Entenza’s note is after the jump:
UPDATE: Just wanted to clarify that the 11 “additions” mentioned above include five paid staffers and six unpaid interns.
As I explore a run for governor of Minnesota, I know the coming months are going to be amongst the most exciting of my life. It’s time to get Minnesota working for all of us again. Campaigning is going to keep me busy, which is why I am so thankful to have the support of my family and friends from all around the state.
I want to introduce you to a few of the folks on my campaign team who will be helping me along the way. A big reason I started this campaign was to begin a real dialogue about the future of this state — a conversation that has been all to absent during the last 6 years. Please contact these great people (all tagged in this note so you can reach them easily) if there is anything they can do to help you get involved.
Without further ado, here’s the team:
I have been married to my incredible wife Lois for almost 25 years. We are the proud parents of my three sons – and Facebook friends – Ben, Will and Steve.
Chat with Will Howell (will@entenza.com) and Leah Solo (leahvered@hotmail.com) if you want to help recruit friends and neighbors to get involved and get to work! Leah comes to the campaign after being the political director for Congressman Tim Walz’s reelection campaign. Will was the political director for Al Franken in Minnesota’s fourth congressional district.
Liz Harens (liz@entenza.com) is the person to talk with if you’d like to invite me to meet with any local political or community groups you’re involved with. Liz, like Will, campaigned with Team Franken in ’08.
Contact Bridget Cusick (bcusick2004@yahoo.com) if you’re a member of the media or want to know more about how we are going to communicate our message about the future of this state. Bridget’s been working on campaigns since 2004; in 2006 she worked with Congressman Keith Ellison’s campaign and in 2008 for Steve Sarvi’s congressional campaign in CD 2.
If you’d like to donate or to help fundraise, Colin Laughlin is your guy. Colin helped raise money for both of Congressman Walz’s campaigns.
Jake Levy-Pollans (jlevy-pollans@macalester.
Diana Petty, Sarah Goldsmith-Greenberg and Alex Rosselli are also fantastic campaign interns, working on organizing and outreach. Diana is a recent Mac grad, and continuing the Macalester tradition, Alex and Sarah are both still students there.
We’re working hard and hope you’ll join us!
Matt
Interesting. Do you think Matt will also post his oppo-research on his fellow DFLers?
Well, I think that answers the question about whether he is going to use his wife’s money to fund his campaign. What a sleazebag.
Sounds like you have to be able to able to afford $30,000 a year in tuition in order to work on the Entenza campaign.
Macalester College: Turning out staunch advocates of the working class since 1874.
Neat. Looks like the trolls are out in full force.
This just absolutely infuriates me. Entenza’s wife, Lois Quam, was paid tens of millions of dollars for her work as an executive at United Health Care. United Health Care made all of its record profits by screwing people on their health coverage, and it is being prosecuted or being pursued in civil court by almost every state. The New York case just settled:
“NEW YORK, NY (January 13, 2009) – Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced historic reform of the nationwide health care reimbursement system that will end conflicts of interest and generate fair reimbursement rates for working families nationwide. Cuomo has reached an agreement with UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) (“United”), the nation’s second largest health insurer, after conducting an industry-wide investigation into a scheme to defraud consumers by manipulating reimbursement rates.
At the center of the scheme is Ingenix, Inc. (“Ingenix”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of United, which is the nation’s largest provider of health care billing information. Under the agreement with United, the database of billing information operated by Ingenix will close. United will pay $50 million to a qualified nonprofit organization that will establish a new, independent database to help determine fair out-of-network reimbursement rates for consumers throughout the United States.”
“For the past ten years, American patients have suffered from unfair reimbursements for critical medical services due to a conflict-ridden system that has been owned, operated, and manipulated by the health insurance industry. This agreement marks the end of that flawed system,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “As working families throughout our nation struggle with the burden of health care costs, we will make sure that health insurers keep their promise to pay their fair share. The industry reforms that we announce today will bring crucial accuracy, transparency, and independence to a broken system. During these tough economic times, this agreement will keep hundreds of millions of dollars in the pockets of over one hundred million Americans.””
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/media_center/2009/jan/jan13a_09.html
The millions that Entenza’s wife made by defrauding sick people is what is funding his campaign and paying Macalester college’s best and brightest. Absolutely disgusting.
Yes, anyone concerned about the way Matt Entenza made his money is a troll. I guess that is better than being accused of working for Mike Hatch, which is the Entenza apologists usual M.O.
I am more interested in How Matt Entenza will communicate his message and, more importantly, what his vision for Minnesota is.
I remember during the unionization fight in the AGs office, some anonymous commenters claiming to be employees there were stating that the whole United Health investigation was set up by Hatch to try and get Entenza. No idea if that’s true, and the fact that other AGs are looking into it would maybe undercut those assertions, although I suppose they’d say that Hatch was pulling in favors from his pals in other states and that AGs are just a bunch of pols looking for good publiicity anyways.
I don’t know about the legal arguments against UHC awarding themselves these bonuses, but from a business practice standpoint, I thought Hatch made some compelling points. From an August 2006 interview:
I’m fully aware that Hatch is an SOB. But he’s still capable of being right now and then.
Dan:
Anybody who can’t seem to realize that Entenza’s wife’s ethics are not necessarily those of her employer, or that of Mr. Entenza himself, and spends lots of time calling Mr. Entenza a “sleazbag” is indeed exhibiting trollish behavior.
Since I’m not registered on Facebook, what does Entenza list as his favorite books and movies? I’m guessing The Godfather for sure, and maybe Machiavelli’s The Prince, followed up by the works of Robert Caro. I can just picture a young Entenza, hunched alone over a reading table in the Macalaster Library in the ’80s, avidly taking notes from LBJ: The Path to Power.
lojasmo, we saw Mr. Entenza’s ethics first hand in 2006 when he got busted spying Mike Hatch and then failing to disclose the expense. Would you call Rod Blagojevich a sleazebag? Because Matt Entenza is Minnesota’s answer to Rod Blogojevich. I don’t know if Ms. Entenza actively participated in United Health Care’s fraud, but the millions she was paid was earned by defrauding people out of their health coverage. Its blood money.
Another Chris, I love the idea that Entenza apologists are claiming the United Health Care fraud was manufactured by Mike Hatch. United Health Care is being investigated and/or has settled fraud claims in almost every state. William McGuire, the former president of United Health Care, had to repay millions of dollars. Ms. Entenza got out before things got ugly, so she got to keep her money and we now get to see it spent promoting a guy who lost a sleaze contest to Mike Hatch.
It is amazing that people have such short memory. Entenza paid over 50k to investigate a fellow democrat. When he was caught, he LIED, and continued to lie until it all caught up with him. He is not to be trusted, nor is he to be believed. Hopefully all of his ill gotten gain, Lois’s moola, will not allow him to rehabilitate his past. Once a liar always a liar. Period…
Was Entenza the only candidate to investigate other candidates of his own party? Isn’t this a more common practice than we’d like to admit? (I’m not trying to make a point here, I genuinely don’t know ).
Just wait till the other candidates start investigating Entenza. He’s got WAY more baggage than is commonly known. “Liar” just scratches the surface.
Can you imagine the field day the Republicans will have when Matt “Spending My Wife’s United Health Millions” Entenza comes out claiming he’s for health care reform?
Opposition research on your own party is a tip o’ the iceberg for Entenza’s sleazeball tactics. Liar & womanizer for starters! Ask the people he canned over at the DFL Caucus - House of Representatives what they think of him: he unceremoniously fired two older (white-haired) people, the one openly gay worker…oh, but in replacement, I believe there was at least one young cute blonde, how nice for him. AND, just how many houses does this guy own - granted, not as many as McCain…but not all are even in MN? C’mon people, this would be a MAJOR mistake for the DFL to put forth this has been self-important hack.
I am with J. Kichner on this one (“Liar” just scratches the surface.)
Opposition research on your own party is a tip o’ the iceberg. Sleazeball tactics, Liar, Womanizer…just for starters!
Ask the people (in the know) about him unceremoniously canning people over at the DFL Caucus (when he took over as Minority Leader). Two older (white-haired) people - longtime DFLers too old to get another job, the sole openly gay worker…oh, but in replacement, I there was at least one young cute blonde, how nice for an emasculated male such as him.
AND, just how many houses does this guy own - granted, not as many as McCain…but not all are even in MN? C’mon people, this would be a MAJOR mistake for the DFL to put forth this has been self-important has-been hack…with a scarey-looking wife!
oops! sorry folks!
the website lagged (or my computer, or my brain?) & i thought i lost my blog entry…so i re-did it