Archive for the ‘Transparency’ Category
In the past, demented Michele Bachmann haters argued that she didn’t care about her district. While it’s true she took time to run for president, it isn’t true that she doesn’t care about what’s best for her district. Her getting a new Stillwater Bridge built is proof she cares about the Sixth District. This Pi-Press article offers more proof that Rep. Bachmann cares about the Sixth District:
Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann sought Monday to muster support in Minnesota and Washington for money to add a new Interstate 94 lane in each direction between the western Twin Cities suburbs and St. Cloud.
The congresswoman came to the state Capitol along with supporters from local government and businesses to talk about the project, as well as a related push to upgrade U.S. 10 that runs parallel to the heavily traveled interstate. Backers of the I-94 project are trying to amass $25 million for the first construction phase of an expansion that could reach $100 million when fully complete. The improvements to U.S. 10 are priced at $300 million.
Of course, the Dayton administration sought to diminish the importance of the I-94 project:
But Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Gutknecht said the I-94 widening doesn’t rank high on the agency’s long-term list of priority projects. “There are projects like this all across the state — really good projects, really important projects, projects that have tremendous support like this,” he said. “It all really boils down to the funding piece.”
It’s interesting that MnDOT spokesman Kevin Gutknecht hints that widening I-94 isn’t a good project or an important project. The notion that one of the two busiest highways in the state doesn’t qualify as an important project is utter nonsense.
This stinks of political gamesmanship on behalf of the Dayton Administration. Sixth District voters will remember that when Gov. Dayton asks for their support in 2014. I’m betting they won’t like it that his administration prefered playing political games rather than doing what’s right for economic development in central Minnesota.
The other thing that’s worth noting is that Michele didn’t airdrop an earmark into a transportation bill conference committee report. She’s putting the project through the committee where it can be researched in the light of day. Michele’s projects, including the Stillwater Bridge project and this project, both went through the committee process. The Stillwater Bridge project was signed by President Obama because it withstood the scrutiny of the House and Senate transportation committees.
Years ago, Rep. Bachmann pledged not to be a porkmeister like the late Jack Murtha or Minnesota’s Jim ‘Bike Path’ Oberstar. She’s kept that promise while still looking out for what’s best for her district. Minnesota needs more politicians who are committed to doing things in the light of day rather than away from the people’s scrutiny.
I expect this post to get tons of comments from Michele’s left wing haters. Their comments will expose them for the partisan haters that they are. Remember their hate-filled comments the next time you enter a voting booth.
Tags: Michele Bachmann, Transportation, Economic Development, Public Safety, Interstate Highway System, I-94, Stillwater Bridge, Committee Mark-Up, GOP, MnDOT, Mark Dayton, Jim Oberstar, Earmarks, Pork, DFL
One of the nicknames that the St. Cloud Times has acquired throughout the years is the St. Cloud SomeTimes. After reading this Our View op-ed in the SC Times, it appears they need a new nickname. I propose that new nickname be the ‘Behind the Times’ for obvious reasons. Here’s part of the Times’ hatchet piece:
St. Cloud-area Rep. Steve Gottwalt is under some scrutiny in the wake of a Minnesota Public Radio news report last week that highlighted the reasonable public perception of a potential conflict of interest involving his private business dealings and his powerful legislative role in reforming health care coverage.
The Dec. 10 report stated shortly after Gottwalt, chairman of the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee, championed reforms to a state-run health care program, he became a licensed insurance broker, allowing for the possibility of selling products to those purged from that program.
The District 14A Republican also entered into a business partnership with another broker who had lobbied for Gottwalt’s reforms. And to further compound matters, Gottwalt hasn’t done a thorough job of explaining all this to constituents.
This is ancient news. Long before he was elected to represent HD-15A, Steve Gottwalt worked in the health insurance industry, though not as an insurance agent. As a freshman legislator in 2007, Steve became one of the experts in the House GOP Caucus on HHS issues because of Steve’s experience in the health insurance industry.
As for the Times’ cheapshot that Rep. Gottwalt “hasn’t done a thorough job of explaining all this to constituents”, that’s BS. The vast majority of the people that contributed to Steve’s campaign knew about Steve’s history within the health insurance industry.
After leaving his job with a local company, Steve opted to get his license to sell health insurance. That was well after Gov. Dayton signed Steve’s HHS reform plan into law. That’s a natural thing for him to do.
The Times admits that “Gottwalt’s actions don’t merit an ethics probe”, which is like admitting that they didn’t have much for the editorial page so they created this non-story.
With all their resources, you’d think the Times could find time to write something about the SCSU administration doctoring students’ transcripts. That’s something worthy of an editorial. This garbage isn’t. The question now is why the Times isn’t devoting any ink on a real scandal. Is it that they’re protecting this administration?
It’s time for the Times to come clean if that’s what they’re doing.
Tags: Media Bias, Hit Piece, St. Cloud Times, Transparency, SCSU, Transcripts, Scandal, Steve Gottwalt, HHS, Health Insurance, GOP
There’s been alot of upheaval and discord within the Minnesota GOP within the last month. Surely, lefty websites are writing the obituaries of the state GOP as we speak. Just as surely, there’s alot of in-party complaining, too. If a snapshot were taken right now, people would undoubtedly predict that the Republican Party of Minnesota was heading for a steep cliff.
That’s a fair assessment. While it’s a fair assessment, it isn’t a fait accompli.
The chief reason it isn’t a fait accompli that Republicans will careen off that proverbial cliff is because Republicans are the reform party, the taxpayers’ watchdog party, the ideas party.
The DFL is still the monied party, the I’ll-fight-for-the-failed-status-quo party, the party of special interests. That’s just reality. A party led by the Dayton family’s cronies is a disaster for Minnesota’s families.
Does anyone think that the DFL isn’t the control freak party? At a time when people are pushing back against control freakism, how well will it play when it’s highlighted that the DFL and the Dayton administration has dragged its feet in approving mining exploration leases? How well will it play when Republicans highlight the fact that the DFL wants to unionize small businesses?
Many of the DFL initiatives are being funded by Gov. Dayton’s first ex-wife, Alida Messinger, and the public employee unions that benefit from airheaded DFL policies. It’s worth noting that the DFL isn’t the party of the people anymore. They’re puppets of the special interests.
That said, the Minnesota GOP has its challenges. First, accountability is essentially nonexistent. That must change starting immediately.
Second, a party that’s run by insiders isn’t acceptable anymore. The only recent electoral success came in 2010, a year marked by new participants. This isn’t coincidence. The insiders haven’t had much success recently. If insiders attempt to tell true believers what to do, they’ll find life very difficult.
Third, the GOP party leadership team needs to eliminate egos. Too many people think that they’re bigger than the party. That list included delusional liberals like Arne Carlson and Dave Durenberger and conservatives like Pat Anderson.
I have a simple message for them:
NO MORE!!!
Arne Carlson isn’t the Minnesota GOP’s wise elder statesman. He’s a liberal who betrayed the party. What’s worse is that he thinks that he’s entitled to elevated status within the GOP.
Tony Sutton was right in banning Gov. Carlson, Gov. Quie and Sen. Durenberger from attending the national conventions. Consider that the first step in the NO MORE!!! campaign.
When Pat Anderson was elected as national committeewoman to the RNC, she failed to tell delegates that she’d gotten hired to lobby for Racino. That morning, the delegates voted to emphasize the party’s official opposition to Racino.
Pat Anderson essentially said that she was bigger than the party when she didn’t disclose her getting hired to lobby on behalf of Racino. She isn’t bigger than the party. She’s just doing whatever it takes to stay viable as a statewide candidate for higher office.
NO MORE!!! will We The People stand for unprincipled politicians like Pat Anderson and Arne Carlson.
The path forward is simple: establish a system of accountability, listen to the outsiders more and tell the status quo people that they need to contribute to the vitality of the Minnesota GOP. Productive, ideas-oriented activists are vital to the health of the Minnesota GOP.
It’s just that simple.
Technorati: Accountability, We The People, Egomaniacs, Dave Durenberger, Al Quie, Arne Carlson, Pat Anderson, Racino Lobbyist, Corruption, Activists, TEA Party, Transparency, MNGOP
You can’t make this stuff up. VP Biden will attend a meeting of the Government Accountability and Transparency Board in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building:
Spot the irony in Vice President Biden’s schedule today, from the White House’s daily guidance:
“At 1:00 PM, the Vice President will attend a meeting of the Government Accountability and Transparency Board in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. At 2:30 PM, the Vice President will meet with representatives of the National Sheriffs’ Association in the Roosevelt Room. These meetings are closed press.”
(It was only two months ago that State Department officials briefed reporters on transparency efforts but refused to have their names be printed; and in March, the White House postponed a pooled-press ceremony for President Obama to get an openness award; it was later rescheduled and carried out in an undisclosed meeting.)
This administration is the worst administration in terms of transparency while touting their record on transparency. Simply put, this administration has been terrible on transparency issues. This article shows that transparency isn’t a priority with this administration.
The first hint that this administration wasn’t interested in transparency came when the health care debates weren’t covered on C-SPAN. It wasn’t a surprise because Democrats hadn’t proven that they were interested in transparency.
Technorati: C-SPAN, President Obama, Joe Biden, Transparency, Obamacare, Stimulus, Democrats, Election 2012
Apparently, the DFL doesn’t like civic participation, at least when it comes to K-12 referenda. Their reaction to Pat Garofalo’s statement on getting people involved is pretty stunning. Here’s the radical idea Chairman Garofalo is proposing:
Minnesota House Education Finance Committee Chairman Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, today unveiled proposed legislation that would require school districts to hold their levy referendums in General Election years.“This bill is about transparency, open democracy and greater public participation in school levies,” Garofalo said. “Districts know the facts – their levies are more likely to be approved in odd-year elections because of lower turnout and lower voter engagement. There are more than $900 million worth of tax revenue increases over the next five years on the ballot next week, and that deserves the voting public’s maximum attention.”
According to the Minnesota Department of Education, referendums held during odd-year elections pass at a rate of more than 70 percent. Conversely, during even-year elections when statewide elections are held for state or federal offices, that percentage falls to 52 percent of referendums that pass.
“This bill would prevent situations where districts put a referendum on the ballot intentionally in an odd-year election to exploit lower turnout,” Garofalo said. Because state education funding is set during legislative sessions in odd-numbered years, holding referendums in even-year elections would also give schools and taxpayers time to fully assess their district’s financial situation. Many schools have also not finalized teacher contracts, forcing voters to make a decision on referendums without knowing the full picture of their district’s costs.
“The governor and the Legislature this year agreed to a $650 million increase in education funding, and now just a few months later many districts are back asking for more. Some of them were planning for levies even before the Legislature adjourned, regardless of what the state would provide. Holding elections in General Election years is the most open, transparent way for schools to make their case to voters,” Garofalo said.
That sensible idea drew this dramatic reaction from liberal blogger Eric Austin:
Pat Garofalo, Republican chairman of the Education Finance Committee in the Minnesota House of Representatives was one of the architects of the school shift that stole money from local school districts so that his caucus could avoid raising taxes on the wealthiest Minnesotans. Now, over 1/3 of school districts are asking their local communities to renew or add levies to pay for the stolen funds and decade long flat funding.
In swoops Garofalo to cry FOUL! How dare these districts try to recoup some of the funds lost or stolen. His method of punishment? Restricting local districts ability to levy money from their local community:
St. Paul, Minn. — State Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, says schools should only hold levy votes in even-numbered years, when turnout is already higher for other elections.
That’s quite the dramatic reaction for something that seems so sensible. There’s nothing radical about wanting as many people voting on important issues as possible, especially on votes that potentially affect their property taxes.
Mindy Greiling, the DFL’s K-12 education guru, thinks otherwise:
“Legislative Republicans tied one hand behind the back of school districts with their shifts and gimmicks. Now they want to tie the other hand to prevent districts from compensating for their borrowing which now totals $4,168 per student.
“This proposal is an attack on local control. Minnesota communities should be trusted to make appropriate budget decisions that are best for their schools and children. I have not heard from a single Minnesotan who feels she needs to be protected from her predatory locally-elected school board. Rather, this is a deflection by legislative Republicans who are facing harsh criticism about their misplaced priorities from all corners of the state. Minnesota schools are now owed $3.45 billion and there is no plan in place to pay it back. Parents, students and school districts are fed up that this year’s legislature borrowed unprecedented amounts from our students.
“With continued underfunding of local schools, more school districts are asking voters to renew existing levies as well as fund general operations rather than cut teachers or increase class sizes. Today’s proposal is a distraction from this year’s $2.2 billion shift where Republicans withheld funding from schools in order to dole back a bit of an increase, which districts used to pay interest on their bank loans.
First, if Rep. Greiling is truly interested in “Minnesota communities” making “appropriate budget decisions”, shouldn’t she want the highest percentage of people in their communities making those decisions? Isn’t Rep. Greiling’s complaint really that she doesn’t want a big turnout deciding levy referenda?
The DFL is doing their best to try and get people to forget that Gov. Dayton’s school shift was significantly more draconian. The GOP finally got Gov. Dayton to agree to a 60/40 school shift. Gov. Dayton initially offered a 50/50 school shift.
If Mr. Austin and Rep. Greiling want to complain, they should start with Gov. Dayton.
Further, Rep. Greiling’s comment that “This proposal is an attack on local control” is absurd in the extraordinary. By attacking Chairman Garofalo’s proposal, Rep. Greiling is saying she’s ok with a handful of people deciding local property taxes. Holding elections in odd-numbered years means a tiny fraction of a school district’s population can tip a levy in the district’s way.
This commentary by Austin is condescending in the extreme:
How about, Pat, you let us handle our business in our local school districts and you handle your business at the Capitol.
That’s right. The teachers and the teachers union want to handle the education system. They think that they know what’s best for students. Look at their reaction to voting on school levy referenda when turnout is traditionally higher.
BTW, what do teaching methods have to do with figuring out that school districts have too many administrators or not?
Technorati: Levy Referenda, Pat Garofalo, Reforms, MNGOP, Eric Austin, Blogs, Mark Dayton, School Shifts, Mindy Greiling, DFL
Common Cause MN has more than their fair share of chutzpah. They’ve preached the Gospel of transparency and nonpartisanship with the best of them. They’ve done that despite the fact that they’re a bitterly partisan organization committed to hiding facts from the public. They embargoed the redistricting map drawn by an Obama organizer rather than let the public offer improvements to their map:
Based on my experiences with Draw the Line over the past several months, I urge the Panel to reject the map submitted to the Panel by Draw the Line because the map drawing process was secretive and flawed and ultimately resulted in a partisan map that fails to reflect the objective demographic shifts that have occurred in Minnesota over the past decade.
I think that because of its high number of incumbent legislator pairings and because it pairs only Republican members of Congress, the map is too likely to benefit the Democratic Party. I am especially concerned that we commission members were not allowed sufficient time or access to the map to critique it objectively or to determine its implications before we were led to approve it.
In addition, the mapping specialist who was hired at the last minute (Linden Weiswerda) and whom we originally thought was independent and nonpartisan turns out to have worked for President Obama’s campaign in 2008.
Wieswerda was hired after a last minute grant came in. After that, the testimony and collaboration pretty much went out the window.
That’s why it’s highly ironic that Common Cause MN is complaining about the redistricting process in Arizona:
At just about every meeting of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, at least one of several attorneys representing a group called FAIR Trust sits among the audience.
They take notes, make public recommendations to the commission and occasionally talk privately with commissioners.
FAIR Trust’s attorneys say they want to help the commission adhere to the legal requirements that govern the high-stakes, once-in-a-decade political remapping process, and the group’s name suggests it is interested in fairness.
But what FAIR Trust’s attorneys refuse to say is that they’re actually representing a group of incumbent Republicans from Arizona’s congressional delegation and the state Legislature.
I’m shocked to find partisanship going on in redistricting. Who would’ve thunk it?
This is infuriating and nauseating. Mike Dean and Common Cause MN didn’t like it when Republicans were included in the Citizens Commission. During the roundtable debate on Late Debate with Jack and Ben, Dean certainly tried hiding the fact that the most corrupt organizations were the driving forces behind DTL-Minnesota.
That night, Dean insisted that DTL-Minnesota was only interested in “increasing public participation” and “increase transparency” into the redistricting process.
Mitch Berg nailed Dean on that, saying that it was interesting what wasn’t getting talked about. Mitch specifically cited the fact that the organizations that ran the biggest smear campaign in Minnesota gubernatorial history were the behind-the-scenes forces for DTL-Minnesota. (If Mitch hadn’t said it, I would’ve.)
It’s shameful that Common Cause MN would hook up with the most corrupt political organization in the state. It’s even more shameful when that corrupt political organization is largely funded by our governor’s first ex-wife.
Any attempt by Mike Dean to portray himself as anything other than as a political hack, any attempt by Common Cause MN to act like a nonpartisan organization should be met with ridicule.
They’re hyperpartisan and they’re committed to secrecy when that’s what’s needed.
The author of the Arizona article isn’t too bright:
And if the incumbent politicians behind FAIR Trust decide the final maps don’t meet their desires, the group’s role will likely shift from lobbying to litigating. Led by a team of high-powered attorneys, a lawsuit by the group would take months or years, costing tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
Redistricting for congressional seats must be done by a date-certain. That’s federal law. The reporter either isn’t too bright or he’s lying through his teeth.
TakeAction Minnesota is the umbrella organization for the DFL’s staunchest political allies: the poverty industry, unions, gay rights activists and militant environmentalists.
It isn’t overstatement to say that Common Cause MN and their corrupt allies at TakeAction Minnesota are consumed with drawing the most DFL-friendly map possible. For them to complain that Republicans are behaving like Common Cause MN and TakeAction Minnesota are behaving here isn’t just disgusting. It’s laughable.
Technorati: Transparency, Redistricting, Common Cause MN, Draw the Line-Minnesota, TakeAction Minnesota, Linden Wieswerda, Corruption, Partisanship, DFL, Citizens Commission, Fair Trust, Arizona, Elections
Saturday afternoon, I received a letter to the Minnesota Special Redistricting Panel that exposes DTL-Minnesota’s redistricting plan as a scam. It’s a letter sent to the Minnesota Special Redistricting Panel by the Citizens Commission’s vice-chair, Kent Kaiser. Prof. Kaiser’s letter is an indictment of the sham process utilized by DTL-Minnesota, Common Cause MN and TakeAction Minnesota. Here’s Prof. Kaiser’s stunning recommendation to the Minnesota Special Redistricting Panel, followed by his explanation for that recommendation:
I appreciate the work that you have already done in regard to the extremely important process of redrawing the state’s legislative and congressional lines in the event the Governor and Legislature cannot reach an agreement.I have been involved with an organization called “Draw the Line Minnesota,” as the organization’s vice chair. Our chair, Candi Walz, testified before the Panel at your hearing in Saint Paul.
Based on my experiences with Draw the Line over the past several months, I urge the Panel to reject the map submitted to the Panel by Draw the Line because the map drawing process was secretive and flawed and ultimately resulted in a partisan map that fails to reflect the objective demographic shifts that have occurred in Minnesota over the past decade.
I think that because of its high number of incumbent legislator pairings and because it pairs only Republican members of Congress, the map is too likely to benefit the Democratic Party. I am especially concerned that we commission members were not allowed sufficient time or access to the map to critique it objectively or to determine its implications before we were led to approve it.
When I first wrote about DTL-Minnesota’s website, I noted their principles for the process, especially the first 2 points:
Draw the Line Minnesota, led by the League of Women Voters Minnesota, is a network of nonprofit organizations working to reform the redistricting process in Minnesota.
The campaign seeks to create a better redistricting process in Minnesota that uses the following principles:
1. The redistricting process should be independent and nonpartisan, to minimize the influence of elected officials and political parties in creating districts to their own political advantage.
2. The redistricting process should be transparent to the public.
As Mr. Kaiser’s letter states, the “redistricting process” wasn’t “independent and nonpartisan”:
In addition, the mapping specialist who was hired at the last minute (Linden Weiswerda) and whom we originally thought was independent and nonpartisan turns out to have worked for President Obama’s campaign in 2008.
I’ve repeatedly stated that it’s impossible to take the partisanship out of redistricting. That said, it’s quite possible to find someone less partisan than a staffer of President Obama’s GOTV operation.
I didn’t have high expectations for DTL-Minnesota because of the partisan organizations listed as DTL-Minnesota’s partners. I especially didn’t trust Common Cause MN, Mike Dean or TakeAction Minnesota.
I didn’t trust TakeAction Minnesota because they’re the umbrella organization for the DFL’s hardline progressive allies. Here’s a partial list of TakeAction Minnesota’s member organizations:
Clean Water Action Alliance
Communication Workers State Council
Education Minnesota
Land Stewardship Project
Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE)
Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless
Minnesota Nurses Association
Unions, environmentalists and the poverty industry are well represented within TakeAction Minnesota. To think that they’d be interested in drawing maps that wouldn’t favor the DFL is foolish.
The thought that TakeAction Minnesota would be fair-minded is made more absurd considering the fact that TakeAction Minnesota was one of the organizations that funded the biggest political smear campaign in Minnesota gubernatorial history. That organization, the Alliance for a Better Minnesota is largely financed by Gov. Dayton’s first ex-wife, Alida Messinger.
Another reason not to trust DTL-Minnesota was Common Cause MN’s involvement, especially considering the fact that Mike Dean is their executive director.
When Mitch and I debated Dean about redistricting a month ago, Dean’s opening statement was that DTL-Minnesota’s main goal was to raise awareness to the redistricting process and to draw as competitive a map as possible.
Thanks to Mr. Kaiser’s letter to the Redistricting Panel, we now know that the Citizens Commission that Mr. Dean enthusiastically touted were stage props designed to hide DTL-Minnesota’s hardline progressive agenda. That’s a major reason why it’s impossible to trust Mr. Dean. He’s a political hack with a hard left predisposition. His civic-sounding words don’t mean a thing because his actions are the opposite of his words.
It isn’t likely that DTL-Minnesota’s main consideration was about transparency, accountability, nonpartisanship or citizen participation. DTL-Minnesota’s main purpose behind the Citizens Commission apparently was to use them as stage props. That’s why this statement is exceptionally telling:
Decisions about how to draw the map, about what criteria to emphasize in drawing the map, and about publicity and messaging about the map were determined heavily behind the scenes, by staff.
Common Cause MN constantly lectures government to be more transparent. In reality, they’re masters at manipulating the truth, using civic-minded people as stage props to advance the DFL’s agenda.
DTL-Minnesota and Common Cause MN are shills for the DFL. They’re utterly dishonest, utterly corrupt. They’re hypocrites. They can’t be trusted.
That’s why DTL-Minnesota’s map should and will be thrown out.
Technorati: Common Cause MN, Mike Dean,TakeAction Minnesota, Draw The Line-Minnesota, Corruption, Political Hacks, DFL, Citizens Commission, Minnesota Special Redistricting Panel, Redistricting, Transparency, Elections
Friday afternoon, Rep. Sarah Anderson harshly criticized DTL-Minnesota’s tactics regarding their redistricting map. Here’s the text of Rep. Anderson’s statement:
House Redistricting Committee chair Rep. Sarah Anderson, R-Plymouth, today criticized a group that has called for transparency in the legislative redistricting process for withholding its final map proposal from public scrutiny.
Activist group “Draw the Line Minnesota” confirmed on Thursday that it would not putting its alternative congressional and legislative maps on display for public review until Oct. 21, the final day maps from the public may be submitted to the judicial redistricting panel for consideration.
“I question a group’s motives when they scream for transparency, honesty, and integrity for everyone else but themselves,” Anderson said, noting the Legislature held 16 hearings, including three in Greater Minnesota, and amended its plan to reflect the testimony received.
“For Draw the Line to hide their final product and put it forward to the courts without public input is troubling,” Anderson said. “If they feel the maps they’ve created are fair and reflect established redistricting principles, they should give the public and legislators the opportunity to view the maps before they are submitted to the panel.”
Anderson said she continues to work with colleagues on getting a map signed by the governor. She added she has reached out to the House DFL caucus and is making calls to all 62 House DFL members to solicit their input.
“Between the public input I have received, along with the comments from colleagues, I am eager to get maps passed that are fair to all Minnesotans and reflect the population and demographic shifts within the state,” Anderson said.
DTL-Minnesota’s website says that transparency is their top priority:
Draw the Line Minnesota, led by the League of Women Voters Minnesota, is a network of nonprofit organizations working to reform the redistricting process in Minnesota.
The campaign seeks to create a better redistricting process in Minnesota that uses the following principles:
1. The redistricting process should be independent and nonpartisan, to minimize the influence of elected officials and political parties in creating districts to their own political advantage.
2. The redistricting process should be transparent to the public.
3. The redistricting body should provide data, tools, and opportunities for the public to have direct input into the specific plans under consideration.
4. The redistricting process must be reflective of the diversity of the state, especially racial and ethnic diversity.
5. Redistricting plan should preserve communities of interest wherever possible, where communities of interest aregroups of people concentrated in a geographic area that share similar interests and priorities, whether social, cultural, ethnic, racial, economic, or religious.
DTL-Minnesota’s website isn’t trustworthy. Saying that “the redistricting process should be transparent to the public” is wonderful fluff to the public. What it isn’t is the truth. DTL-Minnesota’s actions say that they’re into secrecy.
I had the privilege of teaming with Mitch Berg and, to a lesser extent, Kent Kaiser, during Late Debate’s Sunday night roundtable, which I wrote about here. Follow this link to Mitch’s post.
Kent Kaiser explained on Jack and Ben’s Late Debate Sunday night roundtable that the legislature’s map was actually quite defensible. He went so far as to say that, based on the Citizen’s Commission’s priorities, the legislature’s map was actually pretty good.
The reality is that DTL-Minnesota’s tactics aren’t surprising considering just how corrupt the organization is, starting with TakeAction Minnesota:
TakeAction Minnesota, aka TAM, is one of the charter organizations that helped start the Alliance for a Better Minnesota, aka ABM. ABM is the corrupt organization that funded the biggest smear campaign in Minnesota gubernatorial history.
Most of ABM’s funding comes from Gov. Dayton’s first ex-wife, Alida Messinger, and the DFL’s public employee unions allies. Considering the fact that TakeAction Minnesota teamed with Gov. Dayton’s first ex-wife to run the biggest smear campaign in state gubernatorial history, it isn’t surprising that DTL-Minnesota is corrupt. That DTL-Minnesota is corrupt but isn’t transparent isn’t surprising to anyone who’s looked into their history.
Mike Dean and Common Cause MN should be criticized mercilessly for their constant lecturing about the need for transparency and accountability, then doing the opposite of what they’ve lectured others to do.
Mr. Dean and Common Cause MN are typical do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do liberal political hacks. They aren’t good government types. They’re people who shouldn’t be trusted.
Technorati: Common Cause MN, Mike Dean, Corruption, Draw The Line-Minnesota, TakeAction Minnesota, Unions, ABM, DFL, Sarah Anderson, Transparency, Redistricting, GOP, Election 2012
I wrote this post Wednesday night dealing with Tuesday night’s ISD47 meeting in Sauk Rapids. It’s important to summarize what happened that night. Here’s what happened in a nutshell:
- The district announced the meeting as a ‘Public Meeting’ (Oct Distrcit Newsletter).
- There was a quorum of the school board present, which means they must follow the Open Meeting Law.
- The meeting began as an ‘Open Public Meeting’.
- After the Superintendent’s presentation, the public was directed to tables in separate rooms and separate tables, which moved the meeting into smaller private/closed meetings.
In other words, it went from an Open meeting to multiple closed meetings. There are multiple reasons for Minnesota’s open meeting laws. One of the most important purposes of Minnesota’s open meeting laws is to ensure total transparency.
Another important purpose behind Minnesota’s open meeting laws is to guarantee that the public can become fully informed. It’s important that the public is able to observe all of the proceedings to guarantee that improper influence isn’t exerted on constituents. (The law allows districts to provide facts only. It doesn’t allow for influencing the voters.)
What’s most troubling is that the public wasn’t able to hear all private conversations at all tables, insuring the public be fully informed. People couldn’t verify that school board members weren’t exerting improper influence. That’s especially important for issues like levies. The public was unable to hear the various conversations with board members.
Bottom line: The open meeting law orders that the public be given an opportunity to ‘observe’. You can’t do that when multiple conversations are happening in separate locations.
Bottom line, Part II: Whether open meeting laws were violated or not, the SRR school board didn’t operate in a transparent, informative manner. Forcing people to split up isn’t the right way to guarantee transparency and accountability.
What’s worst is the capricious attitude displayed by telling the public they couldn’t speak during ‘their’ meeting. How dare the SRR School Board show that type of high-handedness and rigidity. If the people want to speak, it’s the school board’s responsibility to let them speak. After all, the constituents are their bosses. Theoretically at least, they’re public servants.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the school board didn’t adjourn the meeting, which they certainly could’ve done. Instead, they kept the meeting going while shifting into semi-transparent mode. That’s unacceptable.
Technorati: School Districts, Sauk Rapids, Transparency, Accountability, Daniel Bittman, ISD47, School Levy, Public Servant, Arrogance
When President Potter chose to shut the Aviation program down, he apparently didn’t pay attention to the MnSCU shutdown procedure. Here’s a fresh reminder of what the MnSCU shutdown procedure requires:
Closure. Closure of an academic program must be approved by the chancellor. Approval will only be granted under the following circumstances:
The closure is requested by a system college or university, and the chancellor determines that the documentation provided supports closure,
The chancellor determines that closure is warranted, or
The academic program has not been reinstated following a suspension.The academic program closure application must be documented by information, as applicable, regarding
1. academic program need,
2. student enrollment trends,
3. employment of graduates,
4. the financial circumstances affecting the academic program, system college or university,
5. the plan to accommodate students currently enrolled in the academic program,
6. impact on faculty and support staff,
7. consultation with appropriate constituent groups including students, faculty and community,
8. alternatives considered, and
9. other factors affecting academic program operation.A closed academic program cannot be relocated, replicated or reinstated.
President Potter’s decision doesn’t make it past the first point, the one about needing the academic program. Based on the opening paragraphs of this article, President Potter’s argument that Aviation isn’t needed fall flat on their face:
For the second month in a row, more than 100 pilots have retired from American Airlines, which could cause problems for the fall schedule.
The Allied Pilots Association said 129 pilots will retire effective today. Last month, 111 pilots, many of whom flew Boeing 777s on international routes for American, also retired.
The Fort Worth-based carrier said it will still be able to operate its schedule “with minimal customer inconvenience.” However, American anticipates near-term staffing shortages.
“In preparation for a higher than usual number of retirements, we’ve taken a number of steps to minimize any customer inconvenience,” American spokeswoman Susan Gordon said. “We have made a proposal to the APA that would mitigate near-term staffing shortages that is good for both the airline and our pilots. Recent schedule reductions also have allowed us to absorb a higher retirement number than our historic rate for our current schedule.”
American has already cut capacity in the fourth quarter partly because of the high number of pilot retirements. Usually about a dozen pilots retire from the carrier each month.
How can President Potter say that there isn’t a vital need for pilots when a hundred pilots retired per month when the norm is a dozen a month? With all due respect, President Potter’s potential arguments vanish in a puff of smoke.
It’s nice that the airlines have made a proposal “that would mitigate near-term staffing shortages.” That’s just a stop-gap measure, though. What’s needed is a true long-term solution, not a stop-gap measure that temporarily papers over this problem.
Having 240 pilots retire in 2 months is 10 times the amount that normally retire. If this pattern continues for any amount of time, the airlines won’t be able to get by with stop-gap measures. They’ll need 4-year accredited universities training pilots to fill in the gap.
In fact, it isn’t difficult to make the argument that more universities should start 4-year accredited aviation programs. Shutting down these programs can’t be justified according to the MnSCU shutdown procedure. In that context, President Potter’s decision is essentially indefensible.
Technorati: SCSU, Aviation, Shutdown, MnSCU, President Potter, Pilot Shortage, American Airlines, Boeing, Retirements