The MN Sun-Post published upcoming Truth in Taxation Hearings in December:
Public truth-in-taxation hearings on the amount of property taxes
schools and cities are proposing to collect in 2009 are scheduled as
follows:
City of Crystal :
7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1, at City Hall, 4141 Douglas Drive. Information: Information: 763-531-1000.
City of New Hope: 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1, at City Hall, 4401 Xylon Ave. N. Information: 763-531-5100. Proposed property tax change from 2008: 1.5%
City of Golden Valley: 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1, at City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Road. Information: 763-593-8000. Proposed property tax change from 2008: 6.09%
Robbinsdale School District 281: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, in the
Education Service Center, 4148 Winnetka Ave. N., New Hope. Information:
763-504-8000.
Hennepin County: 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, at the Hennepin County
Government Center, 300 S. 6th St., Minneapolis. Information:
612-348-3000.
Hopkins School District 270: No meeting is scheduled, since the tax increase is minimal. Information: 952-988-4000.
Thank You, Candidates and Volunteers!
A message from 5th Congressional District Chair, Carleton Crawford:
Thanks to everyone that came out to help this year to volunteer in any
way. The election was difficult, but it looks like your efforts will
allow us to retain a Republican Senator from Minnesota (due to the
re-count the race—and our work--isn’t quite over yet).
Due to a
late completion of election judge duties I was unable to make the
festivities at the Bloomington Sheraton last night (Thanks to Bob
Olson, Barry Hickethier, Shirley Carlson and James Turnham for putting
the 5th CD Hospitality Room together). There are a lot of individuals I
would have liked to thank in person for the extraordinary dedication
they showed to our party and our candidates.
It’s always
difficult to see the good when so many of the results are poor, but a
lot of good did happen. First, I was extremely impressed with the talent shown by our local candidates
(most of them running for the first time). It’s always a challenge to
run for office, but especially in a year with so many difficulties for
our side. Second, after a slow start we showed that the 5th CD can compete with any other region of the state with respect to volunteer effort. The amount of activity in the 5th CD this last month was amazing.
Finally,
there is a long list of people that put in a massive amount of time
throughout the year, and deserve recognition. Many have been helping us
for years, and many provided new leadership that we desperately needed.
But at this time I’d like to point out three individuals:
Red Bartholomew (SD 45):
Long before Republicans had finally decided to unify behind their
candidates Red spent 6 hours at the 5th CD phone bank every Saturday
since April making voter I.D. calls, drastically improving the quality
our data for the area he called, and making our Get-out-the-vote
efforts much more effective.
Nik Ludwig (SD 58):
The Minneapolis City Republican Committee had been struggling for
several years since its founder (Lyall Schwazkopf) retired. Nik took
over as chair of the City Committee this spring. The committee is now
stable, has enthusiastic membership, and is able to provide credible
support to its endorsed candidates.
Mary Belfry (SD60):
Mary, as part of the East Hennepin McCain organization (Jim Patterson,
Chair), created the most dynamic, aggressive and effective Republican
volunteer recruitment Minneapolis has had in recent memory. Volunteers
were plucked out of neighborhood festivals, Nicollet Mall lunchtime
crowds, Vikings games, and even Orchestra Hall. In an era when it’s
easy for statewide campaigns to overlook the 5th CD and Minneapolis in
particular, Mary has shown how important taking Minneapolis seriously
can be to achieving victory.
Thank you for all of your efforts
this year. It was good working with you. We have an awful lot of work
to do to get where we want to be, but hopefully we’ve set the
groundwork for success in the years to come.
Carleton Crawford
Your Ideas Wanted
A "beta" website, Rebuild the Party has been set up for Republicans to "Plan for the Future."
As Republicans, we face a choice.
Either we can spend the next several months -- or years -- trying to
figure out what just happened, excusing our defeat away as a temporary
blip or the result of a poor environment, and waiting for Barack Obama
to trip up. Or we can refuse to take this defeat lying down, and start
building the future of our party now.
The time is now to set in motion the changes needed to rebuild our
party from the grassroots up, modernize the way we run campaigns, and
attract different, energetic, and younger candidates at all levels.
The site list things that are wrong, and recommendations for fixing them. You can sign up at Rebuild the Party, voice their ideas and/or vote for the ideas that you agree with.
2008 Election Results
Thanks to our candidates, volunteers and supporters! SD-45 again had high voter turnout. From the Secretary of State:
A taxpayer voting for a Democrat is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.
Hat tip to Vice Chair Dale Bartholomew. :-)
April Chili & Chat - Health Care Highlights
Our first Chili & Chat of the the year was held April
17 in New Hope, with the timely topic of health care. Legislation is
moving forward in the State Capitol, many items people aren't aware of.
Speaking to these issues were Twila Brase, RN , president of Citizens Council on Health Care, Rep. Tom Emmer , House Deputy Minority Leader, and Karen Effrem, MD, Pediatrician and Policy Analyst. Emceeing the event was SD45B House Candidate Gregg Prest .
Twila
Brase gave a brief "Health Care 101" with a history of Medicaid and how
it's affected health care. She followed with CCHC's push to demand
consent for genetic testing and infant blood screening, which the State
Department of Health is against.
Rep. Tom Emmer followed with a
legislative update on health care reform, and discussed the task force
and special interest groups who stand to gain more from socialized
medicine than the people it purports to help.
Karen Effrem, MD
wrapped it up with an eye-opening account of mental health screening
and disturbing trends to monitor citizens from cradle to grave, along
with a host of medicines pushed on our children.
The
panel stayed for an interesting question and answer session, including
how to protect your medical privacy and where to go to make your voice
and concerns heard.
A DVD copy of the program is available for purchase. Contact
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for details and to order.
Speak Up: Last SD-45 Town Meeting May 3
The last of the DFL SD-45 Town Meeting series is this Saturday, May 3, at the Crystal Community Center (4800 Douglas Drive). This is a great opportunity to hear what legislators are working on, and to give feedback to our DFL legislators. From Senator Rest's Capitol Update newsletter:
Senator Rest encourages constituents to attend District 45 town meetings scheduled during the 2008 Legislative Session. The meetings will be held at the Crystal Community Center from 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. on February 23, March 29, and May 3. Constituents are also invited to contact Sen. Rest at the Capitol at 205 State Capitol, 75 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155, (651) 296-2889, or via e-mail at
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Barb Davis White Endorsed At CD5 Convention
Barb Davis White
was unanimously endorsed at the CD-5 convention April 5th in
Robbinsdale. Guest speakers included Governor Pawlenty, Senator Norm
Coleman, Minority Leader Rep. Marty Seifert, and State Party Chair Ron
Carey. 268 Delegates were seated and voted 3 delegates to the National
Convention: Kris Boberg, Juliette Jordal and Robert Steven Rogers. Two
alternates were also elected: Corey Sax and Adam Weingold.
Congratulations to those elected! 51 out of 129 resolutions were voted
on before adjournment.
The State Convention is May 29-31 at the
Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Elected delegates and alternates will
receive calls to convention by mail. Convention details can be found here.
Larry Pogemiller: We Spend Your Money Better Than You Could
This video shows DFL State Senator Larry Pogemiller saying the government is smarter than you on spending your money.
Our first Chili & Chat of the the year was held April
17 in New Hope, with the timely topic of health care. Legislation is
moving forward in the State Capitol, many items people aren't aware of.
Speaking to these issues were 
Air dates and times on cable Channel 20:
