Category: DFL Gov 2010

by Dave Mindeman

Minnesota Progressive Project is running a more comprehensive total of delegates including Congressional breakdowns and super delegates. They are getting more direct information and may be more accurate. But a second source can't hurt.

The Seventh update is listed below. Finally got a few more of the outlying counties.

A big thank you to the county units that have passed along information...keep it coming. This is the county and senate districts I have been able to get so far...with totals.

Counties and SD reporting that I have currently:

Senate Districts: 5-7-14-15-18-19-25-32-35-36-37-38-39-40-41-42-43-46-47-
49-51-56-57-58-59-60-61-62-63-64-65-66.

Counties: Beltrami, Blue Earth, Brown, Cass, Chippewa, Chisago, Clay, Clearwater, Cook, Crow Wing, Douglas, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Grant, Houston, Hubbard, Itasca, La Quie Parle, Lincoln, McLeod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Mower, Nicollet, Nobles, Olmsted, Pine, Pope, Red Lake, Rice, Sherburne, Steele, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Wadena, Waseca, Watonwan, Winona.

That totals 863 delegates as near as I can tell; Totals so far:

Uncommitted......362
Rybak................150
MAK..............,,...139.5
Thissen...............69.5
Marty..................51
Rukavina.............42
Entenza..............27
Bakk...................22.5

Now -- if anybody has additional information about delegate selection in district or county units not listed above, I'd very much appreciate a report. And please, if a delegate is from an uncommitted caucus, report it as such -- if you happen to know which way they are leaning it would be great to hear that, but do not report it as an official delegate for that candidate.

Send the information to my email: dmindeman06@yahoo.com

Thanks again

Category: John Kline

by Dave Mindeman

Congressman John Kline doesn't believe in making requests for his district. Anything he might ask for might be considered an "earmark" and would be wasteful.

John Kline also does not believe that the stimulus money creates any jobs. He notes this on his website:

“Day after day, majority leadership tells the American people its policies will create jobs and spur economic recovery. Yet month after month, the jobs report tells us a very different story. Congressional Democrats and White House officials continue to hang their hats on a ‘stimulus’ package that has expanded government instead of employment."

Fortunately for Faribault, a city in Kline's district, not everybody is taking the John Kline approach.

Sage Electrochromics is a Faribault company that has a technique for making energy efficient windows. They were looking for a way to expand that operation and move into a global market. But they needed to find capital.

The biggest portion of the government assistance is coming from the U.S. Department of Energy in the form of a $72 million loan guarantee.

The state was quick to move on this as well.

The state of Minnesota is providing Sage with a $1 million forgivable loan and a $350,000 job training grant.

DEED Commissioner Dan McElroy was quick to work in some credit but without the Federal loan guarantee, it is doubtful that Sage would have been able to finance...which Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Senator Franken's office pointed out.

It will be a great benefit to Faribault....

SAGE Electrochromics plans to break ground on its new plant this summer. It's anticipating that more than 200 people will work on the construction project.

And not just temporary construction jobs...

The 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, to be constructed next to Sage's headquarters, will employ 160 people. Those workers will be in addition to Sage's existing 100 employees. The firm plans to break ground on the project this summer, and begin shipping products in 2011.

But you might notice as I outlined the state and federal incentives that were involved, not once did we hear the name John Kline.

Congressman Kline didn't get involved and he wouldn't if he had been asked, because that would be a request for funding....an earmark for his district...federal money for a project.

Kline doesn't believe in that sort of thing. Because he is still looking at the jobs report. He wants us to believe that federal help is not working. That monetary incentives are useless.

If it were up to Congressman Kline, Faribault would not be getting those 200 construction jobs nor those 160 extra permanent workers.

Thank heavens Faribault didn't have to depend on its congressman.

The 2nd District needs representation that can say YES to jobs. You can be sure that Shelley Madore or Dan Powers would vote aye.

MN Central: MN-02 : How Many Times Will Kline Say NO to Jobs?