Category: State Issues

Interested in getting involved in the DFL Party?

Apply for DFL state central and standing committee positions

CD3 DFL is accepting applications for at-large director positions on the DFL State Central Committee and for at-large members of DFL state standing committees.

Applications must be received by July 22 and are available as a PDF download here:

2018 SCC Nomination Form Fillable PDF (1)

or at https://www.dfl.org/resources/state-central-committee/. (It would be helpful to the committee if applications could be received by July 16.) Continue reading “Interested in getting involved in the DFL Party?”

DNC Announces Historic Organizing Investment In Minnesota Base Communities Ahead of November Elections

Today, the Democratic National Committee is announcing a nearly $88,000 grant to the Minnesota DFL to boost engagement in African American, Latinx, and Hmong communities in Minneapolis-St. Paul ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. Combining traditional boots-on-the-ground organizing with innovative digital and technological tools, these investments will support the DNC’s IWillVote initiative, which aims to reach 50 million voters by Election Day. This new investment is in addition to the $100,000 already awarded to the Minnesota DFL through the State Party Innovation Fund.

Most recently, the DNC announced a multimillion-dollar investment, which includes a nationwide cell-phone acquisition, a complete overhaul of the party’s data for voter-registration targeting and further data investments for the party’s voter-protection efforts. As part of the DNC’s IWillVote program, the DNC plans to launch a six-figure digital ad buy across the country to encourage Americans — with a focus on sporadic voters, especially those who​ dropped off in 2014 from 2012 — to commit to vote this November. Continue reading “DNC Announces Historic Organizing Investment In Minnesota Base Communities Ahead of November Elections”

Repeal the Legacy Amendment and outlaw gay marriage? 5 official Republican platform positions that might surprise you.

The following article by Dave Orrick was posted on the Pioneer Press website June 12, 2018:

Jeff Johnson, Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota, speaks before the GOP convention at the DECC in Duluth on Saturday, June 2, 2018. Credit: Bob King, Duluth News Tribune

The Republican Party of Minnesota wants to repeal the Legacy Amendment and outlaw gay marriage (again), two of a number of official party positions that might surprise some even within the GOP.

The positions are contained in the Republican party’s official “standing platform” — a collection of positions on issues ranging from taxes to abortion — that was approved earlier this month at the state convention in Duluth.

A word of caution: Party platforms are notoriously skewed toward the fringes of the major political parties because they’re usually drafted by a party’s die-hard members. They’re living documents from previous years that may or may not feel up to date, depending on your view. Continue reading “Repeal the Legacy Amendment and outlaw gay marriage? 5 official Republican platform positions that might surprise you.”

Senate DFL End of Session Review

June 8, 2018

Senate DFL stands up for all Minnesotans

Minnesotans are counting on legislative leaders to build the state they deserve, where everyone can get a high-quality education, access affordable health care, and enjoy a great quality of life.

The Legislature had an opportunity this year to make progress for Minnesotans on protecting our elders and vulnerable adults; safer schools and smaller class sizes; lowering health care costs; and a $3 billion backlog of statewide construction projects. Minnesotans from every county and all walks of life visited the Capitol and urged lawmakers to lend a helping hand. Instead of listening, Republicans sided with the pharmaceutical industry and multi-national corporations time after time. Continue reading “Senate DFL End of Session Review”

Top election official to lawmakers: We need help stopping Russian hackers — now

The following article by Dave Orrick was posted on the Pioneer Press website May 16, 2018:

Minnesota’s top election official on Wednesday publicly pleaded with lawmakers to give him permission to spend $1.5 million in federal funds to protect the state’s voter software from Russian hackers and anyone else trying to muck things up  this election year.

“I have tried to sound the alarm without being alarmist,” Secretary of State Steve Simon said Wednesday. “I am today again sounding the alarm. We need these funds.”

To hear Simon tell it, it should be a no-brainer: The money — all federal funds — has already been approved by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump as part of a nationwide effort to beef up election cyber security in the wake of 2016 attempts to infiltrate a number of states by hackers tied to the Russian government.

Simon just needs the Legislature’s permission to spend it. He said Minnesota is one of the few states where such permission is required. Simon is a Democrat and both the state Senate and House are controlled by Republicans, but he said there’s bipartisan support. Continue reading “Top election official to lawmakers: We need help stopping Russian hackers — now”

Minnesota Senate candidate writes laws impacting her real estate business

The following article by Danielle McLean was posted on the ThinkProgress website May 16, 2018:

“We don’t know if she is acting in the interest of the State of Minnesota or something else.”

Credit: HousleyforSenate.com

Karin Housley, a Minnesota State Senator who is seeking to be the Republican nominee in Minnesota’s upcoming U.S. Senate special election, is a prominent realtor who does brisk trade selling million dollar homes in the suburbs outside Minneapolis. And since 2014, she has worked nearly as hard at creating numerous bills affecting her real estate business.

As a member of the Minnesota State Senate, Housley authored bills that literally crafted the definition of her very profession and established “designated agency” during real estate transactions. She authored an act that established a first-time home buyer savings account, which was touted by the state’s real estate political action committee as a major legislative success. And she wrote bills benefiting the real estate appraisers that set the prices of the homes she sells, including new protections against civil action lawsuits and shielding minor disciplinary action against them from the public record. Continue reading “Minnesota Senate candidate writes laws impacting her real estate business”

Minnesota’s Clark, Castile cases were used in Russian-made Facebook posts

The following article by Libor Jany and Matt DeLong was posted on the StarTribune website May 14, 2018:

Campaign used police shootings of Castile, Clark to deepen Minnesota’s racial divide.

A post decrying the police shooting of Philando Castile was targeted to people within 50 miles of Minneapolis. Credit: House Intelligence Committee

Thousands of newly disclosed fake Facebook posts and ads show for the first time how Russia’s campaign to influence the 2016 election directly targeted Minnesotans with divisive, racially charged messages.

Among the scores of often incendiary ads released last week by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, about a dozen referenced Minnesota events, including the police shootings of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile, a Star Tribune analysis shows. Dozens more mentioned controversies elsewhere, but were funneled to Facebook users in Minnesota.

The ads appeared to be part of what U.S. intelligence agencies have described as a sophisticated Russian campaign meant to use the social media giant’s platforms to sow discord in the lead-up to the 2016 election. Continue reading “Minnesota’s Clark, Castile cases were used in Russian-made Facebook posts”