Election Recap

I know it’s nearly a week late, but some family medical issues have kept me from posting over recent days. 

Let’s review the results of the election:

State Senate District 34:  Julianne Ortman (63.5%) defeats Laura Helmer (30.3%) and Tim Biros (6.2%)

State House District 34A:  Ernie Leidiger (65.1%) defeats Leanne Pouliot Kunze (34.9%)

The DFL candidates were facing a stiff tide.  Helmer and Kunze ran probably the best races the DFL has put up in this area in a while, but achieved similar results to previous cycles.

Chaska Mayor:  Mark Windschitl (96.0%) unopposed

Hopefully, we’ll have a race in 2012.  Contested elections are a good thing.

Chaska City Council Ward 1:  Scott Millard (57.9%) defeats Gino Businaro (41.6%)

For the first time since 2002, a Chaska City Council incumbent goes down to defeat.  Interesting that Businaro is the one to pay for the Council’s perceived unwillingness to listen to the people, as Businaro has been the closest thing to a “voice of dissent” on the current Council.   It will be interesting to see what Millard brings to the Council, as his candidate forum appearance gave little insight.

Chaska City Council Ward 3:  Chris Schulz (71.7%) defeats Charles Stech (27.9%)

Stech seemed to have ideas, but for some reason got very little traction in his campaign.  Schulz has grown quite a bit in the last year.  He was confident and in command at the candidate forum.  It will be interesting to see if that command carries over the council meetings over the next term.

Carver County Commissioner District 3:  Randy Maluchnik (52.7%) defeats Jay Swenson (47.1%)

A close race that came down to the last precinct.    Strong performance by Swenson in Victoria was not enough to overcome Maluchnik’s advantages in the Chaska portion of the district.

34A House race named “one to watch”

MN Progressive Project has named the State House District 34A race as “one to watch” tonight.

Brick City Blog Endorsements

State House District 34A:  Leanne Pouliot Kunze

Frequent readers of this blog know that I’m a big fan of Leanne’s.  The two posts linked below give you key reasons to understand why I am so enthusiastic about her campaign for the State House.

I’m Voting for Leanne Pouliot Kunze

Do You Know Leanne Pouliot Kunze?

State Senate District 34:  Laura Helmer

Laura Helmer would be a terrific addition to the State Senate.  A moderate, pro-business Democrat, Helmer intends to start a bi-partisan small business caucus in the Senate — putting actions to her words.  The election of Helmer (and Kunze) would give this area responsible, solutions-focused representation in the Legisalture — a welcome change from the partisan games we’ve seen from Julianne Ortman.

Carver County Commissioner District 3:  Randy Maluchnik

There are certainly some valid critiques one could make of the current incumbents on the Carver County Board.  The septic system situation at the Waconia Ballroom has certainly been handled poorly.  Depending on which property tax metrics you use, you could make the argument that Carver County is somewhat overtaxed.

That said, Jay Swenson (and the challengers in the other districts) have been light on specific changes they would make.  It’s easy to point out things that may have gone wrong in the past, but it’s far more difficult to indicate specifically how you would accomplish what you say you’re going to do.

Randy Maluchnik has been a solid Commissioner.  He has good relations across the County.  He (and the rest of the board) have seemed to get the message on keeping a closer eye on the tax levy, as the county has reduced the levy for 2011.  Importantly, Maluchnik has also rejected the call to make the board a partisan body.  We don’t need partisan politics infecting our county and local affairs.  He deserves re-election.

Chaska City Council:  No Endorsements

As I don’t live in Ward 1 or Ward 3, I’m not going to give a formal endorsement.  However, a few thoughts on the races here.  As I noted about a month ago, the challengers in these races have the burden of proof.  There are decisions made and actions taken by this Council that could provide a platform for making such a case.  Based on what I’ve seen, though, the challengers have not made their case (and granted, not living in the Wards in question, I may not be aware of all the campaign activity). 

I’m particularly hopeful that Gino Businaro will push for increased financial discipline on the city’s part should he be re-elected next week.  His “no” vote on the city budget last year was appropriate, and he should not be afraid to vote “no” again.

Money matters revisited

A few months ago, I looked at the campaign finance reports filed by the candidates for State Senate District 34 and State House District 34A.  The last pre-election reports are now in — let’s check out how things have changed.

State Senate District 34:  Incumbent Republican State Senator Julianne Ortman has raised $22,823, while DFL challenger Laura Helmer has raised $16,896.  Ortman received a larger state campaign finance subsidy — $13,603 versus $11,026 for Helmer.  As of October 25, however, the two are essentially equal in cash on hand.  Helmer has a slight advantage here, with $10,883 to Ortman’s $10,663.

State House District 34A:  The battle for this open seat continues to be tightly contested on all fronts.  DFL-endorsed Leanne Pouliot Kunze has raised $12,320, while Republican-endorsed Ernie Leidiger has raised $12,901 (which includes a $3,000 loan from Leidiger to his campaign).  Kunze maintains a signficant cash on hand advantage, with $5,935 versus Leidiger’s $1,306.

In summary, both races continue to be more competitive than in past cycles.  In particular, Kunze is on equal footing in her race, which stands in stark contrast to the 2:1 financial advantage Republicans have traditionally held in the district.

I’m voting for Leanne Pouliot Kunze

We’re about two weeks before Election Day, and it’s time to review the critical local races on the ballot.

The race for State Representative in District 34A has been one I’ve spent a lot of time with this past year.  It’s really a critical race, and unlike most cycles, it figures to be a truly competitive race.

I’m voting for Leanne Pouliot Kunze.  Let me tell you why.

Leanne is an exceptional candidate.  She has lived in this area for her entire life.  She has raised her family here.  She knows the needs of our community inside and out.  She is a moderate, responsible voice who will bring fair-minded people together to find solutions.

Let’s get off the sidelines, 34A

For the last eight years, State House District 34A has been represented by Republican Rep. Paul Kohls.  Since Republicans went into the minority in the State House in 2007, Kohls has precisely zero significant legislative accomplishments. 

Kohls chose to grind the partisan ax and engage in pointless antics designed to position himself for his short-lived campaign for governor. 

Do you know Leanne Pouliot Kunze?

Frank Long is the chair of the Carver County Republican Party.  I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting him, but I can tell you two things I already know about him.  First, he’s a highly partisan guy.  Second, he doesn’t know Leanne Pouliot Kunze.

Money matters in the House District 34A race

DFL-endorsed candidate Leanne Kunze reported strong fundraising results through July 19, with a total of $5,456 raised.  Kunze’s cash-on-hand was a solid $3,173.14. 

Both figures represent significant improvements in fundraising over previous DFL challengers in the district, and show that Kunze is doing a better job of fundraising than other non-incumbent DFL House candidates in the area. 

Ernie Leidiger, the Republican-endorsed candidate has not yet filed his report with the State Campaign Finance Board.  Per statute, Leidiger is incurring fines of $50 per day for each day late (the report was due on July 26).

As with the State Senate race, the DFL candidate is placing themselves in position to be very competitive in November.  With 34A being an open seat, and Kunze’s long background in the area (compared to Leidiger’s relatively recent move into the area from California), this figures to be a hard-fought race to the end.

[UPDATE]:  Leidiger has filed his campaign report.  He reported raising $7,158 — which includes $2,000 in loans and $1,100 in cash contributions directly from the candidate.  Leidiger reproted a cash on hand position of $3,640.60 with unpaid bills of over $3,800.   After the filing period, Leidiger lent his campaign an additional $1,000.

Kunze to challenge Kohls in 34A

Received this notification from Leanne Kunze campaign.  I’ll have a lot more to say on this between now and Election Day, but Leanne is an excellent candidate who deserves your attention and your vote.

CHASKA – Leanne Kunze of Laketown Township on Saturday received the DFL endorsement to challenge state Rep. Paul Kohls, R-Victoria, for his District 34A seat. She was nominated at the District 34 DFL convention at Chaska Middle School East.

Kunze said she was honored to receive the endorsement but hesitated because Kohls and his wife are family friends.

“This was a hard decision to make. I had initially thought about running while Rep. Kohls was traveling around the state on an exploratory run for governor. Paul and Kelly are family friends and I don’t want this to get personal,” said Kunze. “But we need to make sure Minnesota is on a path where we can protect working families, fight for property tax fairness and ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are protected. I was extremely disappointed in Paul’s recent partisan vote against protecting the most vulnerable in our society, including 8,000 veterans.”

Kunze said it isn’t about partisan politics to her. “People in our community aren’t Democrats and they aren’t Republicans. They are moderate, independent-thinking people. They want someone that will be consistent with what they think is right for the community.”

Kunze said she would arrive at the capital with a very specific agenda. “The challenge our state faces requires leadership that is looking to get things done instead of fighting partisan battles. We need to make sure we are investing in education so students can get a world-class education, we need to properly fund local governments so property tax increases aren’t required in order to maintain local communities and we need to ensure that working families have strong opportunities to make their lives a little better.”

A longtime resident of Carver County, Kunze has worked as a child-protection social worker and has been a labor advocate. She is a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church. “My faith and experience working with the public has led me to heed the call and ensure that Minnesotans continue our trend of looking out for our neighbors as much as we look out for ourselves. Only when we move forward together will we all be successful.” Kunze said.

Kunze is a 1989 graduate of Holy Trinity Catholic High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology at the College of St. Catherine. Kunze is working on her master’s in public affairs at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota.

Kunze and her husband Tony have two sons, Tyler and Ethan.