Mark Announces Duluth Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon as Running Mate!

Dayton Announces Duluth Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon for Lieutenant Governor

DFL Candidate for Governor Mark Dayton announced today that his Running Mate for Lieutenant Governor is Duluth State Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon.  In announcing her selection, Dayton said, “I am very proud to introduce the woman I believe will be Minnesota’s next Lieutenant Governor, Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon.  I am deeply grateful that she is willing to leave the Minnesota Senate, where she has been such an outstanding leader and superb public servant for her constituents in Duluth, to gain an even more important leadership position on behalf of all the people of Minnesota.

Dayton continued, “Yvonne is the first and only person I asked to be my Running Mate.  She fits perfectly my priorities for that important Constitutional Office.  I want a Lieutenant Governor who will be a strong partner with me in leading our state toward a better future.  Senator Prettner Solon brings her extensive experience in both state and local government.  Her very thoughtful, sensitive, and visionary leadership and public service are further informed by her life experiences, which have forged a woman I deeply respect and admire.

“I look forward to our creating together a ‘Senior Citizens Service Center’ within the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, which will provide Minnesota’s seniors with one toll-free number they can call with any problems they are having with state government.  As Lieutenant Governor, Yvonne will also play a key role in working with the Minnesota Legislature to pass our Administration’s legislative initiatives.”

Senator Prettner Solon said, “I am honored to have been asked by Mark Dayton to be his Running Mate.  I have always admired him for his incredible integrity.  I know that he is not running because he needs to be Governor, but because he cares deeply for the people of Minnesota and he knows what needs to be done to put our state back on track.  One need only spend a short time with him to understand how genuine he is and what deep sincerity motivates him.  Besides his previous executive experience as Commissioner of Economic Development under the Perpich Administration and as the State Auditor in the 1990s, what better credentials could a state want from its governor than his selfless wish to improve the economic environment and quality of life for all Minnesotans.”

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Mark’s Statement Introducing Duluth Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon as Running Mate!

I am very proud to introduce the woman I believe will be Minnesota’s next Lieutenant Governor: Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon.  I am deeply grateful that she is willing to leave the Minnesota Senate, where she has been such an outstanding leader and superb public servant for her constituents in Duluth to gain an even more important leadership position on behalf of all the people of Minnesota.

I have known and admired Senator Prettner Solon, since she was President of the Duluth City Council.  I will always remember, with the highest esteem, her giving up her campaign for Mayor of Duluth to care for her husband, my long and very good friend, Senator Sam Solon, during the last days of his life.  I was very proud to support her election to his Senate seat.

In the Minnesota Senate, Senator Prettner Solon has championed legislation to reduce the costs of prescription drugs and health care programs in Minnesota.  She has been the Chief Senate Author of the Children’s Health Security Act, which would provide universal coverage for all Minnesota children.  She also introduced the Pharmaceutical Pricing Criteria Reporting Act and the Prescription Drug Bulk Purchasing Program aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs for consumers and state programs.

As Chair of the Senate’s Energy, Utilities, Technology, and Communications Committee, Senator Prettner Solon has been a leader in passing progressive energy policies, including the Next Generation Energy Act, which established nation-setting greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals for Minnesota, and the Sustainable Buildings 2030 proposal, which requires new state-bonded buildings to be carbon neutral, through energy efficiency and conservation, by the year 2030.

Yvonne is the first and only person I asked to run with me in this election.  She fits perfectly my priorities: someone who is superbly well-qualified in her own right to be Governor, if despite my nightly prayers, that would become necessary.  More optimistically, I want a Lieutenant Governor who will be a strong partner with me in leading our state toward a better future.  Senator Prettner Solon brings her extensive experience in both state and local government.  Her very thoughtful, sensitive, and visionary leadership and public service are further informed by her life experiences, which have forged a woman I deeply respect and admire.

I look forward to our creating together a “Senior Citizens Service Center” within the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, which will provide Minnesota’s seniors with one toll-free number they can call with any problems they are having with state government.  As Lieutenant Governor, Yvonne will also play a key role in working with the Minnesota Legislature to pass our Administration’s legislative initiatives.

I am very proud to introduce to you my choice to be the next Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota:  Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon.

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Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon’s Biography

Yvonne Prettner Solon’s political life began in 1988 with her election to the Duluth City Council where she served three four-year terms.  She was the Council’s Vice President four times, and was elected as the Council President in 1992 and again in 1996.  She served as Deputy Mayor from 1992 to 2000.  She chaired the Council Planning and Business Development committee and was a member of the Inter-Governmental Relations committee and the Parks, Library and Authorities Committee.  In 2002, she ran for the State Senate seat which was vacated by her late husband Senator Sam Solon and was re-elected again in 2002.  From 2003 through 2006, she served as Vice Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Budget Division and of the Higher Education Budget Division.  She also served on the State and Local Government Operations Committee, the Agriculture, Veterans and Gaming Committee, the Legislative Audit Commission, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board and the Duluth Graduate Medical Education Council.

She was re-elected in 2006 and currently serves as Chair of the Energy, Utilities, Technology and Communications Committee.  Additionally, she serves as Co-Chair of the bi-cameral Legislative Energy Commission.  She was re-appointed to the Health and Human Services Budget Division, as well as three standing committees:  Capital Investment; Health, Housing & Family Security; and, Commerce & Consumer Protection.  She continues to serve on the Iron Range Resources Board, Duluth Graduate Medical Education Council, and has also been appointed to the Great Lakes Commission and the Rural Health Advisory Council.

In the Senate, Senator Prettner Solon quickly became a leading health care policy advocate and has championed legislation to curb the costs of prescription drugs and health care programs in Minnesota.  She has been the chief senate author of the Children’s Health Security Act which would provide universal coverage for all Minnesota children.  She also introduced the Pharmaceutical Pricing Criteria Reporting Act and the Prescription Drug Bulk Purchasing Program aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs for consumers and state programs.  She has also taken an active role in passing thoughtful, progressive energy policies.  During the 2007 legislative session, she was the chief author of the Next Generation Energy Act, which established nation-setting greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals for Minnesota.  During the 2008 legislative session she passed several important energy initiatives, including the Sustainable Buildings 2030 proposal which requires new state-bonded buildings to be carbon neutral, through energy efficiency and conservation, by the year 2030.

Senator Prettner Solon is a clinical psychologist who represents Duluth in the Minnesota State Senate.  She attended the University of Minnesota – Duluth and earned a B.A. degree in Psychology and Social Development in 1979 and a Masters degree in Psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1981.  While completing her Master’s program, she worked as a private consultant doing evaluations for, among others, the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation, the National Alliance for Business, the U.S. Department of Labor, Duluth Public Schools and UMD.  She spent the next four years as the Director of the Marty Mann Halfway House for Women and then was a senior psychologist at the Range Mental Health Center in Virginia, MN before finding her career home at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth in 1985.  In 1997, she was named Clinical Director of the Compass North Behavioral Health Clinic at St. Luke’s.  In the interim between legislative sessions, she continues to practice as a psychologist at Saint Luke’s Hillside Mental Health Center.

She has two children and a grandchild and enjoys spending time with them as well as reading, traveling, snorkeling, walking, and golfing.

Dayton Leads DFL Race for Governor! (MPR/Humphrey Institute Poll)

St. Paul, Minn. — A new Minnesota Public Radio News/Humphrey Institute poll shows former Sen. Mark Dayton with a comfortable lead over the other two candidates competing in the DFL gubernatorial primary.

The poll also found that if the general election were held right now, Dayton might have a slight edge, but it would be a toss-up regardless of which Democrat ends up taking on Republican candidate Rep. Tom Emmer.

The poll of 701 Minnesota adults, which was taken May 13-May 16, shows Dayton is the favorite among likely DFL primary voters by a 10-point margin: 38 percent to 28 percent over House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher.

Dayton, Kelliher and former state Rep. Matt Entenza are competing for the DFL spot on the general election ballot. Entenza received just 6 percent of support in the poll. Whoever wins the August DFL primary will face Emmer in the November election.

Kelliher received the DFL party endorsement last month. Dayton did not seek it and DFL Party leaders punished him for that by barring him from the state convention. Still, Dayton is getting more support from Democrats.

“This poll is a real slap in the face to the Democratic Party,” said University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs, who oversaw the poll.

Jacobs, who heads the Humphrey Institute’s Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, says it’s not just that Dayton has a big lead over Kelliher among likely DFL primary voters. The poll shows Dayton is considerably more popular than Kelliher with women in the party.

“The failure of women to rally around Kelliher is one of most surprising findings we have, and it’s not just kind of, by a little bit,” Jacobs said. “It’s a solid 8-point difference between Kelliher and Dayton.”

Kelliher has campaigned aggressively on the notion that she could become Minnesota’s first woman governor.

“DFLers, are you ready to make some history? Are you ready to make history together?” she said the party’s convention in Duluth.

If the matchup numbers against Dayton are troubling for Kelliher, the good news for her campaign is that 28 percent of likely DFL primary voters are undecided.

Dayton said Wednesday that he believes the election will be close.

“It’s a very volatile political year,” Dayton told MPR’s Morning Edition. “I think people are going to be making up their minds and changing their minds and making them up again.”

When it comes to the general election, the poll shows only Dayton would win against Republican Tom Emmer. But Dayton would win by just 4 percentage points, well within the poll’s margin of error of 5.8 percentage points.

The poll shows Emmer beating Kelliher or Entenza, but, again, not by enough to be statistically significant.

In a written statement, Kelliher suggested her work at the State Capitol contributed to her second-place finish in the DFL gubernatorial poll.

“My opponents have been spending their own personal fortunes to get a head start in this race,” she said. “We’re going to win this election door-by-door, voter-by-voter.”

While Emmer has no primary battle on the Republican side, the poll indicates he faces a challenge in uniting the GOP behind him.

A third of the Republicans who responded to the poll said they were either undecided, supporting a Democrat or backing the Independence Party-endorsed candidate Tom Horner.

Jacobs says for the sole Republican candidate to have only two-thirds of party members backing him is extraordinary, and not good news for Emmer.

“Emmer, perhaps because he’s too conservative, is struggling at the outset to rally and unite Republicans,” Jacobs said. “Now, there’s a lot of time to campaign and Emmer, unlike other Republicans who’ve run for governor, is really a new name for many Minnesota voters, so we’ll have to see how that develops. But at this point, the [result] is a red flag.”

In all of the matchups, the Independence Party’s Tom Horner received roughly 10 percent support.

About other politicians, survey respondents gave Congress just a 23 percent approval rating. But nearly two-thirds, 64 percent, said they approved of DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s job performance.

Less than half, 48 percent, gave Democratic Sen. Al Franken a positive rating.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is leaving office after his second term ends this year, saw his approval rating drop to 43 percent, a near-historic low.



Mark’s Statement on the End of the Legislative Session

Statement on the “Very Disappointing” End of the Legislative Session

“At the end of a very disappointing legislative session, we again see Minnesota sacrificed on the altar of Gov. Pawlenty’s presidential ambitions.  The people he’s hurt the worst are our schoolchildren forced into more overcrowded classrooms and four-day school weeks, the poorest of the poor needing health care, and middle class taxpayers facing higher property taxes.

“We know the answer to Minnesota’s fiscal crisis. If the richest Minnesotans simply paid their fair share of our state’s tax burden — no more or less than middle class families – the Governor and Legislature could have balanced our budget and funded our schools. But Gov. Pawlenty’s political ambitions wouldn’t allow that — and sadly the Legislature has gone along with him.

“Nearly $2 billion was taken from money promised Minnesota’s school districts, thus proving that protecting tax loopholes for the rich is more important to some than educating our school children.  Many districts will have to borrow money to pay their bills, since Gov. Pawlenty won’t raise the revenues to pay his bills.  More borrowing means more teacher layoffs, more overcrowded classrooms, and more children being left behind.

“It’s time for real answers. Not gimmicks. And as Governor, I promise we will finally force the richest Minnesotans to pay their fair share of taxes, meet our obligations to our children, and put Minnesota back on the path of responsible, progressive leadership.

“It will take years for Minnesota to clean up the wreckage from Governor Pawlenty’s misguided ideology and ambition.  As Governor, I will clean up his mess as fast as I can.”

Mark at Fishing Opener with Minnesota Junior State Bassmaster Champion Michaela Anderson!

Rep. Emmer’s Unbelievable Excuses

Mark Dayton’s Statement on Rep. Emmer’s Unbelievable Excuses

“When Rep. Emmer missed the vote in the MN House on Gov. Pawlenty’s unallotments, his excuse was he attending his son’s hockey practice.  He later admitted he was attending a political event in Willmar.

“When he missed a crucial vote on the Outdoor Heritage Fund, his excuse was he was attending his daughter’s softball game.  That vote, however, occurred after midnight!

“Rep. Emmer claims government is not working; well he’s certainly not.  He’s missed nearly half the votes in the last crucial week of the legislative session.  And some of his excuses are truly unbelievable.

“Tell Minnesotans the truth, Rep. Emmer.  And get back to the work you’re being paid by taxpayers to do.”

Mark Dayton’s Statement on Pawlenty’s Judicial Appointments

Mark Dayton’s Statement on Pawlenty’s Judicial Appointments

“Once again Governor Pawlenty has sacrificed the best interests of Minnesotans for his Presidential ambitions.  His appointment to the Minnesota Supreme Court has no prior judicial experience and has been a Member of the Minnesota Bar for only eight months.  Clearly the Governor had no interest in appointing the best-qualified person to our State’s highest court.

“Instead, the Governor is making another crass appeal to the country’s right-wing zealots by appointing a former clerk of Justice Clarence Thomas, who currently serves on an Executive Committee of the Federalist Society.

“Shame on you, Governor Pawlenty.”

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United Steelworkers Endorse Mark!

United Steelworkers Endorse Mark Dayton for Governor

The United Steelworkers, which represents 21,000 active and retired members across Minnesota, today endorsed Mark Dayton for Governor.

USW District Director Bob Bratulich said that Dayton’s previous support for Steelworkers and their families and his commitment to bring more jobs to Minnesota earned their support.  “Mark has been there for working families’ issues that impact every sector of our Union from pension reform, unfair trade, health care, and bringing Minnesota back to leading the nation in economic development and creating jobs which will be good for all of Minnesota.”

Charlie Olson, a Steelworker from the Iron Range, added: “Mark not only supported issues that affected the mining communities of the Iron Range but supported issues that impacted working families all over our district.  Mark gets it, with good jobs and good education, Minnesota will once again lead the nation.”

Upon receiving the endorsement, Dayton said: “I am deeply grateful for the United Steelworkers’ endorsement.  I have worked very hard to add jobs and save jobs for their members.  They recognize that I am the best candidate to be Minnesota’s next Jobs Governor.”

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Mark On the Picket Line with the Minnesota Nurses Association!

Mark, on the picket line with the Minnesota Nurses Association, as they fight for a fair contract during the collective bargaining process.  May 6, 2010.

Mark Dayton’s Jobs Plan for a Better Minnesota!

Mark Dayton recently released his ten point jobs plan to build “a Better Minnesota.”

Click to see the plan in full!

Mark Dayton Releases Minnesota Jobs Plan; Makes Jobs “Top Priority”

Mark Dayton Releases “Minnesota Jobs Plan”, Makes Jobs “Top Priority”;

Will Hold First “Minnesota Jobs Meeting” Tomorrow in Virginia

With Minnesota facing widespread unemployment and our future workforce harmed by Governor Pawlenty’s drastic under-funding of public education, DFL Candidate for Governor Mark Dayton released his comprehensive jobs plan to put Minnesotans back to work.

“Expanding our state’s economy and putting unemployed Minnesotans back to work will be my top priority.” Said Dayton.  “As Governor, I will continue to do everything I possibly can, anywhere in our state, nation, or world, to bring new jobs to Minnesota.”

Dayton’s detailed proposal will create immediate jobs for unemployed Minnesotans  with a 2011 “Jobs Now” Bonding Bill that will put thousands of men and women in our building trades back to work, establishing an “Energy Savings Fund” that will invest in energy saving and alternative energy retrofits of every public building in Minnesota over the next decade, and issuing Federally-backed Highway Construction Bonds that provide the necessary investments to improve our state highway system.

In addition, the Dayton plan will invest in small businesses, create a new State-Local Economic Development Partnership, increase the State’s tourism advertising and promotion, and invest heavily in our public schools so the workers of tomorrow are well-educated and prepared to succeed.

“Unlike other candidates, I have not just talked about creating thousands of new jobs; I’ve done it,” said Dayton. ”As Minnesota’s Commissioner of Economic Development in 1978, I implemented the state’s new tourism initiatives. As Commissioner of the expanded Department of Energy and Economic Development from 1983 through 1986, I led the new jobs programs that encouraged businesses to locate or expand here and to create thousands of new jobs for Minnesotans. As U.S. Senator, I traveled to Sao Palo, Brazil to save the jobs of 350 Minnesota steelworkers. I helped save the Duluth Air National Guard base, which is the city’s ninth largest employer. I helped General Mills get federal approval of a major jobs expanding initiative. As Governor, I will continue to do everything I possibly can, anywhere in our state, nation, or world, to bring new jobs to Minnesota.

Tomorrow Dayton will hold the first of several “Minnesota Jobs Meetings” starting in Virginia, where he will meet with business, labor, and local development leaders.  In the coming weeks he will hold regional meetings throughout our state to discuss his plan and gather additional ideas for accelerating Minnesota’s economic recovery.