WoMN Focus

August 24, 2009 — The North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters announces its endorsement of State Senator Tarryl Clark in her campaign for Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District seat against incumbent Representative Michele Bachmann.

“Tarryl Clark has been a proven leader for Minnesota’s working families,” said Kyle Makarios, Political Director for the Council. “It is important to have someone in Washington who is advocating for workers, especially in this time of economic hardship.”

This early endorsement jumpstarts the Carpenters involvement in the 2010 campaign for Congress. The North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters represents 13,000 members in Minnesota, including 2,447 in the 6th Congressional District.

North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters
Serving Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota
700 Olive Street, Saint Paul, MN 55130

www.northcountrycarpenter.org

So much has happened so quickly. It’s digest time!

Tarryl Clark seems to be everywhere these days. She was at Netroots Nation visiting the online activists, and answered a few of their questions. She answered a few for Huffington Post, as well, including calling Presidential Wannabe and Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin “Alaska’s Michele Bachmann.” Bachmann should be proud — I remember when folks around here used to call her “Minnesota’s Marylin Musgrave.”

Meanwhile, Margaret Anderson Kelliher has kept a fairly low profile since announcing her intention to announce. But Minnesota Brown managed to snag an interview before the candidate filed paperwork, and released it afterward.

Kelliher quickly stressed specific legislative accomplishments as speaker to justify her candidacy three years after ascending to the speaker’s chair with the DFL legislative landslide in 2006. Her top three included the 2020 renewable energy standard (signed by Gov. Pawlenty), the 2008 transportation bill (passed by overriding Gov. Pawlenty with the help of six Republican House members) and the advancement of the Legacy Amendment (the voter approved sales tax increase to fund outdoors and culture initiatives).

These three different accomplishments all involved bipartisanship, fervent negotiations and hard won victories, she said, examples of how she would approach the job of governor.

The entire interview is a very thoughtful, very personal look at the Speaker, and is a must read.

Meanwhile, women are making advances not just as candidates, but in leadership roles, as well. On Monday, the AFL-CIO elected Shar Knutson as the first woman president of the organization. The AFL-CIO is the state’s largest federation, and represents over 300,000 members across the state.

She is. That is, if she gets a sign from Above:

Finally, WND asked Bachmann if she could see a day when the candidate who began her political career in jeans and a holey sweatshirt would one day run for the presidency.

“If I felt that’s what the Lord was calling me to do, I would do it,” she answered. “When I have sensed that the Lord is calling me to do something, I’ve said yes to it. But I will not seek a higher office if God is not calling me to do it. That’s really my standard.

“If I am called to serve in that realm I would serve,” she concluded, “but if I am not called, I wouldn’t do it.”

Two new interviews out today, one for each of the 6th CD candidates.

Big E over at MN Progressive Project interviewed Tarryl Clark:

…[T]this district is looking for a hard worker,” she continued. “And nobody will outwork me. Quality of work is also important as well as sensible leadership.”

“I doorknock 40 hours a week when campaigning,” she said. “Voters will know and trust me. I’ll get my message that I have a track record of bringing people together to get things done. They may not always agree with me, but they’ll feel that they can approach me.”

And Eric Black at Minnpost interviews the other DFL candidate, Maureen Reed:

In a previous conversation, I asked Reed for her abortion position, but she was willing to talk only about the importance of preventing unwanted pregnancies and other measures to reduce the number of abortions, but when I pressed for a basic “pro-life” or “pro-choice” statement (as those terms are commonly used), she deferred her answer to another day. Because the 6th District has the highest pro-life index of any Minnesota Congressional district, I asked again yesterday, and this time, Reed went further.

She is not looking to have Roe v. Wade overturned. But she seems in some way to believe that abortions can be justified only to save the life or health of the mother, which is not what Roe v. Wade holds, at least during the early stages of a pregnancy. She rejects the terms “pro-life” and “pro-choice,” saying she is neither. She is “pro-health and pro-prevention.”

The two interviews together are an interesting contrast. Big E’s interview was not deep on issues, which he states he will get into in another post, although he’s clear to state that she’s “she’s good on all the issues we think are important.” On the other hand, Black attempted to drill down on issues like whether Reed will abide by the endorsement or how she stands on reproductive rights, and appears to walk away unsure on both stances.

As the race continues and delegates go further toward making their decisions I have no doubt though that we will have a much clearer understanding of the similarities and differences of the two woman both between themselves and, obviously, Rep. Bachmann.

Today, Tinklenberg announced he is no longer in the running to challenger Rep. Bachmann. This means that, to my utter delight, this is now a three woman fight to win the 6th, with DFLer Tarryl Clark and former IP Lt Governor candidate Maureen Reed vying for the DFL nomination. It is nearly impossible at this point for the 6th CD representative not to be a women.

Tarryl Clark had this to say about Tinklenberg’s departure from the race:

“From day one, El and I have shared the common goal of changing the 6th District’s representation in Congress. El knows first-hand from his work just how much is at stake for the working families and small businesses across Minnesota. I thank El for his dedication and public service, and know he will continue to be a leader in our community.”

And Maureen Reed has gave this statement:

“First and foremost, I want to thank El Tinklenberg for his dedication to public service. He has worked hard on behalf of the citizens of the sixth district and this state as Mayor of Blaine, State Transportation Commissioner and as a Congressional Candidate. El is a tremendous public servant. I wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

In the meantime, Clark has already been racking up endorsements, from the SCSU Young Dems to today’s announcement from AFSCME.

Will these early endorsements translate to big fund raising numbers? Time will only tell.

Her announcement video:

I’m excited by this news, as I think Clark will be an excellent challenger to Rep. Bachmann. I will admit I’m slightly surprised — the 6th CD probably has the greatest chance of any district of disappearing if Minnesota does lose a congressional seat after the census, and running for an office that may only exist for such a short time. Then again, should she defeat Bachmann there would be no greater hero within the DFL party.

The race now consists of three women, Bachmann, the GOP incumbent, and now Clark and former Independence Party candidate Maureen Reed vying against Elwyn Tinklenberg for the DFL endorsement. Such a crowded DFL field means a large amount of money to be spent before we even reach the actual primary. Reed has already shown some promise in the last quarter in fundraising, and Tinklenberg was able to raise great amounts near the end of 2008, albeit more out of Bachmann’s publicity than his own efforts. It will be interesting to see what sort of momentum Clark’s entry in the race brings for all three potential DFL candidates’ fundraising numbers.

Additional note: The website is odd. The straight url for tarrylclark.com redirects. I wish they had fixed that before the launch.

Edited to add: Well good, the url appears to be fixed. Much better.

In the wake of rumors that she is considering a run, either challenging Rep.Michele Bachmann for congress or doing a gubernatorial run of her own, Minnpost publishes a piece about the DFL’s new headliner.

Don’t worry if you haven’t heard much of Clark. She hardly ranks with the semi-household names like Sviggum and Moe of recent Capitol eras of the past, or even her contemporaries like long-timers Rep. Phyllis Kahn or Sen. Dick Day. Clark has only been in office since late 2005, when she won in a special election and was re-elected in 2006.

But increasingly, Clark is the face of the DFL at the Capitol. Though the party controls both chambers, and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and House Majority Leader Tony Sertich are high-profile, Clark often soaks up her share of the spotlight.

Part of that is by design, especially in regard to Senate politics. There, Sen. Larry Pogemiller is the majority leader, but Clark shares many caucus duties in her assistant leader role. And Pogemiller has a reputation for, to put it charitably, an obstinacy that in the past infuriated GOP leaders, Capitol insiders and Pawlenty. And it doesn’t hurt that Clark is a politician from outside the metro area who happens to be a woman. From that perspective, her rising role makes political sense.

But Clark also possesses what many consider an ambition that is notable even by Capitol standards, and a gift for laying down spin with the best of them.

So is she eyeing higher office? All signs point to yes. The question, still, is which one is she running for?

Via Polinaut:

DFL state Sen. Tarryl Clark told me today that she’s considering a run for governor in 2010. She said she’s looking at her options but said she’s concerned that none of the DFL candidates are from the “growth areas” of the state.

Scheck also has his list of potential gubernatorial candidates. Of the 20 Republicans who have not ruled out runs, 1/4 of them are female candidates (Laura Brod, Pat Anderson, Michele Bachmann, Carol Molnau, and Michelle Fischbach). Of the 12 DFLers running, considering, or at least not saying no, 1/4 of those are women as well (Susan Gaertner, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Tarryl Clark).

Minnesota has never elected a woman governor, and now we have a 1 in 4 chance of making it happen. I couldn’t be more excited.

WoMN Focus will be watching every step of the way.

Via Politics in Minnesota:

“In just under an hour today, Gov. Pawlenty has done more damage to Minnesota than he has throughout his entire career,” Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL-Minneapolis), the speaker of the House, said in a prepared statement. “The deep cuts he proposes are one more rejection of the fair combination of cuts and revenue preferred by Minnesotans and passed by the Legislature.

And all signs point to his future plans being an exploratory committee for Pawlenty 2012, rather than seeking a third term as governor.

What does this change for Minnesota? We now have a completely open governor’s race in 2010. There will be no GOP incumbent in a state that has been trending less and less Republican-friendly over the last few election cycles. Obvious front runners for the GOP nomination are Minority Leader Marty Seifert, former Senator Norm Coleman (who may be too much damaged goods at this point in the never-ending contest saga), GOP activist Brian Sullivan, who lost to Pawlenty in 2000.

But it’s the not so obvious that could be interesting. Is Rep. Michele Bachmann interested in Governor, or has her national media campaign showed her hand in possibly running for senate against Sen. Amy Klobuchar? Is Minnesota Majority just an action group, or a way to get Mary Kiffmeyer back in the spotlight after losing Secretary of State to Mark Ritchie. And what ever happened to the Lieutenant Governor Molnau? Is she even around anymore?

This announcement will also lead to an onslaught of new DFL candidates. No one will want to let an open election go by without taking a swing. If Speaker Kelliher is interested, expect to hear from her in the next two weeks. She’ll want to be up and running before the 4th of July.