Dillon would be new sheriff in town

Norann Dillon is running for the Republican endorsement for State Senate in SD44 (relatively unchanged from its SD43 boundaries prior to this year's redistricting court ruling).

"My priorities are to pass a truly balanced budget without borrowing, shifts or other accounting gimmicks," said Dillon in an e-mail to SD44 delegates. "We also need to reduce the tax and regulatory burdens on employers. Together, these changes will signal certainty to the marketplace and should restore the confidence needed for investment and expansion.

"Additionally," added Dillon, "let's simplify the funding and mandates on local school boards to return more control to the people best placed to judge the values and needs of the children in their communities."

The eventual Republican candidate for Senate will face Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka).

The SD44 BPOU will have to get past some contentious intramural battles if it hopes to turn its full attention and energy to defeating Bonoff and Rep. John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka), who represents the southern "B side" of the district. A campaign lit miscue by Dillon in 2010 involving former Governor Al Quie and the resignation in 2011 of Brian Grogan as BPOU chair left party regulars split and newcomers bewildered.

SD44 convenes its 2012 BPOU convention at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 24 at Wayzata High School in Plymouth.

The journey to 2012 begins with one step

In spite of the historic 2010 wave that gave Republicans control of both houses of the Minnesota legislature for the first time in two generations (not to mention the U.S. House of Representatives and nearly the U.S. Senate), in SD43, it's close but no cigar. Rep. Sarah Anderson (R-Plymouth) continued the A-side Republicans' unbeaten streak going back to Jeff Johnson in 2002 (the first election after redistricting), while Norann Dillon and Brian Grogan improved the GOP's performance, just not enough to unseat DFL incumbents Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) and Rep. John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka).

Anderson won her third election handily by 15 percentage points, winning 13 of 15 A-side precincts (the Medicine Lake precinct was a tie at 111 votes each). Dillon and Grogan both finished with around 3.5 percent deficits. That was a half-point improvement over Judy Johnson's close 2006 finish against Bonoff, and an over 8 point improvement over Grogan's first run against Benson in 2008. Grogan captured all 4 Plymouth precincts and 4 of 13 Minnetonka precincts. (The 2010 results are unofficial until certified by the canvassing board.)

The good news for Republicans is that the SD43 team now has another election cycle worth of experience, and significant Republican momentum, at the start of the road to 2012. Dillon and Grogan are seasoned campaigners could run or support other candidates in two years. Dillon in particular did an excellent job of using social media like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in her campaign, and Grogan's opposition voting record research was very thorough. Judging by campaign communications that played down partisan labels and portrayed them as "moderate," and by narrowing election margins, the DFL incumbents have recognized SD43 voters' desire for less spending, lower taxes, and a more favorable business climate.

The wild card for 2012, even more so than the outcome of a gubernatorial recount in Minnesota, will be legislative redistricting. In the first election after redistricting, the entire legislature will be up for election (including the Senate), as well as the U.S. House of Representatives and President. This will present a challenge to the new, post-redistricting BPOUs, or Basic Political Operating Units. After redistricting is complete in February 2012, the new BPOUs must organize, adopt by-laws, elect leadership and delegates, and endorse and elect candidates, all before November.

Activist interest will be high for the presidential election year. People like to get elected delegates at their precinct caucus, but many end up being "inactive activists." The new BPOUs would do well to set a high bar of commitment for delegate and leadership posts, including attendance at conventions, active networking within the precincts, active campaigning for endorsed candidates, volunteer recruiting goals, and lead fundraising.

BPOUs should host monthly informal coffeeshop discussions and special events, to draw supporters who won't attend a formal BPOU committee meeting, and capture their names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and social networking contacts. SD45 Republicans has been very creative and successful in this regard. As soon as possible, groups of suburban BPOUs should meet to share ideas and plan over the next two years so the new BPOUs can hit the ground running after the redistricted maps are drawn.

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.

Rescue me

With one week left until Election Day, the political parties, especially the state parties, are assessing the campaigns, taking an accounting of their limited resources, and placing their bets with independent expenditures on close races that may be leaning their way. Voters in SD43, where the incumbent Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) faces Republican challenger Norann Dillon, received these bullet points in a direct mail piece paid for by the Republican Party of Minnesota:

• Terri Bonoff raised her own pay - Bonoff voted with DFL Senators to raise their per diem pay 45% to $96. Nice work if you can get it!
• Opposed cutting her own office budget
• Supported other wasteful spending - where to start with all of the earmark spending? See this postcard and the Taxpayers League of Minnesota for examples (warning: taxpayer discretion advised!)

Ersatz Republicans

After years of governing from the left, SD43 Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) and HD43B Rep. John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka), like many of their DFL colleagues, are campaigning toward the middle. Bonoff has gained endorsements from business groups (which are becoming increasingly anti-free market), at least one of her parade appearances featured a costumed actor as the Statue of Liberty, and Republican door-knockers have heard from some SD43 voters who think that Bonoff is the Republican endorsee. Benson is endorsed by former Republican governor (and current RINO) Arne Carlson.

Yet their voting records, very closely following DFL leadership Sen. Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller (DFL-Minneapolis), House Majority Leader Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis), and even Congressional Democrats and President Barack Obama, belie these canny yet misleading efforts at partisan makeovers for the 2010 elections. Voters in other districts should also evaluate their DFL incumbents' claims against their voting records now for an informed vote on November 2.

For example, if Benson is on-board with Tom Emmer's emphasis on jobs as he claims in his latest campaign literature piece, then why is he authoring the Minnesota Health Plan bill, which eliminates 1100 health insurance jobs in Minnetonka and Plymouth? If Benson is all about jobs, why hasn't he addressed the onerous regulatory environment in Minnesota for the last four years he has been in office? This effort alone would have kept thousands of jobs in Minnesota. If Benson is for jobs, why does he vote for a fourth income tax tier on families earning $150,000 or more, which hurts small business owners? If he is about jobs, why does he support billions in tax increases on businesses and high income families?

If Bonoff is such a fiscal watchdog, why does she favor an expansion of the sales tax so that state government can spend even more of Minnesotans' money? If she is such a "moderate" Democrat, why has she voted with the liberal DFL caucus almost 9 out of 10 times, and consistently scores among the lowest on scorecards from the Taxpayers League of Minnesota and Minnesota Majority?

The DFL has finally recognized that Minnesotans are tired of the runaway spending and insatiable taxation that has forced businesses and jobs out of The Gopher State. To save their seats, these DFL incumbents may have had deathbed conversions on taxes and spending, but I wouldn't count on it lasting much longer than the day after Election Day, regardless of the outcome.

Norann Dillon in her own words

The campaign of Republican-endorsed SD43 candidate Norann Dillon (Twitter: @dillon4senate) has created a series of videos in which she shares her major campaign themes directly with the voters: jobs, liberty, and the purpose of government. Her YouTube channel is Dillon4Senate, which also includes a campaign rally address from Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson.

I have also linked my favorite Dillon videos to the YouTube toolbar button at the bottom of the North Star Liberty blog, along with other video that I shot and produced.

Dillon is ready to serve, and lead, in the Minnesota Senate. She would use the passion and conviction of her values to work with Governor Tom Emmer to bring Minnesota back to its Constitutional roots and fiscal responsibility, to reduce spending, lower taxes, and restore our economy.

Election day is only about a month away. Please make a contribution to the Dillon for Senate campaign today.

Plymouth on Parade

On Saturday it was Plymouth's turn to stage its hometown parade. By far the best giveaway of the day was a fresh, mini beef & pork stick from Von Hansen's Meats from (presumably) its nearby Plymouth Boulevard location.

Bologna of a different variety was being dished out by the politicians in the parade. Oh, calm down, I'm only kidding.

Headlining for the Republicans was Congressman Erik Paulsen (R-MN3) (Twitter: @erik_paulsen), followed by the party's SD43 slate: Norann Dillon for Senate (Twitter: @dillon4senate), Sarah Anderson for House 43A, and Brian Grogan for House 43B (Twitter: @bwgrogan). The DFL was represented by SD43 Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka). I did not see the other DFL candidates, but I did not see the entire parade.

Shortly after the Erik Paulsen contingent reached the end of the parade, the group reconvened at Joe Senser's Plymouth location for a volunteer appreciation lunch hosted by Paulsen. I wanted to stay much longer than I did, but domestic duties called. On the way out, I met Kim, a Dillon for Senate volunteer coordinator, and Derek Brigham (Twitter: @derekbrigham), of the Freedom Dogs and True North blogs.

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.

Dillon to Chamber: government should live within its means

In its Minnesota Business Community 2010 Election Candidate Questionnaire, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce scored SD43 Republican endorsed candidate Norann Dillon 23 points higher than Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka), 92% to 69%. The most telling difference came from this key question: "If elected, what will be your top priority?"

Bonoff: "Implementing a strategic plan that re-engineers the way we deliver all government services, leveraging the power and efficiency that modern technology provides. In addition, I will be a leader in making the strong and strategic reforms needed in our educational system so that each and every Minnesota child has an outstanding and excellent education. Our youngest learners must leave our schools college and post secondary ready to succeed."

Dillon: "My top priority will be to hold state government accountable to its number one responsibility: passing a genuinely balanced budget. The Legislature should decide how to spend your money by the Constitutionality, efficiency and effectiveness of programs and agencies. We need to apply the common sense that Minnesota families and businesses use every day: needs come before wants, you can't spend money you don't have, and plan for the long run. Let's look beyond the next election to create sustainable solutions and return our economy to prosperity."

While education reform is needed, Bonoff's focus on government services belies her overall philosophy that government just needs to be "more efficient" in its current role.

In contrast, Dillon would focus on making government live within its means, just like families and private businesses do every day. For example, Dillon puts forth these ideas on her campaign web site:

long term thinking is required: no tricks, shifts, or borrowing that delay and compound the deficit problem.

the Legislature will lead by example: no per diem or year round housing allowance; reduce the number of committees and their budgets to 2006 levels; merge and/or eliminate the myriad of commissions, boards and councils.

stop the practice of passing omnibus bills; this is where pet projects and special interest items are snuck into legislation, usually to the benefit of a select few at the expense of the rest of us.

SD43 picnic fundraiser

Please join me this Wednesday for SD43's event of the season! Share a barbecue picnic with the Republican Party of Minnesota slate of candidates, from SD43 to the statewide offices and Congress:

U.S. Congressman Erik Paulsen, Tom Emmer for Governor, Pat Anderson for State Auditor, Dan Severson for Secretary of State, Chris Barden for Attorney General, SD43 candidate Norann Dillon, HD43A Rep. Sarah Anderson, and HD43B candidate Brian Grogan

Date: Wednesday, August 25

Catering by Famous Dave's
Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm
5:30 pm Food served
7:00 pm Program begins

Cost: $15 Adults, $6 Children 6 and up, 5 and under FREE

Where: Carlson Cheshire Park
14440 Cheshire Parkway
Minnetonka, MN

Sponsored by Senate District 43 Republicans, Larry Thompson, chair.


View Larger Map

UPDATE: We had great weather and turnout for the SD43 picnic! Here are my photos from this event:

The wrong kind of change came to SD43

In 2006-2007, a change in representation came to SD43. More than a change in name only, SD43 Sen. Terri Bonoff and HD43B Rep. John Benson radically changed how SD43 was represented on tax issues, according to data reported by the Taxpayers League of Minnesota. (The data for Benson is not missing in 2008, his score was zero in that year!) The question for voters in 2010 is: did constituent views really change that much, or has there been a disconnect between Bonoff and Benson and their Plymouth and Minnetonka districts?

In contrast, HD43A Rep. Sarah Anderson's tax votes have shown continuity with her predecessor, current Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson. Have her constituents' views been represented in her votes on tax legislation?

To put these years in context, in 2006 there was a growing discontent with Republicans, which apparently helped the DFL to win two of SD43's three open seats from the Republicans. 2008 was the Democrats' year with the election of Barack Obama. Since then, Obama's approval ratings have steadily declined, while the TEA Party movement has grown on the principles of limited government, lower taxes, and free markets. Rep. Benson won re-election in 2008, but Sen. Bonoff has not faced the voters since 2006.

People vote (or don't vote) for a wide variety of reasons, but in 2010, as James Carville famously said, it's "the economy, stupid." This fall, with Minnesota's unemployment rate the second highest in the five-state area and Minnesota businesses relocating to more business-friendly states, SD43 voters should be asking Bonoff some tough questions about votes like these:

• 2010: Bonoff voted to increase the state debt by $1 billion
• 2010: Bonoff voted to approve $34 in additional debt for the Metropolitan Council
• 2009: Bonoff voted in favor of a $330 million Senate bonding bill that was $130 million more than the House version, in a year when the state faced a $6 billion budget deficit
• 2009: Bonoff 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 and road maintenance
• 2009: Bonoff voted to override the Governor’s veto of a $1 billion tax increase, which included a new fourth tier income tax (the override failed)
• 2008: Bonoff voted for a $6.6 billion tax increase that raised the gas tax, sales tax and vehicle registration tax, and created a new level of government in the Metro area to spend millions on transit boondoggles including the Central Corridor light rail line
• 2008: Bonoff voted for a $1 billion pork-laden bonding bill that contained no funding for roads and bridges
• 2007: Bonoff voted for the transportation bill, which raised taxes by billions of dollars, including a 50% increase in the gas tax, a wheelage tax, new sales taxes and higher license tab fees
• 2007: Bonoff voted to pass the tax bill, which included tax increases, increased welfare to local units of government (LGA) and mandated automatic spending increases
• 2006: Bonoff voted to raise taxes for stadiums, the arts, and the environment
• 2006: Bonoff voted to have Minnesota taxpayers bail out the Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund to the tune of $1 billion

Voting to increase taxes and accelerate runaway spending will not lead to increased employment and economic recovery (it hasn't yet); in fact, it won't even lead to increased tax revenue. Sen. Terri Bonoff's radical departure from past SD43 representation shows that she was the wrong kind of change for this district and wrong for Minnesota, especially in this economy.

Norann Dillon knocks SD43 this Saturday

SD43 challenger Norann Dillon will continue door knocking around SD43 this Saturday, with the assistance of members of the Minnesota Young Republicans. Dillon is such a tireless door-knocker, she must be on her second lap of the district by now.

The YRs are working hard this election cycle across the state, particularly in CD3 where the "Blue to Red" campaign is targeting DFL incumbents, including SD43 Sen. Terri Bonoff. This year's YRs are party animals with a full event calendar, a snappy new web site, and abundant enthusiasm for commonsense and efficient government, lower taxes, and enjoying campaign activity with fellow Republicans.

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.

Emmer suggests new Minnesota Miracle: jobs

After keeping up via the magic of Twitter with the Republican Party of Minnesota's candidate bus tour of twenty Minnesota cities over three days, after work on Friday I headed over to the last stop of the tour to have a grilled hamburger, hobnob with fellow GOP activists, and meet and greet the Republican-endorsed candidates for the Constitutional offices, namely, Governor and Lieutenant Governor (Tom Emmer and Annette Meeks), Secretary of State (Dan Severson), State Auditor (Pat Anderson), and Attorney General (Chris Barden).

The tour was meant to fire up the base across the state, a tactic that is usually saved until October for the home stretch to Election Day. To hear the barnstormers tell it, mission accomplished.

By far the number one issue on the minds of the voters is the economy. Gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer called for a new kind of Minnesota Miracle: a business climate that is improved enough for 3M to open a new plant in Minnesota, or for Marvin Windows to expand in Minnesota, or for Minnesota medical device firms like Medtronic to keep the hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes created by Obamacare and use the money instead for research and development and the creation of new high-tech jobs. Emmer said that we can get the job done by putting partisanship aside and working for the good of Minnesota.

Supporters of Minnesota Majority would be pleased that Secretary of State candidate Dan Severson talked about the problem of convicted felons illegally voting in the 2008, and the common-sense, low-cost reforms needed to restore integrity to Minnesota's elections. Attorney General candidate Chris Barden promised to prosecute cases of election fraud. State Auditor candidate Pat Anderson made the case to get her old "taxpayer watchdog" job back, not a tough sell to this crowd.

Speaking of making a case, Republican-endorsed candidate for the state Supreme Court, Greg Wersal, spoke on meaningful campaigns for those elected judgeships, and encouraged everyone to "flip over the ballot" and vote for the Republican endorsees.

Several times, the candidates emphasized the importance of electing the entire slate of Republicans, from the governor's office to the House and Senate districts across the state. To underscore the point, many local candidates were also present, including Norann Dillon (SD43), Sen. David Hann (R-Eden Prairie), Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), Emmer campaign chair Rep. Mark Buesgens (R-Jordan), and Congressman Erik Paulsen (R-MN3), and Fifth Congressional District candidate Joel Demos.

I counted four or five Tea Partiers for Emmer buttons, including my own, and a similar number of Women for Emmer buttons, including one worn by former gubernatorial candidate Sue Jeffers. Jeffers received kudos from attendees for her feisty appearance earlier in the day on the Chris Baker show on 100.3 KTLK-FM with guest host Ron Rosenbaum. There was also some buzz about the growing Tea Party movement in many towns in outstate Minnesota. One vocal Tea Partier reiterated the widely-held belief that the movement should emphasize the principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and liberty over candidate endorsement.

Among the other conservative activists present were author and blogger Sheila Kihne of The Activist Next Door, and Nancy Laroche and Derek Brigham of Freedom Dogs. Along with SD43 and other BPOU and CD3 volunteers, we took the opportunity to meet party staff and peek inside the GOP's new Cheshire Lane offices.
 

Music in Plymouth

Wednesday night, Plymouth residents were treated to perfect summer weather, light breezes, and no mosquitoes, to stage its thirty-eighth annual Music in Plymouth event at the Plymouth city center. Residents literally began staking out their claims with blankets and tarps about twenty-four hours before the event began, according to Plymouth police, who expected over 15,000 to attend.

The Republican-endorsed SD43 Senate candidate Norann Dillon maintained a low-key presence, greeting concert-goers with campaign stickers and business cards. She appeared to be very relaxed and upbeat, and told me that door-knocking neighborhoods was going so well that she almost hesitated to stop doing that to be at Music in Plymouth. Republican HD43B candidate Brian Grogan was also working the hometown crowd energetically but without signage and a big campaign presence.

Dillon's opponent, incumbent DFLer Sen. Terri Bonoff, had numerous t-shirts, balloons, and stickers on display in the crowd. We chatted for a few minutes about her trip to Israel in November last year, an unofficial trip at personal expense taken with some fellow legislators (including Republican HD43A Rep. Sarah Anderson), their spouses, and friends. (Well, why spoil either of our evenings by talking politics!) The campaign of Audrey Britton, Anderson's DFL challenger, was distributing stickers but I did not have a chance to meet the candidate.

I said hello to the stunning (politically incorrect but everyone acknowledges it) Kelli Slavik, mayor of "Money Magazine's 2008 Best Place to Live With Populations of 50,000 to 300,000," as Plymouth residents have been reminded constantly for about a year now. At last night's event, with several thousand residents on blankets and folding chairs, and eating barbecue, roasted corn on the cob, and frozen custard, listening to great music including the Minnesota Orchestra, with the newly-expanded Millennium Gardens just down the path, it sure felt like the magazine's award was well-deserved.

The grand finale of the evening was a concert by the Minnesota Orchestra, a spectacle in itself, topped by a truly awesome fireworks display in the cloudless night sky. Many of the fireworks were new, and the displays were plentiful and well-timed to the music. Speaking of music, it was delivered by the festival's (what I like to think of as) God's Own Stereo System, a megawatt beast with sound so clear and accurate that during Sousa's The Liberty Bell march, I had to look back at the stage to make sure that the Minnesota Orchestra hadn't returned to play it. The most memorable pieces during the fireworks were an inspiring a capella men's choir medley of armed services songs, and Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA during the thunderous fireworks finale.

Music in Plymouth 2010 was five hours of summer classic, star-spangled community bliss.

SD43 candidates on Facebook

All three SD43 endorsed candidates have established campaign presence on Facebook, and have begun to build their online networks. To find and "Like" their pages, simply enter Norann Dillon for Senate, Brian Grogan for Minnesota House 43B, and Rep Sarah Anderson into the Facebook Search. (The SD43 Republicans BPOU has a Facebook group with an active Wall.)

Dillon has the most established page, updating it from the campaign trail, chronicling her door knocking and formal appearances, and uploading photos. She also gets extra points for repeating her Twitter posts on her Facebook page, which has over 500 fans. Grogan's relatively new page features the candidate introducing himself in a short video. Anderson's campaign Facebook page just launched. As the HD43A incumbent, Anderson has produced several podcasts and is also well-spoken on video. She should make them more visible during the campaign.

Politicos at all levels are learning to use Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks for constituent and voter engagement. In suburban districts like SD43 where folks are spread out over wide areas with work and leisure that often takes them away from home, these tools can let candidates stay in touch, build support, rally campaign volunteers, and most importantly, get out the vote in ways that are more engaging than phone banks, e-mail, and direct mail.

Push me, poll you

A week ago last weekend, several GOP activists in SD43 reported receiving phone calls from a "pollster" asking about statewide and SD43 races. Some of them speculated that the call was actually a "push poll," which is not really a poll at all, rather it is "political telemarketing masquerading as a poll," according to a recent CBS News report. Push polls do not collect any data, their objective is to widely spread negative statements and innuendo about the opposition candidate, in a format that sounds like an opinion poll.

SD43 candidates Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) and Republican challenger Norann Dillon were apparently both unaware of the poll, which according to sources was conducted by a Colorado-based firm, until it was reported in the blogosphere last Monday on The Activist Next Door. Sen. Bonoff told me via telephone that she had no prior knowledge of it, and that she will focus on the issues to win reelection. Dillon was more interested in analyzing the call itself, which sounds like it may have been rather long for a push poll.

Bonoff has been accused of push-polling before, in her races against former Plymouth mayor Judy Johnson for the SD43 seat, and in her endorsement contest for U.S. House of Representatives against the eventual Democrat nominee, Ashwin Madia. Yet push-polling can be expensive for local campaigns, in which case they would be third-party expenditures that by state law are not visible to the candidate, let alone controlled by his or her campaign committee. Third parties with pockets deep enough to mount a push poll might be the state party, partisan state legislative or Congressional committees, national PACs, and unions.

Instead of a push poll, I think it more likely that someone out there is simply doing the campaign legwork of poking and prodding the registered, likely voters of SD43 to craft their campaign messages. All of the candidates and parties will be doing the same this summer, until the public at large (as opposed to you, dear readers) begin paying attention to Campaign 2010.

If you receive a telephone call from a poll taker, I would be interested in hearing about it.

The MOB rules at Keegan's

During last night's ideal summer-like evening at Keegan's Irish Pub in near Northeast Minneapolis, the trivia questions were especially obscure, but the Minnesota Organization of Bloggers emerged from behind their screens and keyboards to christen Keegan's new, improved deck out back with $2.75 pints of the refreshing Sam Adams Summer Ale, bar food, a few cigars, the Yankees-Twins game on a shiny new TV, and the standard, lively banter that one has come to expect at a MOB gathering, even with some of the stars of the MOB galaxy missing in action.

The conversations at my table, between trivia questions, centered around the various state campaigns. The gubernatorial endorsement battle between former state Rep. Marty Seifert (R-Marshall) and the eventual endorsee Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Delnao) reportedly got too heated for Seifert's comfort, even with his campaign slinging most of the arrows. The consensus on DFL gubernatorial hopeful Matt Entenza's pick for lieutenant governor, Robyne Robinson, is that it's a primary election play against Mark Dayton's money and the Margaret Anderson Kelliher-John Gunyou ticket. The new WIN Minnesota PAC will apply some big money to try to put a Democrat in the governor's office.

There was optimism that Secretary of State candidate Dan Severson can defeat incumbent Mark Ritchie with an urgent call for voter ID and election integrity, although the liberal 527 Secretary of State Project will be a force to be reckoned with. And yes, SD43 state Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) is "beatable" in this November's election, even with her incumbency, union endorsements, and "Republican lite" persona facing the center-right leaning district. Several MOBsters present said they have been impressed by Bonoff's Republican-endorsed challenger, Norann Dillon, tirelessly working the district for months already, meeting, greeting, listening, and refining her message.

Blogger and Northeast Minneapolis resident Barry Hickethier told us that he will appeal to disaffected independents, DFLers and Republicans in his bid to unseat SD59 Sen. Larry Pogemiller (DFL-Minneapolis).

The affable Mitch Berg of Shot in the Dark and AM 1280 The Patriot, sporting a sharp-looking black Shot in the Dark t-shirt, received props for his recent blog post on the mythical relationship between local government aid and property taxes. Berg anticipates the next MOB gathering for late summer after primary election day on August 10, and before the State Fair.

HD43B endorses Brian Grogan

Wednesday evening, Republicans in House District 43B endorsed Brian Grogan on the first ballot to challenge Rep. John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka) this November, in a special endorsing convention called after the previously-endorsed Kathy Dettman suddenly dropped out of the race due to "unforseen medical circumstances."

Grogan promised to fight at the Legislature for smaller and more efficient government, a business-friendly climate, K-12 education, and individual liberty. He sees the residents of HD43B as center-right politically, and therefore sees himself in a good position to unseat Benson. He also cited his existing campaign infrastructure, supporters, and experience from his 2008 challenge of Benson as resources to help him begin his campaign immediately.

I was honored to give the nominating speech for Grogan, for the second time (the first was at the regular SD43 convention in February).

With the endorsement of Grogan for 43B, SD43 has a full slate of candidates for the Legislature: Rep. Sarah Anderson will defend her House seat in 43A, while Norann Dillon will challenge Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka).

Dillon announced her campaign kickoff event for 1:30 pm this Saturday, May 15, at the Parker's Lake Park pavilion in Plymouth. At last night's convention, Dillon announced that she will have some conservative star power for her event: Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN3), making good on his stated promise at the SD43 convention to campaign for local Republican candidates; taxpayer watchdog and Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson; former gubernatorial candidate and KTLK-FM personality Sue Jeffers; and Tea Party Patriots Minnesota President Toni Backdahl.

Republican-endorsed candidate for Secretary of State Dan Severson promoted election integrity via photo ID as a common sense, cost-effective solution to combat voter fraud. Severson, a current House member, is frustrated by current Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's unwillingness to investigate allegations of voter fraud, which has disenfranchised thousands of legal voters in Minnesota. Severson will make a persuasive case to the voters against Ritchie.

Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek, running for re-election this year, touted reductions in crime and increased public safety on his watch. I have met and heard Sheriff Stanek speak at a few events like this. I am thankful that we have a dedicated lawman like Stanek on our side to protect Hennepin county from the bad guys.

Republican Party of Minnesota field staff, and Tom Emmer for Governor and Stanek campaign workers were also present at the HD43B event.