Smart state, but can't count?
Minnesota's unresolved Senate race was featured -- well, mocked -- by Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" tonight.
"It's January and how hard is it to count to 3 million?" host Jon Stewart joked. "You're supposed to be one of the smart states."
Minnesota joins Illinois in having only one senator for the time being, so only 98 senators were sworn in when the new Congress started today.
"Do we even have enough senators to not get stuff done?" Stewart asked.
Posted by: Scott Wente on 1/06/2009 at 10:40 PM | Permalink
Not all smooth in Senate
Bickering emerged minutes after Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau convened the 2009 Senate.
Senators argued over how to fill the position of retired Senate Secretary Pat Flahaven.
Faced with a budget deficit of at least $4.85 billion, they also quibbled about deadlines for releasing budget-balancing proposals and over whether to limit Senate travel expenses and even whether to cut the number of stamps issued to senators for constituent mailings.
Republicans said legislative spending should be cut.
“Let’s start with the low-hanging fruit,” Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, said.
Republicans said Democratic legislative leaders were ignoring the big budget problems on Day 1 by discussing the light colors on a new voting board in the chamber.
“This is clearly denial,” said Sen. Ray Vandeveer, R-Forest Lake. “It is business as usual.”
Much of Tuesday’s work was organizational, including electing Senate officers.
Most Democrats wanted to split secretary duties among staffers Peter Wattson and Joanne Zoff, one handling administrative tasks, the other handling legislative duties. Republicans said state law calls for just one secretary. The GOP nominated its caucus chief of staff to be secretary.
Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, said that as long as the secretary’s duties are completed, “it does not matter if you have job sharing or not.”
Sen. Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, said he didn’t want to vote for any of the three and the vacancy should have been handled before Tuesday.
“I just believe this is an unusual circumstance,” Murphy said.
Wattson and Zoff were elected 43-21.
Sen. James Metzen, DFL-South St. Paul, was re-elected Senate president, 46-18. Republicans nominated Sen. Michelle Fischbach, R-Paynesville.
Sen. Keith Langseth, DFL-Glyndon, nominated Colleen Pacheco as an assistant secretary. Langseth, one of the two most senior senators, said Pacheco has been with the Senate longer than any senator.
“The strange thing about it, she’s still a young woman,” Langseth said.
Posted by: Don Davis on 1/06/2009 at 7:17 PM | Permalink
Optimism begins session
Rep. Loren Solberg smiled Tuesday
The smiles and "happy new year" salutations of Tuesday's Minnesota legislative session opening day soon will turn into serious faces and money talk as legislators begin grappling with a $4.85 billion deficit.
But legislators say the opening-day hugs will not turn into partisan stare-downs as has happened in the past.
About the only thing on legislators' minds as they began their 2009 session was the budget deficit, a record-large one coming six years after the solution to another deficit took many of the easy solutions.
On Tuesday, legislators professed to be optimistic, ready to turn a negative into a positive.
"It's an opportunity for us to try our best to put political agendas aside," said Rep. Loren Solberg, DFL-Grand Rapids, who as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee will play a key budget-balancing role.
A lot of good will is needed to get the job done, Solberg added.
Even with get-along talk, there was veiled – and sometimes outright –skepticism among Democrats who control the Legislature about Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's budget plans, which they expect to rely heavily on budget cuts.
Other than a couple of minor partisan disputes, opening day went smoothly.
Posted by: Don Davis on 1/06/2009 at 7:12 PM | Permalink
Senate race long ways from over
Norm Coleman announces election lawsuit
Al Franken entered halftime of Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race in the lead, but Norm Coleman is hoping for a come-from-behind victory.
Coleman, whose term as senator ended Saturday, is going to court in his bid to win the drawn-out race and a second term. A statewide recount took two months; Coleman's chief attorney said a legal case could take two more months.
“Minnesotans deserve 100 percent confidence that their senator was fairly elected by all the people,” Coleman said Tuesday while surrounded by supporters urging him to keep fighting.
Posted by: Scott Wente on 1/06/2009 at 7:08 PM | Permalink
Coleman to speak
Republican Norm Coleman will speak to reporters at 3 p.m. in St. Paul.
Coleman, whose Senate term ended Saturday, is expected to announce whether he will file a lawsuit challenging the Senate recount result showing Democrat Al Franken won by 225 votes.
The state Canvassing Board certified that result Monday, triggering a seven-day period during which an election contest can be filed in court.
Franken claimed victory on Monday, but Senate Democrats did not attempt to provisionally seat him when the new Congress convened today.
An election certificate cannot be issued to the winner until after the seven-day period for possible lawsuits has passed, or until after a lawsuit challenging the results is resolved.
Posted by: Scott Wente on 1/06/2009 at 1:42 PM | Permalink
Franken declares, but courts could decide
Al and Franni Franken
Norm Coleman declared victory the morning after the Nov. 4 election.
Al Franken claimed victory Monday, when a statewide U.S. Senate recount ended.
Judges, however, likely will decide Minnesota’s next senator.
A state election board on Monday certified results of the two-month recount that gave Democrat Franken a 225-vote advantage over Coleman.
“Our recount process was long, it was fair and it was thorough," Franken told a crowd of reporters gathered outside his Minneapolis home Monday afternoon.
Earlier, Republican Coleman’s campaign vowed to challenge the recount in court, promising to file a lawsuit today that could involve old and new arguments about the recount.
As a new Congress begins work today, Minnesotans may be represented by only one senator for some time.
Posted by: Scott Wente on 1/05/2009 at 7:30 PM | Permalink
Coleman campaign statement
A statement late this afternoon from the Norm Coleman campaign that set off speculation that he might pull out of the U.S. Senate race:
"SENATOR COLEMAN TO MAKE PUBLIC STATEMENT TOMORROW AFTERNOON IN MINNESOTA. MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW."
Posted by: Don Davis on 1/05/2009 at 5:37 PM | Permalink
Franken statement
A statement delivered by U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken Monday afternoon, following a state board's certification that he won a statewide recount:
"It has been a remarkable couple of months. Our recount brought national attention to Minnesota, and what Americans saw is that we take our democracy seriously. Our recount process was long, it was fair, and it was thorough. We should all be proud of our state, and we should all be grateful for the incredible hard work and dedication of all of our elections officials, from the state canvassing board and the secretary of state's office to the officials in the cities and counties and precincts of Minnesota.
"After 62 days, after the careful and painstaking hand inspection of nearly 3 million ballots, after hours and hours of hard work by elections officials and volunteers across the state, I am proud and humbled to stand before you as the next Senator from Minnesota.
"This victory is incredibly humbling - not just because it was so narrow, but because of the tremendous responsibility it gives me on behalf of the people of Minnesota.
"While the recount process played out, the challenges facing our state and our nation have only grown. With tensions in the Middle East reaching the boiling point, our economy facing its worst crisis since the 1930s, and Minnesota's middle class families being squeezed harder than ever, it's clear that we have a lot of important work to do.
"I want you all to know that I'm ready to go to Washington and get to work just as soon as possible. And I look forward to joining President-elect Obama and Sen. Klobuchar in getting our country moving in the right direction again.
"I know this is not an easy day for Norm Coleman and his family, and I know that because Franni and I and the kids have had plenty of time over the past two months to contemplate the possibility that this election would turn out differently. Norm has worked hard for this state and this country, and I hope to ask for his help to ensure that Minnesotans can continue to count on receiving excellent constituent services from their two senators without interruption.
"I also know that this was a hard-fought victory, and that I didn't win the support of every Minnesotan. I'm going to have to earn it by being a senator who fights for every Minnesotan, whether you voted for me or not. And I want every Minnesotan to hear me say: I work for you now. And I will work hard to earn your confidence.
"There may still be additional legal proceedings related to our recount. But I'm now in the business of serving the people of Minnesota. And the best way I can serve the people of Minnesota right now is to focus all my attention and all my energies on getting to work for them on the issues we'll be facing together.
"I would like to close by doing something I wish I'd gotten a chance to do properly on election night, and that is to thank some people. My amazing staff and supporters across the state who made this victory possible and stuck with us this whole way. All the volunteers who woke up the morning after Election Day and got right back to work to help our recount effort. Our state's dedicated elections officials, our tremendous congressional delegation, and our fantastic senator, Amy Klobuchar, who continues to be a mentor and an inspiration. And, of course, my beautiful wife Franni and our amazing family.
"For our state, today marked the end of a long process that will forever be a part of Minnesota history. But today is also a beginning. The history of our country will be forever altered by what we do together to address the challenges we face together. So, with tremendous gratitude for the victory we have won, I'm ready to get to work.
"Thank you."
Posted by: Don Davis on 1/05/2009 at 5:36 PM | Permalink
Taxes key legislative issue
Gov. Tim Pawlenty
To raise taxes or not to raise taxes – that is becoming the primary question for the 2009 Minnesota Legislature when it begins its 86th two-year session Tuesday.
Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Democratic House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher illustrated the differences Monday as they prepared for today's new beginning.
"It's not wise," Pawlenty said of increasing taxes. "It is not what President-elect (Barack) Obama is doing."
Pawlenty said he knows of no economist who thinks higher taxes are good in this tough economic time.
But Kelliher said that the state's $4.85 billion deficit, which is expected to grow, needs new revenue to be balanced.
Posted by: Don Davis on 1/05/2009 at 5:15 PM | Permalink
Franken wins recount, not yet Senate seat
Al Franken has won Minnesota’s U.S. Senate recount, but not yet a victory in the race.
A state elections board this afternoon unanimously certified results in the two-month-long recount, giving Democrat Franken a 225-vote edge over Republican Norm Coleman.
However, Coleman's campaign said the fight is not over.
"We will contest the results of the Canvassing Board – otherwise, literally millions of Minnesotans will be disenfranchised, Coleman attorney Tony Trimble said.
The five-member state Canvassing Board certified the recount result that gave Franken 1,212,431 votes to Coleman’s 1,212,206.
“We’ve counted nearly 3 million ballots,” Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said. “We’ve determined how the citizens of Minnesota voted on Nov. 4.”
The board spent days looking over disputed ballots to determine each voter's intent in the Senate contest.
Posted by: Scott Wente on 1/05/2009 at 2:57 PM | Permalink
