GJR News Box Test

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra musicians ratify two-year contract extension

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 19:04:22 +0000

The musicians of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra have ratified a two-year contract extension that will bring raises for the players.

The orchestra endured a 191-lockout in 2013; it ended with cuts in salaries and in the size of the group as part of a contract that expires next summer.

The new extension runs from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2018.

According to the terms reached between the orchestra management and American Federation of Musicians Local 30-73, most terms of the current contract remain the same, including the size of the orchestra at 28 musicians. (There had been 34 before the lockout.)

Officials said the extension offers raises:

Musicians making less than $80,000 in total salary will receive a raise of $4,000 in the first year, with all musicians receiving a raise of $2,000 in the second year. The guaranteed minimum annual base salary will increase to $64,000 in the first year and $66,000 in the second year, an increase of 10% over two years.

The two sides offered these statements:

Orchestra Committee chair, violinist Nina Tso-Ning Fan: "We are very pleased that the Society engaged with us in a constructive and thoughtful way, helping SPCO musicians regain some of the wages lost in the previous settlement. We have recently welcomed four new members and look forward to focusing our work this season on playing great concerts, rather than on negotiations."
SPCO President Bruce Coppock: "This extension reinforces the commitment of both management and musicians to the SPCO’s bold artistic vision and will help ensure that the SPCO will continue to be an artistically vibrant part of this community for years to come. It was extremely important for us to make a further investment in our musicians, whose performances during the past two years have been nothing short of extraordinary."

Seven Minnesota schools get national 'Blue Ribbon' rating for high performance

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 17:21:00 +0000

Seven Minnesota schools — two metro and five in Greater Minnesota — are on this year's National Blue Ribbon list.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced the list, which is based on overall academic excellence or progress in closing achievement gaps.

The Minnesota schools are:

Friedell Middle School, Rochester Public School District
Mahtomedi Senior High School, Mahtomedi Public School District
Monroe Elementary School, Mankato Public School District
Plainview-Elgin-Millville 4-6 School, Plainview-Elgin-Millville Community Schools
Sleepy Eye Elementary School, Sleepy Eye Public School District
Washington-Kosciusko Elementary School, Winona Area Public School District
Yinghua Academy, Minneapolis

Nationally, there are 285 public and 50 private schools on the list; there will be a recognition ceremony in Washington, D.C., in November.

Last year, eight Minnesota schools made the list.

Why we shouldn't care so much about polls — even if we can't stop looking at them

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 16:08:01 +0000

First a word about why we should pay less attention to polls and then some fresh poll numbers and finally a little historical anecdote.

Political junkies like me can't help looking at poll stories. We should spend less time on them and we should definitely learn to treat them as something less than actual information worth knowing, kind of like the 10th day in the 10-day weather forecast, which have about as much chance of being right as a "fact" told by Michele Bachmann.

We were told, based on polls, that Scott Walker was leading the huge Republican field in Iowa and therefore had to be comsidered as among the serious candidates for the nomation. He soon became the first candidate to drop out of the race. Was that because the polls were "wrong." Not really. It was evanescent. It was based on asking people who had not really formed a firm intention to even attend a caucus let alone whom they would support if they did what they would do six months later if they happened to go and hadn't changed their minds about whom to support.

When Donald Trump first emerged as the poll leader in the Republican field, Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post wrote a piece headlined "Why no one should take Donald Trump seriously in one simple chart." The simple chart showed that, although Trump was then on top of the field when Republicans were asked who was their first choice for the nomination, only 23 percent of Republicans viewed him "favorably" compared to 65 percent of Republicans had an unfavorable view of him. As the field narrows, Cillizza reasonably argued, Republicans will be redistributed among the remaining candidates and they will choose from among those whom they view favorably. Trump had no upside because almost everyone who didn't already support him viewed him unfavorably. Reasonable, right?

Sort of, but not really, as Cillizza honorably conceded in a follow-up post five weeks later headlined "Boy was I wrong about Donald Trump. Here's why." The short version of "here's why" is that Trump's negative number among Republicans had dropped from 65 percent to 40 percent and the portion that viewed him favorably had shot up from 23 to 57. If your "ceiling" is 57 percent of Republicans, you obviously might end up as the nominee. The first poll asked people who hadn't really formed an impression of Trump. I wouldn't want to oversell the bankability of the second poll either. But it was enough to induce Cillizza to bravely admit error. (Personally, I've taken a vow to stop speculating on how the Trump story will turn out.)

Pardon the sports analogy but: The score at the end of the second inning of a baseball game doesn't "predict" the outcome of the game. But at least it's a real score. The runs that have been scored to that point will stay scored. The runs can't change their mind and be transferred to the other team. You can't say that about poll respondents' current feelings about a candidate in a far-off contest.

But we — at least us political junkies — can't stop looking. The guys in charge of putting out fresh political "news" at NBC, which polls in partnership with the Wall Street Journal, led today's edition of "First Read" with "Bad News for the GOP and for Hillary Clinton." It begins:

"With just over 13 months until Election Day 2016, the Republican Party should be sitting pretty. The Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, has seen her popularity drop considerably in the new NBC/WSJ poll. What's more, 62% believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, which isn't good news for the party holding the White House. And President Obama's approval rating — at 47 percent — isn't bad, but it's not great, either. But here is the challenge for the GOP: Almost every other indicator in the poll is a real problem for the party. For starters, the Republican Party (29%-45% fav/unfav rating) is significantly more unpopular than the Democratic Party (41%-35%). Its current presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump, is the most unpopular figure in the entire poll. In addition, GOP voters are in revolt against their own leaders: 72% are dissatisfied with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (which helps explain why Boehner is stepping down from his job). And Republicans are in a MUCH different place than Democrats and independents on issues like abortion, gay rights, and race."

Lastly, when I was working up a recent piece about the history of presidential elections, I meant to include a section on polling (but it got too long, so I dropped it). But I was curious about the most famous "polling disaster of all time," the polling on the 1948 Harry Truman-Thomas Dewey race that lead to the famous picture of victorious President Harry Truman holding up the Chicago Tribune with a banner headline "Dewey Defeats Truman."

There were several reasons for the blunder, but one of the big ones was that the professional pollsters generally believed that few voters changed their minds in the last two weeks — about whom they supported or about whether to vote. As a result, Gallup, for one (but I gather this was true of other polling operations), stopped sampling 10 days before the election.

Now (as one who has sat in a newsroom on many Election Days awaiting results would know) the polling never stops and voters leaving the polls are asked for whom they voted to see how it matches with the latest round of phone or internet polling.

History of complaints trailed former CIO before being hired by University of Minnesota

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 15:51:17 +0000

Scott Studham

Complaints of nepotism and creating a hostile work environment dogged former University of Minnesota Chief Information Officer Scott Studham long before he came to the Twin Cities, according to documents from Studham’s former employer, the University of Tennessee.

Studham resigned as CIO of the U of M on Sept. 4, originally saying he wanted to focus on his family home-school business and train for a triathlon. University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler later acknowledged that he asked Studham to resign based on “the culture in his unit and his relationship with his peers."

Kaler’s request came after several staff members filed complaints against Studham during his more than three-year tenure, allegations that range from excessive equipment purchases and manipulating contracts to hiring his friends and taking unscheduled vacation days. Studham, who held the title of vice president at the university, was paid $265,000 a year.

The documents from Tennessee, obtained through a public-records request, detail human resources complaints and internal investigations into Studham’s behavior both as CIO at the University of Tennessee’s flagship campus, in Knoxville, as well as similar complaints during his tenure at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), in nearby Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The documents also raise additional questions about the vetting process employed by the University of Minnesota for high-profile positions. Studham’s departure came just weeks after the school’s athletics director, Norwood Teague, resigned amid allegations that he sexually harassed two university employees. It was later revealed that Teague was facing a gender discrimination complaint at his previous job at Virginia Commonwealth University while being recruited to join the U of M. VCU later settled the complaint for $125,000.

In Studham’s case, the University of Minnesota established a “system wide search committee” to find the CIO, according to a January 2012 news release announcing his hire. Despite multiple inquiries, officials from the school wouldn’t say whether the committee turned up any complaints against Studham, many of which would have been available through a records request at the time of Studham’s hiring.

“The hiring process that brought Mr. Studham to the University of Minnesota was consistent with other searches for senior executives,” spokesman Evan Lapiska said in a statement. “While we can't speak to internal matters related to Mr. Studham's time at the University of Tennessee, it is important to note that complaints filed with the University of Minnesota about Mr. Studham were not the reason for his resignation. President Kaler felt it was time for a change, and Mr. Studham agreed to step aside.”

Familiar complaints

Some of the complaints from staff at the University of Minnesota echoed allegations from his previous jobs. In Tennessee, where Studham worked before moving to Minnesota, he was cited in internal documents for trying to hire friends for university contracting jobs, as well as posting comments on social media that made staff feel uncomfortable. Employees at both former jobs said staff in Studham’s department were afraid of him.

Studham, in an emailed response to MinnPost, said he was seeing some of the documents for the first time, and was unaware of an internal investigation surrounding his conduct at the University of Tennessee, which was completed after he moved to Minnesota.

“I think it’s worth remembering what I was hired to do at Tennessee and Minnesota (and at ORNL): to be a change agent in an area of vital importance and where there was — and is — a clear need for change. I’m very pleased with what each organization I have led accomplished to cut costs and transform itself for what comes next,” he wrote.

“It’s not a surprise to me some people are unhappy or uncomfortable with change on this scale,” he continued. “I suspect some of the allegations — both from Minnesota and Tennessee — are a reflection of that response.”

‘Not a top leader’

Studham moved into his first CIO job in August of 2004 at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. During the nearly five years he served in that role, Studham was the subject of several personnel complaints, according to ORNL Human Resources Director Debbie Stairs, who was later interviewed by University of Tennessee officials. Her comments were included in the internal documents from the university.

In the interview, Stairs said the lab investigated three incidents involving Studham, including “sexually suggestive” comments made to staff. In one instance, Studham held up a flash drive to employees and said, “Don’t stick it in if you don’t know where it’s been,” according to documents.

Stairs said Studham also took a picture of a colleague who had been drinking at a party, called him a “cross dresser” and included the picture in a powerpoint to staff. Stairs said Studham was “very smart” but “not a top leader” and had “no filter.” There were several other complaints that Stairs said she could not discuss.

Another employee replaced Studham as CIO on January 26, 2009, according to the documents. Officials suspected a security breach at ORNL within IT and Studham was escorted off site in a “shoot first” response to the issue. ORNL officials later said there was no breach and Studham was allowed to return to work, but in a new position as a senior researcher.

In the documents, Stairs first said Studham was not eligible for rehire at ORNL, but later said there was a disagreement between officials as to whether the laboratory should allow him to resign or to terminate him. The final decision was to let him resign, she said, and code him eligible for rehire.

When asked if any of the complaints against Studham resulted in discipline, David Keim, director of communications at ORNL, said he could not comment on personnel issues.

‘Out of the ordinary’ hiring process

In 2007, while still at ORNL, Studham headed up a consulting project for the University of Tennessee. Studham and an associate reported that the university lacked stable and long-term strategies to guide budget-setting and other priorities, recommending the university create a temporary CIO position to provide “strategic leadership,” according to the documents.

Jesse Poore, the former director of the Science Alliance and a friend of Studham’s, was appointed to the University of Tennessee CIO position in 2008. He planned to serve in that role for a year.

As Poore was preparing to depart the university, he recommended Studham to succeed him. The two were close, and Studham knew Poore intended to resign from the CIO job after a year. Poore also knew Studham was unhappy at his current job at ORNL and was no longer serving as CIO, according to the documents.

The university interviewed Studham and offered him the job, which Studham accepted. That’s when Linda Hendricks Harig, director of human resources at the University of Tennessee, received a memo that the college would be hiring Studham at $190,000 a year starting on March 16, 2009.

Hendricks said the “actions taken to appoint Mr. Studham were out of the ordinary” because the job was never posted, but she processed the appointment and did not post the position.

Behavior becomes an issue at UT

It didn’t take long for complaints to surface in at Studham’s new job at UT.

By summer of 2010, human resources was already fielding several allegations about Studham’s behavior in the office. One employee was upset about a public tweet Studham posted about a male staffer who wore a kilt to work: “just threw up in my mouth. One of the guys at work is wearing a dress, again. Sometimes working in IT is better than The Office,” he tweeted.

Hendricks Harig, the human resources director, was worried. “At a minimum it’s poor judgement to post remarks like that on an open, public site (especially when his title and UT are listed). It doesn’t reflect well on University or Scott as a senior leader,” she wrote in an email. “Worst case, employee he made fun of or other UT employees could bring complaint of prejudice or bias.”

Studham took down the post at Harig's urging, but there was no discipline in the case. Responding to an email from a concerned employee, the university said the tweet was not a violation of university policy, as he posted it on a personal account.

The university called in human resources again around the same time to deal with a strange situation regarding one of Studham’s temp workers. She was let go suddenly over an issue with Studham’s calendar, but she continued to send emails to Studham afterward. One email asked him to talk. Another included a cartoon of Studham she made in photoshop.

Studham expressed concerns for his family’s safety, but after interviews with Studham, human resources learned the situation was more complicated. Studham made the temp have dinner with his wife alone before he hired her because his wife “had to approve everyone who worked for him.” He also asked the temp to call his wife after a doctor’s appointment and provide an “update,” saying that “she would not believe him that ‘he should not mow the grass.’ ” The two also regularly exchanged non-work-related emails.

On Aug. 31, 2010, an anonymous letter was sent to the Tennessee Division of State Audit laying out a handful of allegations against Studham, including misuse of student technology fees and using university resources to benefit his wife’s personal business, Windrock IT. The complaint also alleged that Studham was using his position at the university to pass major consulting contracts to his friends.

With questions coming in from the state auditor, the university launched its own internal investigation. In a Feb. 13, 2013, report, a year after Studham had started working at the University of Minnesota, the audit dismissed most claims, but did find that he attempted to hire two friends as consultants without going through a competitive contracting process. The university’s office of the treasurer flagged and stopped both contracts.

View note

“I have on occasion recommended or looked to hire vendors or former employees who have done quality work in the past and whose skills are well-suited to a specific need,” Studham told MinnPost. “My basis for these recommendations is always my professional judgment — based on experience — that the person or vendor is well-suited for the task at hand, has the necessary skills and abilities to be successful and has the work ethic needed to complete the project on time and budget.”

During the investigation, the university posted an internal ad for a new CIO. In emails, Hendricks Harig questioned whether the school should hire someone new or continue on with Studham. That would require “several interventions,” including “frank discussion about concerns” and sending him to the Center for Creative Leadership for a weeklong program “that deals with these issues,” Harig wrote.

Studham did ultimately attend the program, which cost $7,200, and on Sept. 30, the school closed the CIO application process, with plans to reopen it at a later time, according to documents. Studham stayed at the university until February 2012, when officials found a permanent replacement.

A spokeswoman for the University of Tennessee said the school would not comment on human resources or personnel matters.

Allegations of nepotism, strange purchases at Minnesota

Before he was hired at the University of Minnesota, Studham said he was contacted by a search firm and traveled to Minnesota three times in the winter of 2011 to meet with various members of the search committee and give a presentation at a public forum on campus. The co-chairs of the search committee were University of Minnesota Rochester Chancellor Stephen Lehmkuhle and Kathy Brown, the university’s vice president for human resources. Both officials were called for comment on Monday but could not be reached.

Studham started at the university in February 2012, the same month he left Tennessee. Under his tenure, the school became one of the first to invest in an ultra-fast 100-Gbps wide-area network. He also reorganized and centralized the 1,200-person IT department. In 2013, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal named him CIO of the year.

But behind the scenes, staff were starting to complain about Studham. Three complaints were officially filed against Studham in 2013 and 2014. In June 2013, Studham sent out an invitation for a pig roast, which the complainant said did not allow people of Jewish and Muslim faiths to participate in equally. Two other complaints were unsubstantiated.

Between May and August of 2015 alone, four more complaints about Studham reached university officials, according to documents from the university’s Office of Internal Audit, released to news media as part of a data request.

Many of the complaints mirrored allegations at Studham’s two previous jobs. Several complaints lodged against Studham accused him of trying to hire friends for jobs with the university by manipulating contracts to avoid a competitive bidding process. The audit also found that Studham moved six employees to “lesser” jobs in the department, sometimes reducing their salaries, if he was unhappy with their performance.

Studham also made 21 equipment purchases during his time at the university, including a 3D gaming headset, a tablet computer, a body camera, a Bose Bluetooth speaker and 10 Apple computers, including laptops, desktops and Apple Mac minis. Studham said he didn’t know the location of six of the items but he planned to reimburse the university.

The original complaint suggested he was buying computers for his family, which Studham denied in a statement to the university. “Some purchases were to evaluate new technologies, their potential benefits to the university, and develop the ability to speak intelligibly about them when asked,” Studham wrote in response the complaints.

Studham also bought $48,000 of video equipment, which included a $16,000 camera and $3,000 for a video aerial-drone. “The use for these products is not clear,” reads the university investigation. “Reporters suggest it is for movie projects to enhance his and other IT senior leaders’ brands.”

Among the other allegations: Studham registered for conferences and booked hotels and airfare, but would not attend; he would not show up for work for personal reasons without taking vacation time; he would keep staff on and pay them for almost no work to avoid negative feedback.

Even without launching a formal investigation into these complaints, Kaler had decided the “culture” in Studham’s department was evidence enough to ask him to step down.

Two more complaints were filed on Sept. 9 and 10, after Studham resigned, but the university didn’t release the details of the complaints, citing privacy laws. As part of his departure, Studham received a severance package that included three months' salary and agreed not to sue the University of Minnesota.

Special call to expats and snowbirds during fall member drive

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 14:14:15 +0000

Only three days left to the end of MinnPost's fall member drive, and we're halfway to our goal of 200 donations by October 1. We still need your help...now!

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Jane Eastwood is named St. Paul Library's new director

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 19:44:00 +0000

Jane Eastwood has been named the new St. Paul Library director.

Eastwood, who has been the city's education policy director since 2010, will start work at the libraries Oct. 5, replacing Kit Hadley, who is retiring after six years as library director.

In announcing the appointment today, Mayor Chris Coleman said:

Jane’s expertise in educational policy, lifelong learning and equity is a perfect fit for leading our libraries forward as institutions of 21st-century learning. I’m confident she will continue to ensure our libraries are regional, accessible assets for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Eastwood had previously worked at the Hennepin County and Minneapolis Public Libraries, the Science Museum of Minnesota and Scholarship America.

In her education policy role with the city, she helped develop Sprockets, the out-of-school-time network, and Right Track, the youth career development program. She also worked to launch the city's racial equity work and served on local education and nonprofit boards.

Minnesota’s Second District: Where are the candidates?

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 15:39:14 +0000

CC/Flickr/USFWS Mountain-Prairie

An open congressional seat is a rare opportunity, yet, so far, a crowded field of top-tier candidates has failed to materialize.

When Rep. John Kline announced his retirement from Congress earlier this month, he created a rare thing: an open Congressional seat.

Political talents can wait for generations until a long-serving incumbent leaves office — with Kline’s departure, Minnesota politicos and press assumed ambitious candidates from both parties would pounce on this special opportunity. Kline had held the seat on lockdown since 2002 — wouldn’t scores of politicians come forward to run?

Not really: the packed field many imagined has failed to materialize. In the weeks since Kline’s retirement, several high-profile Republicans in the district have declined to run for the seat, leading some to doubt if the GOP can keep the district in their hands. It also backs up a broader, nationwide trend: for top talent, the prospect of running for Congress is no longer an appealing one.

McFadden, Pawlenty, Thompson rule it out

The state of affairs in CD2 today is a stark departure from what it was in the days immediately following Kline’s announcement, when a number of state legislators, past candidates, and other prominent Republicans left the door open to a congressional run. Then the dominoes began to fall.

State Sen. Dave Thompson of Lakeville, who sought the GOP nomination for governor in 2014, said he would not run. Former U.S. Senate candidate Mike McFadden, with more name recognition than nearly every other potential GOP candidate, ruled out a run. Former judge and Minnesota first lady Mary Pawlenty, who would have benefitted from the political and fundraising connections of her husband, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, similarly chose not to seek the seat. Other viable candidates, like state Rep. Steve Drazkowski and state Sen. Eric Pratt, declined to run.

So far, the only declared Republican candidates are David Gerson, a Tea Party conservative who’d challenged Kline before, and former State Sen. John Howe, who is promising to be as conservative as possible while remaining electable. Thus far, no Republican has officially entered who could credibly carry on the establishment mantle of Kline, who is known to be close to (now outgoing) Speaker John Boehner. Before Boehner announced his resignation, both Gerson and Howe said they would not support him.

The slow filling of the CD2 field is a far cry from how past open-seat contests in Minnesota have unfolded. In the safely Republican 3rd District in 2008 and 6th District in 2014, the eventual winners surfaced shortly after the seat became available. Tom Emmer announced his bid a week after Michele Bachmann announced her retirement, and Erik Paulsen was essentially the ordained successor of Jim Ramstad.

On the Democratic side, two candidates — Angie Craig and Mary Lawrence — had been in the race before Kline’s announcement. Craig, a medical technology executive, and Lawrence, a former VA doctor, have raised quite a bit of money — Craig through fundraising, Lawrence through a large personal loan to her own campaign — despite not coming up through the state legislature or DFL party infrastructure. Neither has previously held elected office.

But Kline’s sudden retirement was expected to prompt other, more prominent CD2 Democrats to re-evaluate their chances, now considering facing a lower-profile, primary-scarred Republican instead of a powerful incumbent. State Rep. Joe Atkins, for example, was floated as a strong, experienced potential candidate. He hinted at a run, but is now saying he’ll keep his options open, and may not run at all.

The job nobody wants

In announcing their not-runs, CD2 Republicans have generally trotted out the boilerplate: “it’s not the right time for me,” said Pratt; Drazkowski said he could do his “best job” serving back in Minnesota.

State Rep. Pat Garofalo was more candid: “I’d rather stick a fork in my eye,” he said.

Looking deeper, there are a number of factors that might have potential candidates reaching for the flatware instead of considering a run for Congress. First and foremost, the district is such a toss-up that campaigning there will require enormous energy and money — not to mention a willingness to withstand the scrutiny of the party committees and super PACs salivating over a rare open-seat contest. One Democratic challenger, Mary Lawrence, already has a million dollar war chest. Some would-be candidates see a year ahead filled with constant fundraising, attack ads and national attention, and say, “No thanks.”

But say you withstand all that and actually win the seat. Great — but you’ll have to do it all over again two years later. The district won’t be a safe one for either party any time soon, and for a new representative, the incumbent’s advantage will be weak. (Chip Cravaack could tell you as much.) Because of fundraising pressure, campaign activity in these marginal seats tends to start earlier, too.

Running for CD2 — from either party — would basically be a perma-campaign, says Steven Schier, professor of political science at Carleton College. For a CD2 representative, for most of your career — however long it lasts — “you’re a piñata,” Schier says. “You’ve gotta really want it.”

Drazkowski told MinnPost that running now is basically a “four-year commitment because of how close the numbers lie in the district…no doubt, that’s part of the equation that people think about.”

Beyond that, for many would-be candidates, being a member of Congress just isn’t worth the trouble anymore. The travel back and forth each week and the time away from family is punishing: Dave Thompson cited it as a major reason why he chose not to run, and Kline mentioned it was a factor in his decision to retire.

If the travel were worth it, that would be one thing — but Congress’ dysfunction, constant campaign pressure, and dismal public perception are prompting political aspirants to make their marks elsewhere. Nationwide, parties are having trouble recruiting top-level candidates to run for U.S. House seats, with many preferring to run for local or state-level offices where they might have a greater impact.

Without a doubt, Schier says, “the U.S. House position is less attractive now than it used to be. It’s not as satisfying a job as it used to be.” Thompson echoed that: “the thought that it’s not as appealing a job as it used to be, that’s possible,” he said, but added it wasn’t his main concern.

Drazkowski recalled a meeting with a supporter: “She said, Draz, we wanna keep you here because you’ll get lost and they’ll change you in Washington. That’s what some people certainly think of Washington.” It was a part, albeit a small one, of his decision, Drazkowski said.

Parties confident

Minnesota politics-watchers are confident more candidates will come out of the woodwork soon. Because of the district’s competitiveness, selling potential candidates — and more importantly, their families — on a run could just take more time than in safer districts.

Some viable candidates could join Howe and Gerson in the race, including former state Sen. Ted Daley and former state Rep. Pam Myhra. (Former U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Bills didn’t close the door on a run, either.) The establishment could line up for Daley, a Gulf War vet and active Army Reservist whose center-right profile and military background casts him in the Kline mold.

But those who watch the district acknowledge that its GOP establishment has drifted rightward in recent years. Relative moderates, like Rep. Pat Garofalo, declined to run. Broadly, the politics of the Republican Party have moved to the right since Kline was elected, says Carleton’s Schier. “That’s evident among activists in the 2nd District…if someone like Gerson is the nominee, they’ll have trouble being competitive.”

Outwardly, both state parties are projecting airs of confidence. DFL chairman Ken Martin said that “the tide is blue in CD2.” State GOP chairman Keith Downey acknowledged that the competitiveness of the race might be causing some candidates to take longer to make a decision, but added no one should be concerned about it. “It takes a toll and people weigh the costs…people don’t enter it lightly anymore,” he said.

“Congress is one of the best jobs in politics, you’re in the middle of the most important issues, it’s a dynamic body,” he said. “But it’s also one of the toughest, if not the toughest.”

“I’m not surprised at where we’re at…I’m confident we’ll have an outstanding candidate.”