Category: 2018 Elections

Wardlow’s Classmates: He did bully his LGBTQ Classmate

The accusation that Wardlow bullied one of our classmates for being gay, as reported in an Oct. 30 article “Wardlow, Ellison sharpen attacks,” is a reckoning for Eagan High School’s class of 1997. It is forcing us to come face-to-face with the fact that our school was not safe for LGBTQ students. Fortunately, many of us have grown up to recognize the dark underside of our high school days, become more tolerant and accepting, and even raise children who are doing the same.

Unfortunately, Doug did not make the same decision. Instead, he has doubled down on the hateful stances of his high school days. He has used his professional life at Alliance Defending Freedom to protect those who discriminate and attack those who need our love and support. Doug claims he will be apolitical when he takes office. We know that isn’t the case. Doug never was apolitical and never will be. He is an extremist who will try to take us back to a time to which we never want to return.

The undersigned members of the Eagan High School Class of 1997:

Tiffanie Baker, Missy (Leiferman) Boody, Katiah (Young) Brown, Marilyn Byrd, Lindsay Carlson, Meghann Fedde Charboneau, Alex Cook, Adam Cooley, Lea Coon, Stacy (Renick) Crakes, Scott Crichton, Lindsey Dickinson, Melissa (Geist) Feeler, Holly Flood, Rebecca (Larson) Gierok, Jean Harlson, Lynn S. Larson, Dana (Edwins) Leno, Joel Lessard, Daniel Machovsky, Erin (Harmon) Matschiner, Jason J. Miller, Lindsey Munro, Katie (Mozer) Murr, Dan Murr, Pathana Navandy, Laura (Anderson) O’Connor, Nickie Pufall, Chad R. Rath, Megan (Ruegg) Robertson, Kristen Scarpetta, Alicia Peterson Shams, and Ryan Thorman. This letter was submitted by Katie Murr of St. Paul.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 2, 2018

Day 2: Phillips Continues 40-City “Coffee and Conversation” Tour

EXCELSIOR, MN – Dean Phillips will continue his 5-day, 40-city “Coffee and Conversation Tour” from November 2nd to Election Day, November 6th.

Phillips’s campaign for Congress is based on the idea that representation begins with listening, and that change begins with conversation. Phillips has been traveling the district in his Government Repair Truck for a year and a half, meeting with and hearing from voters of all backgrounds at over 120 public events, making this a fitting close to his campaign.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3

Eden Prairie: 9:00 AM, knock kickoff, DFL Office (10165 Hennepin Town Rd, Eden Prairie)

Minnetonka: 9:40 AM, The Marsh

Wayzata: 10:45 AM, Bellecour

Bloomington: 11:45 AM, knock kickoff, DFL Office (2950 Metro Dr, #117, Bloomington)

Bloomington: 12:30 PM, Northstar Tavern Continue reading “Day 2: Phillips Continues 40-City “Coffee and Conversation” Tour”

Phillips Kicks Off 5-Day, 40-City Coffee and Conversation Tour

EXCELSIOR, MN – Today, Dean Phillips announced that he will hit the road for a “40 City Coffee and Conversation Tour” from November 2nd – 6th. Phillips’s campaign for Congress is based on the idea that representation begins with listening, so the candidate will drive his Government Repair Truck to every town in Minnesota’s Third District in order to give voters a chance to say hello and have a conversation.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Eden Prairie: 8:00 AM, Original Pancake House

Chanhassen: 8:45 AM, Perkins

Victoria: 9:30 AM, School of the Wise

Chaska: 11:45 AM, Chaska Curling Club with special guest gold medalist Coach Phill Drobnik

Chaska: 12:45 PM, Red Bench Bakery

Laketown Township, Dahlgren Township

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3

Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Woodland, Wayzata, Bloomington, Edina, Brooklyn Park

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4

Brooklyn Park, Coon Rapids, Champlin, Plymouth, Medicine Lake, Osseo, Maple Grove, Dayton

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5

Rogers, Corcoran, Hamel, Medina, Loretto, Independence, Greenfield, Maple Plain

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6

Deephaven, Excelsior, Shorewood, Tonka Bay, Minnetonka Beach, Navarre, Spring Park, Mound, St. Bonifacius, Minnetrista, Orono, Long Lake, Greenwood

You Can Vote Early Now through November 5

All voters in Minnesota can vote early before Election Day without providing a reason.

Where to Early Vote In Person

All voters have at least one location where they can vote early in person with an absentee ballot. Depending on where you live, there may be additional locations.

  1. You can vote in person at your county election office.
  2. In addition to your county election office, some cities and towns offer in-person absentee voting. Check with your city clerk’s office for more information.

What Precinct Do You Live in and Where You Vote Election Day

Go to this link and enter your email address  http://pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us/ 

Continue reading “You Can Vote Early Now through November 5”

Republicans Double Down on Lies About Their Disastrous Health Care Plan

‘If we can’t trust Paulsen, Lewis, and their Republican accomplices to tell us the truth about what they’re voting on, how can we possibly trust them to put us first?’

Jason Lewis and Erik Paulsen like to claim that their votes for the American Health Care Act didn’t gut protections for pre-existing conditions. Unfortunately for the embattled Republicans, the facts tell a different story. As Lewis and Paulsen double down on their disastrous plan, Republicans like Jim Hagedorn and Pete Stauber are joining them in enthusiastically endorsing the bill their party forced through the House last year.

Responding to Republicans’ health care lies, the DFL released the following statement:

“Erik Paulsen, Jason Lewis, and their Congressional Republican allies have completely undermined our health care system by voting to raise costs and strip care from millions of Americans. Instead of owning up to their heartless health care plan, Republicans have resorted to lying to their constituents about the most basic facts.” Continue reading “Republicans Double Down on Lies About Their Disastrous Health Care Plan”

Wardlow Shows True Colors on Gun Safety, Reverses Support for Background Checks and Accepts NRA Donations

Ellison has been a longtime advocate for common sense gun safety reforms, and will support efforts to reduce gun violence as Attorney General

MINNESOTA – Congressman Keith Ellison and gun safety advocates today called out Republican Attorney General Candidate Doug Wardlow for flip-flopping in his support for criminal background checks on all gun sales in Minnesota. Not only has Wardlow lied about his support for this common sense provision, his latest campaign finance report reveals that he did so while accepting campaign donations from the National Rifle Association (NRA).

“While 90 percent of Minnesotans rightly support common sense gun safety measures like criminal background checks, Doug Wardlow backed down as soon as the gun lobby came calling,” said Ellison. “After the tragic events of this last weekend, Minnesotans understand better than ever the need to elect a strong advocate who will protect the safety of all Minnesotans as Attorney General.”

During the KSTP Attorney General debate last Sunday, Wardlow was asked whether he would support criminal background checks on all gun sales, to which he replied: “Yes I would.” Then, this past Saturday, on the same day as a tragic and deadly act of gun violence, Wardlow backed away from this position, saying that he “absolutely [does] not support background checks for private sales” and he “[does not] support any new gun laws.” Continue reading “Wardlow Shows True Colors on Gun Safety, Reverses Support for Background Checks and Accepts NRA Donations”

Election Endorsement District 48A: Laurie Pryor

One good term deserves another for DFL Rep. Laurie Pryor of Minnetonka. Elected to public office for the first time in 2016, Pryor, 61, has been a conscientious and at times independent voice for her west-suburban district. She has worked hard to maintain personal contact with her constituents, building on years of school, community and political volunteer activism.

Those relationships have informed her thinking on issues, she said. For example, she’s not as keen as some in her party to back a gas tax increase for transportation, and would want any new money earmarked for specific projects. “People don’t trust where the money is going,” she said. She’s cautious about abrupt or sweeping changes in health care and sensitive to their implications for hospitals. Her husband, Jon, is CEO of Hennepin County Medical Center.

Pryor’s opponent is Republican Ellen Cousins, 56, a marketing and sales professional who is making her first bid for elective office, though she served a stint on the appointive Minnetonka Economic Development Authority board. Her website bio indicates that she favors lower taxes and limited government. Citing a busy schedule, Cousins declined our invitation for an interview.

View the complete October 30 endorsement on the Star Tribune website here.

Election Endorsement District 44B: Patty Acomb

Legislators with prior service in nonpartisan local government are often strong performers at the State Capitol. That’s the experience that three-term Minnetonka City Council member Patty Acomb would bring if she’s elected to an open Minnetonka seat. She gets our nod over Republican Gary Porterto succeed retiring DFL Rep. Jon Applebaum.

DFLer Acomb, 53, is knowledgeable not only about the many ways state and local governments interact, but also about natural resource management, environmental protection and the coming clean energy revolution. Her career included staff positions at the state Department of Natural Resources and Hennepin County Environmental Services; she has also worked on energy policy for the National League of Cities. As a breast cancer survivor, she also has a keen interest in health care policy.

Her candidacy was motivated by dismay over the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting. Acomb’s family owns guns and enjoys hunting. She aims to strike a balance between protection of recreational use of firearms and prevention of mass shootings.

View the complete October 30 endorsement on the Star Tribune here.

Election endorsement: House District 36A: Zack Stephenson

The contest for the open seat in Champlin and Coon Rapids pits an energetic Hennepin County prosecutor against a longtime high school wrestling coach and physical education teacher. Our nod goes to the attorney, DFLer Zack Stephenson, for his leadership potential and the grasp he exhibits of major issues that will confront the 2019 Legislature.

Stephenson, 34, grew up in Coon Rapids and earned his law degree at the University of Chicago. He acquired his political spurs working on the campaigns of U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and House Minority Leader Melissa Hortman. His legal specialties include election law. He would be a valuable voice at the Legislature on matters such as early voting and the re-enfranchisement of former felons. He has thought deeply about the future of higher education, the state’s response to climate change and how to fund highways as electric vehicles make the gas tax obsolete.

Republican Bill Maresh, 57, calls himself “just a regular guy” with a desire to serve his community. Years in athletics taught him the value of competition, he says; he would seek to instill more of it in K-12 education with vouchers and in health care with more private insurance options and price transparency. He’s likable and earnest, but does not exhibit the familiarity with the state’s issues an effective legislator needs.

View the October 29 editorial by the Star Tribune’s Editorial Board here.

Election endorsement: House District 33B: Kelly Morrison; House District 39B: Shelly Christensen

Two Republican House members, Cindy Pugh of Chanhassen and Kathy Lohmer of Stillwater, discredited themselves earlier this year when they shared a Facebook post alleging that Muslims were trying to “infiltrate” Republican precinct caucuses.

Both Pugh and Lohmer told an editorial writer that their intention was to encourage caucus participation, and that they were not the original authors of the item they shared. “In no way did I endorse what was written,” Pugh said. Lohmer said she takes offense “by any accusations of racism based on a single Facebook post.”

In Pugh’s case, the January 2018 post was an echo of her 2012 post of a photo comparing Islamic women dressed in burqas to garbage bags. This year, Pugh praised her own precinct caucus for approving a resolution calling on the GOP to “minimize and eliminate the influence of Islam” within the party.

View the complete October 30 editorial on the Star Tribune website here.