Tag Archive for 'Pat Anderson'

Guv Fundraising Updates: Emmer, Anderson, and Dayton, Oh My!

by Matt Martin | 1 Comment

I have a few updates on gubernatorial fundraising this afternoon and instead of dribbling the out piece-meal, I think I’ll just go through them rapidfire.  First up: Tom Emmer

Republican Tom Emmer has finally released his fundraising numbers and it’s now apparent why it has taken him so long — these are miserable.  To be fair, he raised a somewhat respectable total of $114,852 in 2009, but he spent $79,312 of it!  (I’ll do the math for you: that only leaves him with $19,154 on hand)  Given that his main opponent, Marty Seifert, raised $262,753 and has $133,072 in cash on hand, things don’t look to good for the E-Dog… Bottom line: Seifert has nearly 7 times the resources of his nearest opponent.

Next up: Pat Anderson.  Sure, she dropped out of the race, but these fundraising numbers may finally reveal why:  her Gubernatorial campaign ended the year over $30K in the hole!  A press release from State Auditor Rebecca Otto’s campaign dishes the details:

Anderson’s Gubernatorial campaign fared worse.  She raised just $29,659, which included a personal loan of $3,250, but she spent $65,596, ending the year with $39,174 in unpaid bills.

For those interested, Anderson’s new Auditor campaign has only $149 on hand…

And then we have Mark Dayton. For anyone who thought the former United States Senator wasn’t serious about this race, think again.  Mark Dayton loaned his campaign $570,000!  What’s more, he raised $72,000 in donations for a total of $641,821 in 2009!!  But what’s more, he only has $16,772 left in the bank!!!  Meaning he spent well over $600,000 on his gubernatorial bid last year!!!!  Alright, I’m out of exclamation points.  For those who remember, Dayton spent $12 million on his Senate race in 2000.

One’s thing for sure folks:  This is going to be one rip-roarin’ roller coaster!

The 2010 Gubernatorial Fundraising Cheat-Sheet has been updated with the above PLUS new information from Entenza, Gaertner, Kelley, and John Marty.

February 2, 2010, 4:34 pm | Category: MN 2010: Governor | Tags: , , .

Scheck With the Scoop—Anderson to drop Guv bid and go for Auditor again.

by Matt Martin | 9 Comments

The breaking news comes via Tom Scheck over at Polinaut:

Republican Pat Anderson’s campaign announced that she’ll hold a news conference at 10AM tomorrow to make a major announcement. She declined to discuss the specifics in advance but two people with knowledge of her plans say she will drop her campaign for governor and will run for State Auditor. Anderson held that office between 2003 and 2007 but lost her reelection bid to Democrat Rebecca Otto.

More at Polinaut.

Anderson was long considered one of the front-runners in the GOP endorsement race, but she has seemed to be losing momentum over the past few months as Seifert and Emmer battled for the headlines.  To be honest, I haven’t been following the GOP side of the endorsement race all that closely, but here’s my 2¢:  With Seifert seemingly running away with the endorsement, Anderson dropping out may actually benefit Tom Emmer by making it a more focused mano-a-mano battle.

As for the Auditor race, Otto’s already defeated Anderson once; so, there’s that.  But Anderson’s name (and it’s really more her name than name recognition given the low-profile of the office) may make this a more heated battle than Otto would have faced otherwise.  Still, Otto’s done a terrific job her first term by all accounts and knows how to run a hell of a campaign—I’m not too worried.

January 11, 2010, 11:31 pm | Category: MN 2010: Governor | Tags: , .

Anderson: Shouldn’t the poor and unemployed being paying more taxes?

by Jeff Rosenberg | 24 Comments

I think it’s time to clear up a misconception. Republicans aren’t against taxes — they’re just against wealthy people paying taxes. They’re absolutely fine with the poor paying more; in fact, that would free up some money so we could reduce corporate income taxes and raise CEO bonuses.

That’s Republican Pat Anderson’s platform, from her official campaign announcement yesterday:

Former State Auditor Pat Anderson says she would expand the state sales tax to clothing and some services in exchange for cuts in corporate and individual income taxes.

Now, Anderson is right when she says (on her website) that our current system leaves us a huge structural deficit that must be reformed. In fact, I’m also for expanding the sales tax to clothing and services, which could raise a lot of money even while lowering tax rates, and provide a more stable revenue source. Where Anderson loses me, though, is in saying that she wants to exchange that expansion for cuts in individual income taxes.

There’s a simple reason why we have a progressive income tax — it’s the only tax that can be easily structured so that the poorest among us pay less, while those who can afford it pay a larger share. The sales tax, on the other hand, is regressive — the poorest pay a larger share of their income. Expanding the sales tax doesn’t increase regressivity much, as long as food remains exempt, particularly because tax rates could be lowered. Shifting our revenue from an income tax to a sales tax, though, would shift our tax burden squarely onto those who can least afford it, such as the poor and unemployed.

Don’t think Anderson doesn’t understand this. Her campaign website clearly advocates for “a broader flatter rate structure,” read “shifting taxes from the wealthy to the poor and middle class.”

November 3, 2009, 7:39 am | Category: Misc. Local Politics | Tags: .

Republicans gleefully look for ways to break the State that Works

by Jeff Rosenberg | 4 Comments

Or maybe that should be “State that Worked,” after Tim Pawlenty has had his way with us. If you think Pawlenty made a mess of things — and if you don’t, just wait until his accounting gimmicks start to fade — just imagine what will happen if we let some of the Republican gubernatorial candidates get ahold of the reins of power. It’s shocking to me just how giddy they are at the prospect of making sure your state no longer works for you.

Rachel Stassen-Berger has the story, albeit dressed up in nicer terms, at the Star Tribune:

The candidates are ambitious in their pledges to shrink government — “The sky’s the limit,” state Rep. Tom Emmer said at a recent forum

That’s encouraging: The sky’s the limit in making our government broken. But the big question, likely the one the Republican endorsement will hinge upon, is just how to break the government. Merge departments! says Emmer. No, break them up! says Pat Anderson. Slash human services funding! says Marty Seifert. No, slash education funding! says Anderson. No, slash absolutely everything! says Paul Kohls.

One of my favorite lines: “Seifert said he’d reduce ‘abuse’ of emergency rooms,” despite the fact that the Republicans are all against health reform, which would help all Minnesotans gain access to primary care. I suppose the Republicans want to eliminate the “loophole” that allows even the poorest Minnesotans to receive catastrophic health care.

I guess the problem I’m having here is that I’ve never understood the conservative trope that our government is the enemy. Our government, after all, is us — a government by the people and for the people, to which we all contribute and from which we all receive. Yes, it’s true that the neediest receive the most and contribute the least, but is someone out there really going to tell me it should be the other way around?

October 26, 2009, 1:00 pm | Category: MN 2010: Governor | Tags: , , .

Pat Anderson: Seifert’s “Leadership Plan” is unconstitutional

by Jeff Rosenberg | 10 Comments

Let the infighting begin!

Yesterday, I wrote about GOP gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert’s radical proposals, which he tried to hide behind several layers of buzzwords. What I didn’t expect, though, was that even fellow conservatives think he’s gone too far.

Fellow candidate Pat Anderson thinks his proposal to strip welfare benefits from those he deems not to have been Minnesota residents for long enough is unconstitutional. I would agree with that. Of course, Anderson can’t allow Seifert to appear more conservative than she is, so she simultaneously calls Seifert too liberal on a completely different issue.

Anderson hasn’t posted the full press release to her website, but here’s a portion (via Mary Lahammer):

Gubernatorial Candidate Pat Anderson disputes
Rep. Marty Seifert’s “Leadership Plan”

Seifert incorrectly states education vouchers are unconstitutional
while proposing unconstitutional welfare reform

More »

September 25, 2009, 5:57 am | Category: MN 2010: Governor | Tags: , .