Supporting Our Troops: Dayton Proposes Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Fund

Dayton Proposes State “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” Funding

Speaking this afternoon to the Hibbing VFW, DFL Gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton will propose a matching state grant program to communities throughout Minnesota to start or expand their “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” outreach to returning Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans.  The meeting will be held at the Hibbing VFW from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

“Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” is the pioneering program of the Minnesota National Guard to provide ongoing supportive services to National Guardsmen and women, in order to assist them and their families with their reintegration into their civilian lives.  In 2006, while he was a U.S. Senator, Dayton secured the first Congressional funding for this program, which has now expanded nationwide.

“As Governor, I will spearhead the expansion of this important program throughout Minnesota.  No one, who has served our country as heroically as these returning Iraq and Afghan War veterans, should return home alone.  After their deserved homecoming celebrations, they face the challenges of reuniting with their families, returning to their former jobs or finding new jobs, and readjusting to civilian life after the enormous stresses of their constant exposures to snipers, roadside explosive devices, and suicide bombers.”

Dayton will propose new state funding of $2 million for each year of the next biennium that will provide one-time seed grants of up to $25,000, to be matched equally by contributions from local governments, businesses, churches, and individuals, for the start-up or expansion of community “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” efforts.  The grant program would be administered by the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs.  One requirement of the grant would be that the program be continued after the initial state grant has expired.

Dayton said, “As Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Minnesota National Guard, I will take personal responsibility for this program and for enlisting the active involvement of Minnesota businesses, churches, and other civic organizations in assisting these true American heroes and in broadening their outreach services to all veterans.  These men and women have heroically served our country; they deserve our support in welcoming them back home.”

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Dayton to Other Candidates: “What’s Your Plan?”

Dayton to Other Candidates: “What’s Your Plan?“

DFL Gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton today challenged the other DFL, Republican, and Independence Party candidates for Governor to reveal their plans for eliminating the state’s projected $5.8 billion deficit for the next biennium.

“My opponents obviously disagree with me. But just criticizing me isn’t good enough. It’s time for them to give us their answers. I say to my opponents: ‘What’s your plan?’”

Dayton Calls on Mn/DOT to End all Contracting with Allegedly Negligent Firm URS

Dayton Calls on Mn/DOT to End all Contracting with Allegedly Negligent Firm URS

St. Paul, MN: Mark Dayton today called on the Minnesota Department of Transportation to end all contracting with allegedly negligent firm URS.  The private contracting giant has been the defendant in several closed and ongoing lawsuits alleging that they cut corners and failed to do their job because they did not determine from multiple inspections that the I-35W bridge was unsafe and in imminent danger of collapse.

At the time of the tragic bridge collapse on August 1, 2007, URS had been under contract with Mn/DOT since 2003 to inspect and analyze the strength of the structure.

Internal URS e-mail messages which were subsequently made public showed both alleged negligence and incompetence.  In one such e-mail message, written in 2006, URS engineer Ed Zhou acknowledged that URS “will not calculate actual capacities of all the  [bridge] connections since that is too much work, although that provides the most accurate results.”

In another URS memo from a 2006 meeting on the bridge’s safety, the company noted that if gusset plate buckling were to occur, “it is not catastrophic.”  Gusset plate failure is widely believed to be the reason why the 35-W bridge fell down.

“I am concerned that Ed [Zhou] is trying a little too hard to advise MnDOT that the (I-35W) bridge is okay even though it is clearly overstressed by today’s design criteria,” URS Project Manager Don) Flemming wrote in another internal URS memo.

In spite of several lawsuits alleging negligence, Mn/DOT has awarded 47 contracts worth over $9 million to URS since the bridge collapse.  Several of those contracts related directly to ongoing bridge work, and URS even was given contracts for the I-35W replacement bridge after the previous structure collapsed.

“Mn/DOT’s continuing relationship is a clear failure of state government,” said Dayton.  “It’s terribly wrong that contracts would continue to be awarded at taxpayers’ expense to a firm that the State sued for such a horrible catastrophe.  I call on Mn/DOT to immediately stop awarding contracts to URS.  If a contractor fails to perform, it should not get another contract.”

Dayton also said that the URS contracts shine light on the larger problems of outsourcing government responsibilities to private firms.  Mn/DOT reported that it awarded $118 million in contracts to private firms in the FY08-09 biennium.

Dayton said, “My budget proposal would reduce by half outsourcing by all state agencies, which totaled over $850 million in the last biennium.  That work should be performed by public employees at lower cost to taxpayers and with greater accountability.  MnDOT’s excessive contracting is the place to start.”

Those contracts are far from transparent, as Dayton staff were directed first to the “Bid Letting” department, then to “Consultant Services,” and finally to “Contract Management Services.”  In the end, hours of searching only yielded a short list of links to five URS contracts dating back to August of 2008.  The actual copies of the five contracts were unavailable, even though they were listed under the heading, “Taxpayers’ Transportation Accountability Act Notices.”

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Mark and Yvonne’s “Serve Our Seniors” 5-Point Plan

Read Mark and Yvonne’s “Serve Our Seniors” 5-Point Plan

KSTP/SurveyUSA Poll; Dayton Clear Front Runner In DFL Primary

KSTP/SurveyUSA Poll; Dayton Clear Front Runner In DFL Primary

KSTP.com; June 18, 2010

Exclusive new numbers in our KSTP/SurveyUSA poll shows former Senator Mark Dayton is the clear front runner in the DFL primary, but with 8 weeks to the MN DFL Primary Governor election, that can change. Here are the results of SurveyUSA Election Poll collected June 14 through the 16.

According to a KSTP-TV news poll conducted by SurveyUSA, former US Senator Mark Dayton defeats State House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and former State House Minority Leader Matt Entenza. As of now, Dayton leads 3:1 in Western Minnesota and 2:1 among seniors, Kelliher ties Dayton in the greater Twin Cities, and Entenza ties Dayton among Independents.

Minnesota voters do not declare party affiliations, and any voter can vote in the DFL primary.

In general election matchups, Republican Emmer closes some ground in three hypothetical, general election match-ups for Minnesota Governor; he matches up against Democrat Mark Dayton’s 38% with his 35%, against Democrat Margaret Anderson Kelliher’s 33% to his 35%, and against Democrat Matt Entenza’s 33% to his 37%

This compares to identical SurveyUSA tracking polls released 6 weeks ago with Dayton up 4 points; Emmer down 7. Kelliher was flat while Emmer was down 6 points, Entenza was up 2 points and Emmer was down 5. SurveyUSA interviewed 2,250 Minnesota adults while they collected information. Of the people interviewed, 2,079 were registered to vote and only 500 were identified as being likely to vote in the August 10 DFL primary.

SurveyUSA then determined that, of the registered voters, 1,617 were likely to vote in the November 2010 general election, with the exception of Incumbent governor Republican Tim Pawlenty, a potential 2012 Presidential candidate, who is not seeking reelection.

Five-hundred likely DFL primary voters were asked who they would vote for to be primary governor today. 26% of voters said they would vote for Kelliher, 39% said they would vote for Dayton, 22% said Entenza, 3% said Idusogie, 11% were undecided.

Sixteen-hundred likely November voters were asked, if the election for Minnesota Governor were today, and the only candidates on the ballot were Republican Tom Emmer, DFL candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher, and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner, who they would vote for. 35% of the asked voters said Emmer (R), 33% said Kelliher (DFL), 12% said Horner (IP), and 21% were undecided.

Sixteen-hundred likely November voters were asked who they would choose if the only candidates on the ballot for Governor were Republican Tom Emmer, DFL candidate Mark Dayton, and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner. 35% said Emmer (R), 38% said Dayton (DFL), 12% said Horner (IP), and 15% were undecided.

The last question asked of sixteen-hundred likely November voters was who they would vote for if the candidates were Republican Tom Emmer, DFL candidate Matt Entenza, and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner. 37% said they would vote for Emmer (R), 33% said Entenza (DFL), 12% said Horner (IP), and 18% were undecided.