourth tier to the income tax, and voted to raise food, beverage, and lodging taxes for select cities as well as to authorize $34 million in additional debt for the Metropolitan Council. Rating: 7.

With another budget deficit looming, Minnesotans can ill-afford even more job-killing tax and spending increases. For more on John Benson's tax-and-spend voting record, and how you can help to restore fiscal sanity in the Minnesota Legislature, please visit the Brian Grogan for House web site (Twitter: @bwgrogan).

What do the votes of incumbents reveal?

If the only things you know about political candidates is what they tell you (about themselves and their opponents), and we presume that they will tell you only what they want you to hear, can you really call yourself an informed voter?

That's why I like voting record scorecards. Typically, they list a large number of key bills and amendments that came before the state legislature or Congress and show how each and every legislator voted. Each vote is given a point value, and each elected official gets a score. A candidate can say anything on the campaign trail, but incumbents should live or die on their voting records.

The specific bills chosen and whether a particular vote is considered "good" or "bad" depends on who's keeping score, yet the scores are objectively calculated in the same way for each legislator. Most voters don't have the time or expertise to track voting records by poring over the journals of the House or Senate over the course of several legislative sessions. Voting scorecards are a fast and methodical way to do your voter due diligence apart from the hue and cry of political parties and candidate campaigns.

So how do SD43 incumbents and gubernatorial candidates fare on three right-leaning scorecards?

Taxpayers League of Minnesota "Friends of the Taxpayer"

• SD43 Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL) - 2010: 25%, 2009: 8%, Lifetime: 22%
• HD43A Rep. Sarah Anderson (R) - 2010: 87%, 2009: 87%, Lifetime: 81%
• HD43B Rep. John Benson (DFL) - 2010: 6%, 2009: 7%, Lifetime: 9%
• HD19B Rep. Tom Emmer (R) - 2010: 87%, 2009: 100% "Best Friend of the Taxpayer," Lifetime: 91%
• HD60A Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL) 2010: 0%, 2009: 0%, Lifetime: 10%
• HD64A Rep. Matt Entenza (DFL): 2006: 10%, Lifetime (2003-2006): 16%

Minnesota Majority "Heroes and Zeros"

• SD43 Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL) - 2009: 11%, Career: 10%
• HD43A Rep. Sarah Anderson (R) - 2009: 100% "Hero," Career: 94%
• HD43B Rep. John Benson (DFL) - 2009: 0% "Zero," Career: 9%
• HD19B Rep. Tom Emmer (R) - 2009: 100% "Hero," Career: 100%
• HD50A Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL) - 2009: 0% "Zero," Career: 0%
• HD64A Rep. Matt Entenza (DFL): (data unavailable prior to 2007)

Bills and Votes

• SD43 Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL) - 2010: 27%
• HD43A Rep. Sarah Anderson (R) - 2010: 86%
• HD43B Rep. John Benson (DFL) - 2010: 13%
• HD19B Rep. Tom Emmer (R) - 2010: 93%
• HD50A Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL) - 2010: 12%
• HD64A Rep. Matt Entenza (DFL): (2010 data only available)

How did these legislators earn each of these scores? What does that tell you about them, given who is keeping score? Which legislators are best representing their districts? We'll look into the details in subsequent blog posts. You can play this game yourself by clicking on the scorecard links or by referring to the list of voting scorecards compiled by the nonpartisan Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.

Share your favorite scorecards with us in the comments section.

UPDATE: Taxpayers League scorecard updated with 2010 scores, which were just released.

John Benson: pro business, or not so much?

With a little over two weeks until the statewide precinct caucus day on Tuesday, February 2, Republican Brian Grogan has already resumed his campaign to unseat second-term DFL incumbent John Benson from his state House seat in district 43B. Grogan first ran against Benson in 2008, falling short by 11% of the votes in that race. Benson is nevertheless a worthy candidate: well-informed, well-spoken, very hard working, accessible.

Can Grogan pull together the key elements of messenger, message, and money to unseat Benson this November? Grogan has been honing the second piece of that puzzle in the "offseason," and fired his first shot in this week's Lakeshore Weekly News:

Rep. John Benson recently expressed in this paper his desire to create a more favorable climate for small businesses and responsible strategies to lower unemployment.

I appreciate this position but his voting record stands in stark contrast to his words. The Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota's largest, small business advocacy group rated Benson in 2009 (www.minnesotaprosperity.org) on 13 legislative, pro-business priorities. He agreed with only 4 of the 13 positions and has consistently scored low on the Chamber's annual scorecard. In addition, he opposed the expansion of the JOBZ program and the Minnesota Taxpayer's League has consistently scored Benson low.

Since elected in 2007, Benson has consistently voted for increasing taxes and spending and opposed job creation legislation. It would be nice to know what Benson means by favorable business climate and responsible strategies to lower unemployment because his voting record doesn't support job creation.

More evidence of Grogan's offseason due diligence (i.e., opposition research) can be seen on his web site, where he has a comprehensive listing of the lowlights of Benson's voting record on taxes and spending, health care, business, education, and more. I'll be highlighting that record and Grogan's agenda here throughout the campaign season.