More Scolding of Rural Legislators

My parents live in Fergus Falls, which is represented in the Legislature by Republicans Cal Larson (Senate) and Bud Nornes (House). I was able to get a letter to the editor published in the Fergus Falls Daily Journal re: their support of the Mike Opat/Brad Finstad/Carl Pohlad stadium swindle. http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/articles/2006/10/23/opinion/opinion08.txt I was born in Fergus Falls, and live in Minneapolis. With parents and many other relatives in Fergus Falls, I visit frequently. My family enjoys a lively discussion of current events, and I know of the recent struggles Fergus Falls has faced with school facilities and funding decisions. Just be thankful you are given the opportunity to vote. Your Republican representatives in the legislature, Bud Nornes and Cal Larson, voted for a 30-year sales tax in Hennepin County to fund a capital project for private owners, namely the Minnesota Twins. State law requires that local option sales taxes be approved by referendum, unless the Legislature allows an exception. Hennepin County voters were denied a right to vote on this tax. We had it forced down our throats, thanks to the support of rural legislators like Larson and Nornes. Bud Nornes is on record with the Taxpayers League as a ‘no new taxes’ pledge signer. What happened? Here's the real irony — building and supporting a school is a constitutionally-required function of state government. Building a playground for grown men to play a child’s game is not a function of government, by any definition. Vote these fake conservatives out of office on Nov. 7. They raised the taxes on one-fourth of the state's population, for something government shouldn't even be doing. Mark Hanson Minneapolis

Sending a message to Brad Finstad's District

Eva Young and I both had letters to the editor published in the New Ulm Journal. It would be nice to not have Brad Finstad return to St. Paul next winter. Unfortunately, thanks to Mike Opat, the sales tax will be in place by the time the Legislature is back in session. From Eva: TO THE EDITOR: Jane Peichel’s letter to the editor discussed “protecting our area taxpayers from paying for stadiums.” Protecting New Ulm taxpayers is done at the expense of the Hennepin County Taxpayers. I called Brad Finstad last spring, and told him I take it personally when he wants to increase my taxes to pay for something he wants. I live in Minneapolis. Our local libraries are open three days a week. Many of our roads are in horrible shape. Traffic lights frequently don’t work. The schools are in crisis. We are known throughout the state for being high crime. These are all quality of life issues that should be bigger priorities than giving corporate welfare to a billionaire. We have voted to increase our taxes for schools and libraries. We voted to increase our taxes for a new central library. We have voted to limit taxpayer funding for professional sports stadiums. Rep. Brad Finstad pushed legislation for a 30 year, 1.1 billion dollar tax increase to pay for a stadium, and to stop Hennepin County residents (from)having a say in this through a referendum as required by state law. We will be paying the stadium tax longer than the stadium will last. Does anyone buy a car with a 30 year mortgage? Brad Finstad’s sole priority during the last legislative session has been sticking Hennepin County Residents with the stadium tax. His leadership on that issue has been noticed, and many Hennepin County residents will take it personally should he be reelected. New Ulm is a popular tourist destination. Brad Finstad’s leadership and visibility on this issue has made New Ulm a visible boycott target for angry Hennepin County residents should Finstad get reelected. A Hennepin County resident boycott of New Ulm will be harmful to the economy of New Ulm. Brad Finstad is making New Ulm known for being deadbeats. Deadbeats charge items to other people’s credit cards. That’s exactly what Brad Finstad’s stadium legislation did — it charged his project — the stadium — to the unwilling Hennepin County Taxpayer credit card (our sales tax). Finstad started an economic war with his single minded insistance that Hennepin County — and only Hennepin County — bear the costs of the Twins Stadium. Please vote to defeat Brad Finstad on November 7. EVA YOUNG And from me TO THE EDITOR: In his July 2006 press release announcing a run for re-election, Rep. Brad Finstad said the following: “My goal is to continue working hard on traditional family value issues while protecting the pocketbooks of state taxpayers.” Well, I’m a state taxpayer and Rep. Finstad worked hard to make sure I was denied the right to vote on a local option sales tax in Hennepin County. One-fourth of the state’s population is facing a 30-year added tax burden to subsidize private investors. As it is a tax on purchases, it is highly regressive. How cynical does a guy have to be to work on passing a bill that includes an exception to the referendum requirement? The only reason a referendum wasn’t part of the Twins stadium legislation is that the supporters knew very well that the voters would not approve it. Instead, “No New Taxes” Governor Pawlenty and a bunch of fake conservative out-state legislators endorsed the idea that four (out of seven) Hennepin County commissioners are much smarter than the voters. I can’t even totally boycott paying these taxes without moving, as it will apply to utility bills. We all know what Rep. Finstad means when he refers to “traditional family values.” but how about asking our elected officials to demonstrate their high moral character in every vote they take? So far, Rep. Finstad appears to be a good imitator of the “I’ve got mine” ethic that has run rampant through the Tom DeLay-engineered US House of Representatives. Kick this guy out of office. Situational ethics have no place in the Legislature. Your representative should work for the best interest of all Minnesotans. Vote for Bob Skillings on Nov. 7. MARK HANSON

Ethical Depravity in New Ulm

Mike Opat's friend in the Legislature, Brad Finstad, has to answer questions about his support for the Twins Stadium swindle. What sort of moral and ethical universe does Brad live in, where he'll acknowledge that the team is a state asset, but by gosh, his district isn't going to help pay for it? I guess it takes this kind of politician to impose a 30 year tax with no referendum to fund a capital project for wealthy private investors. From the New Ulm Journal House District 21B Candidate Forum Stadium bill draws questions for Finstad By KEVIN SWEENEY Journal Editor NEW ULM — Rep. Brad Finstad’s authorship of the Twins stadium bill last session and his work to get it passed was the most contentious question in his debate with DFL challenger Bob Skillings in a League of Women Voters District 21B candidate forum Tuesday night. Finstad was chief author of the bill that finally authorized the building of a Minnesota Twins ballpark in Minneapolis, and he shepherded it through the committee hearings in House and Senate. Asked why he supported public funding of a Twins stadium, Finstad pointed out that no one in his district would pay a cent toward the ballpark, unless they spent money in Hennepin County, where a .015 percent sales tax is funding the project. Finstad defended his work on the bill as an issue of importance to people of his district and across the state. “I think Bob and I agree that the Minnesota Twins are a huge asset to the state. ... I heard my first three years in the Legislature, weekly and door to door about the issue. I have here the names of over a thousand people in our district that have contacted me, my office or the Minnesota Twins about their support for this proposal that was passed.” Finstad said the project was not his idea. Hennepin County commissioners had come to the state asking for authorization for a local sales tax to put a new ballpark in the county. “Fifty-four percent of the season ticket holders are in Hennepin County, and 27 percent of that local option sales tax will be made up of people from outside Hennepin County, and you and I will have the opportunity to watch the Minnesota Twins for the next 30 years without having to pay for it. I was in no way pushing an issue that made us have to put state funds toward a professional team.” Skillings said he wondered “if Hennepin County was so enthused about taking this on for the benefit of the whole state, why didn’t a Hennepin County legislator be the chief author?”

Twins Blog Praises the 4 Horsemen of Larceny

Here. Meanwhile, the single most significant development during the 2006 season took place last week when the board of Hennepin County Commissioners voted to authorize a .015 percent county-wide sales tax with proceeds directed to fund a portion of a new Twins ballpark in the Minneapolis Warehouse District. Last Tuesday’s vote represented the final hurdle in a ten-year struggle to finance a ballpark and preserve Twins baseball for future generations. Years from now, long after the new ballpark is opened, I’m quite confident the citizens of Hennepin County, the State of Minnesota and the Upper Midwest will look back at this period of time and recognize the significance of last week’s 4-3 vote. Last May, in the wake of securing legislative approval for the Twins-Hennepin County ballpark bill, we offered well-deserved kudos to Governor Tim Pawlenty, Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum and many others for their efforts to support the plan and resolve this important issue in a bi-partisan manner. There is no question that everyone mentioned above played a HUGE role in getting a ballpark approved and thus ensuring the long-term viability of baseball in this community. However, the true heroes of the day are Hennepin County commissioners Mike Opat, Randy Johnson, Peter McLaughlin and Mark Stenglein. These are the gentleman who demonstrated the vision to dream about what a 42,000-seat open-air ballpark could do for Minnesota and downtown Minneapolis. These are the officials who filled the “leadership void” on this issue by coming forward with a comprehensive plan and delivering a fair, responsible solution. Most importantly, these are the leaders who showed incredible courage for standing by their convictions in the face of criticism and attack from various sectors of the public. Yes, Mike Opat, Randy Johnson, Peter McLaughlin and Mark Stenglein deserve the credit for their unwavering leadership and support of the Twins-Hennepin County ballpark plan. They also deserve special THANK YOUs from Twins fans across the region. I'm sure the businesses who are being told that patrons will no longer come to them after this tax is imposed are really thrilled with Mike Opat for foisting this stadium on the Hennepin County Taxpayer only.

Tell the Strib to do More Coverage of Commissioner Races

I posted this on the Editor's blog: Eva Young says: September 23rd, 2006 at 12:18 pm Hi Anders - I like this new feature in the strib. I’d like to bring a debate to your attention. There was a debate for County Commissioner in District 2 - sponsored by the Urban League the saturday prior to the primary. I believe that KMOJ might have audio from that debate. Please try to get the audio, and cover the debate - this was a debate between Mark Stenglein and Greg Gray. We all know the Strib will prefer and endorse Mark Stenglein because of his stadium vote. However readers of your paper deserve more information. Voters deserve to hear more about both candidates in this race - the county races are important. The county has a 2 billion dollar budget. (That is double the bonding bill for the state this year). If the Star Tribune fails to cover these races, and fails to sponsor a debate in county commissioner races, it means that the Strib is failing to live up to its responsibilities. Please consider sponsoring - along with organizations like the Twin West Chamber of Commerce, the Minneapolis Chamber, MPR, City Pages and other media organizations, debates for all the competitive county commissioner races. Please do make an effort to obtain audio from the Urban League debate between Stenglein and Gray - and report on that debate from that audio. Thank you for your attention. It's important for voters to hear a debate between Mike Opat and Mary OConnor. The Strib should be sponsoring such debates.

Won't it be grand....

.... to watch a 3 hour baseball game outside on a night like tonight in downtown Minneapolis? Thanks, Mike Opat and Carl Pohlad and Tim Pawlenty, for bringing outdoor baseball back to Minnesota.

Vote Today

It's primary election day, and everybody in Minnesota has a chance to vote against Governor Tim Pawlenty, who didn't only sign off on a 30 year tax for Hennepin County residents to subsidize private investors, but he made a media event out of it. I was also happy to vote for Peter McLaughlin's opponent. If you live in Mike Opat or Mark Stenglein's districts, take 10 minutes out of your day and go vote against them. The Hennepin County commissioner primary is on the non-partisan section of the ballot, so whether you want to vote in the GOP, DFL, or Independence primary, everybody can vote against the Hennepin County commissioners who denied us the chance to vote in a referendum.

Magnificent Rage

I watched the replay of the August 29th Hennepin County Board meeting. Linda Koblick was magnificent in her rants about the stadium swindle. She went after Opat, his assistant's new job with the stadium commission, the Twins, the Legislature, the Star Tribune, and all of the paid lobbyists. It reminded me of Brenda Wehle as 'Medea' at the Guthrie Theatre in the early 90's, or Isabel Monk as Clytemnestra a few years later. I expected claps of thunder as she held forth. The pathetic author of Ordinance 26, Mike Opat, didn't directly answer any of her charges, including the one about purposely omitting public statements about the lack of a referendum when the board passed the resolution that went to the Legislature.

Sounds Like a Mike Opat Supporter Is Blowing Off Steam

This email was received at CCARL: hi there, i am contacting you with questions, comments, concerns, as well as suggestions. first of all i would like to start off by saying nothing is better for the state of Minnesota than the twins baseball team. no other group of people in the world deserves this new stadium more than them. along with being great for the team and organization, the state and city will greatly benefit from it as well. the city will be cleaned up from crime as well as drugs because of all of the people being around. the economy will benefit from it most of all because the stadium and sport will bring in much tourism. there is a thing in baseball called the mid-summer classic, or to the idiot such as yourselves, the All-Star game. baseball always has these games at the newest stadiums and with our stadium we are sure to have one here and that alone will will take care of most of YOUR worries. now that i have gone over all of the positive things this new stadium will do, i would like to comment on the way your group does things. first of all, you fuckers put up the HOME phone Numbers of three of our states law makers. now i can understand giving an office number but when you cross the line like that and give away some body's home number, you fuckers have no soul. people have a home so they can get away from ass holes such as yourself. you are the reason people are unlisted in the phone book you prying pieces of shit. along with our lawmakers you should be ashamed of giving out Carl Pohlad number as well. the man over 90 years old and you bitches have nothing better to do than bug an old man over THREE FUCKING PENNY'S!!!!!!!! the next point i would like to make is that THE TAX IS THREE CENTS ON A TWENTY DOLLAR BILL!!!!!!! if you cock suckers are worried about three cents than trying to get something like this should be the least of your problems. you fuckers need to worry about what is more important in life like family and friends rather than losing three cents on a fucking twenty dollar bill. from where I'm sitting, all i understand your group to be is a bunch of money hungry fuckers who want to be heard for something, ANYTHING. why didn't you try and get gas cheaper? have you ever thought about that? that is something that affects everyone every day and your fucking worried about three cents on a twenty dollar bill. this whole thing blows my fucking mind!! you punk bitches cant leave well enough alone you always have to through in your two fucking cents. Your entire group makes me so fucking sick!! in my opinion, your organization is worse for this country than the aids virus. i believe your organization and the aids virus should be breathed in the same breath. fuck you and your entire organization and never do i want to see anyone of you fucks in or new state of the art stadium. FUCK YOU!!! I don't quite get the "cocksucker" reference. Does Mike Opat claim the stadium will clean up the crime problem? Funny - I thought better policing would do that.

Let's Advertise this blog with Signs at this Parade

From Tom Reynolds, posted on the CCARL yahoogroup: Dear Ray, I will be busy tomorrow door knocking and handing out literature. On Saturday September 9th I will be doing the Osseo Roaring Lions Parade and festival. During the weekdays leading up to the primary I will be touring the six cities with our mobile billboards on our cars. If there are other events that I can attend between now and the primary I will be attending. If I had more money I would be doing a selected mailing. However, at this time what I will be doing is emailing as many folks as possible asking them to spread the word. Following the primary if I am able to move on I will be holding several fundraisers at local businesses located in the district. What I need are yard sign locations, persons willing to March in the Parade in Osseo wearing Tom Reynolds T-Shirts and carrying signs, mailing lists of persons in the district, emails if possible, and of course money is always needed. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your support. Tom For more information on defeating Mike Opat, check out the CCARL website.