A judge’s order that would allow confidential sealing of pre-trial information and depositions in Michael Brodkorb’s wrongful termination lawsuit against the Minnesota Senate has revealed the existence of audiotapes.

Those tapes might show that elected officials had affairs with staff members who were not terminated, as Brodkorb was for his relationship with former Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch.

Brodkorb attorney, Greg Walsh, in a statement, said that lawyers for the Senate asked for the protective order after they learned that Brodkorb had “audiotapes from meetings between Mr. Brodkorb and representatives of the Minnesota Senate which we believe support Mr. Brodkorb's claim the he was wrongfully terminated.”

One source familiar with but not directly involved in the case said that Brodkorb, the former communications director for the Senate Republican caucus, recorded a conversation with the former president of the Senate, Michelle Fischbach.

According to the source, Fischbach told Brodkorb that several state senators had been involved with staff members who were not terminated as a consequence, and she acknowledged he was treated differently as a result of his affair with Koch.

Attorney Walsh said that Brodkorb wants to protect specific names but that “actions involving his wrongful termination should be available to the public.”

The state has already spent more than $200,000 in legal fees on its defense. Walsh said, “The net effect of this protective order will only cost the taxpayers of Minnesota more money.”

Dayle Nolan, the attorney from the Larkin Hoffman law firm representing the Senate, was not immediately available for a response.

Judge Arthur Boylan’s order allows the opposing counsel to object to a request for confidentiality, which the court then may either grant or deny.

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who is back in her Anoka office, attended the funeral Monday for the parents of her Minnesota director, Deb Steiskal.

The service was at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Buffalo.

Steiskal’s parents, Arnold and Lila Spike of Maple Lake, passed away June 3 and June 1, respectively, from injuries they sustained in an automobile accident.

Bachmann attended the funeral with other members of her Minnesota staff.

Another audio recording has surfaced in connection with the wrongful-termination lawsuit filed by former Republican communications director Michael Brodkorb against the Minnesota Senate.

A source who heard the audio said that in the 15- to 20-minute recording, state Sen. Julianne Ortman of Chanhassen spoke with Brodkorb about the possibility of settling the case.  In the conversation, according to the source, Ortman indicated a desire to bring in a mediator to work with both sides.

Brodkorb’s attorney, Greg Walsh, has stated that there are multiple tapes of conversations that would support his client’s claim that he was treated differentlythan similar instances for his relationship with former Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch.

A second source familiar with the case said that Brodkorb recorded a conversation with Michelle Fischbach, former president of the Senate  and former chair of the Senate ethics committee. In that conversation, she reportedly acknowledged that several state senators had been involved with staff members who were not terminated as a consequence of their relationships.

The existence of the audiotapes was revealed as the result of a judge’s order that would allow confidential sealing of pre-trial information and depositions in the case. Attorney Walsh said it was only after Senate attorneys learned of the tapes that they asked Judge Arthur Boylan for the confidentiality order.

The Senate has spent more than $200,000 on its defense and is expecting another billing from the Larkin Hoffman law firm.

Dayle Nolan, the lead attorney for the Senate, did not return a second request for comment.

Another county is heard from in the contest to represent the sprawling and heavily GOP 6th Congressional District, an open seat following Michele Bachmann's decision not to seek another term.

Anoka County Board Chair Rhonda Sivarajah on Wednesday announced her candidacy for the Republican endorsement, saying that she is “uniquely qualified to get the job done.” 

Sivarajah becomes the second Republican candidate for the seat, joining former gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer of Delano, in Wright County. Republican state Sen. John Pederson of St. Cloud, in Stearns County, has said he intends to file as a candidate by the end of the month.

Sivarajah has faced Emmer before in an endorsement contest, competing as the lieutenant-governor running mate of Marty Seifert, who lost the GOP nomination to Emmer in 2010.  She did not refer to that experience in her announcement, instead touting her track record on the Anoka County Board.

At an auto repair shop in Ham Lake owned by one of her supporters, Sivarajah noted that she has “delivered conservative results."

Under her tenure, she said, Anoka County lowered property taxes, privatized a county job training center and ended the prevailing-wage requirement for taxpayer-funded projects.

DFL Party Chair Ken Martin, in a statement, described Sivarajah as "a voice of dissent in efforts to move Anoka county forward."

Sivarajah, though, is forceful in claiming successes.

“I think I certainly have a history of accomplishment,” she said. “I have been able to take what people would think of as nearly impossible, coming on the county board as a minority of one and I’ve been able to successfully turn that around, have a conservative majority, then implement various changes throughout the county.”

Sivarajah quickly scooped up an endorsement from Voices of Conservative Women. “Rhonda blazed a trail as chairwoman of the Anoka County Board and we are looking forward to seeing great things from her as she moves her campaign forward,” said Voices President Jennifer DeJournett in an email statement.

Fellow county board members, several area state legislators, political activist and attorney John Gilmore and former Republican Party chair Pat Shortridge attended the announcement.  

Shortridge said he was there as "a friend" and has not committed to supporting any candidate.  He also said he hasn't ruled out running for the seat himself.

Gilmore predicted a primary contest, saying  that in a district as solidly Republican as the 6th, “Voters should be given a variety of candidates to choose from.”

Sivarajah acknowledged the possibility of a primary. “I plan to seek the endorsement,” she said, “and I’ve not made a decision” on whether to run if not endorsed.

In one sense, David FitzSimmons, freshman state representative from Albertville, represented a Republican high point of the legislative session. He was one of the few Republicans to successfully attach an amendment to a bill.

The problem for FitzSimmons is that the bill was the legislation that legalized same-sex marriage in Minnesota. He not only amended it but also voted “yea.”

FitzSimmons is now paying the price in his House district in Wright County, perhaps the most conservative county in Minnesota, as he is forced to defend his vote and his political turf.

FitzSimmons says the reaction in his district is mixed.

“I think like most things dealing with the electorate, it’s a wide variety of viewpoints,” he said. “Everything from people who are upset with the results, upset with me — and people who are sympathetic to the situation and knew I was trying to get something out of the legislation.”

Amendment added word 'civil' to marriage

The FitzSimmons amendment added the word "civil" before the word marriage whenever it appears in state law, in an effort to add more protections for religious institutions that would refuse to deal with same-sex marriage participants.

“I wanted to put myself on the record of making sure that when we are expanding the freedom and liberty for one group, we are not trampling on the freedoms and liberties of others,” he said.

Tom Prichard — president of the Minnesota Family Council, which opposed the legislation and supported the amendment to ban same-sex marriage in the Minnesota Constitution — says FitzSimmons’s amendment clouded, not clarified, religious protections because it doesn’t specifically state that any entity — religious or secular — has the right to deny services to same-sex marriage participants.

“It doesn’t deal with the photographer that doesn’t want to photograph same-sex marriages, with school officials, with government officials, with marriage counselors,” he said.

To which Fitzsimmons replies, “There are human rights protections. What they wanted was impossible.”

Impossible or illegal, the Minnesota Family Council promises to inform voters. “We are a policy organization,” Prichard said. “We are making sure people know how candidates voted on the marriage legislation.”

Solid GOP credentials

That means that FitzSimmonsmay find himself in an endorsement battle in District 30B when he runs next year.  There are no candidates yet who have announced plans to run against FitzSimmons, testimony, perhaps, to his solid Republican credentials.

He is the former Republican chair of Wright County and former chair of the 6th Congressional District, represented by Michele Bachmann, whom he has supported. He managed, briefly, Tom Emmer’s gubernatorial campaign and volunteered at the media event where Emmer announced his campaign for the Bachmann seat.

FitzSimmons may get some help from Minnesotans United, the group that lobbied for gay marriage and promised campaign help for supportive lawmakers from socially conservative districts. Fitzsimmons didn’t make the first cut of names that Minnesotans United mentioned in a recent fundraising email.

It’s too early to gauge what impact outside groups will have in the district.

Amy Koch, former state senator from Wright County, says Minnesotans United may be helpful but needs to recognize the composition of the district. “He [FitzSimmons] has the very conservative side of the district — St. Michael, Albertville,” she said. "[In redistricting] he picked up Big Lake."

Emmer says FitzSimmons can help himself by just explaining — and explaining again — his decision.

“I disagree with him on this vote. But he said something to me that’s important to communicate to his delegates: ‘At least I was trying to do something,’ ” Emmer said. “You believe what you believe. You stand up for what you believe in, and if the people disagree, you talk to them.”

FitzSimmons remains optimistic that his constituents will understand the nuances of his legislative actions.

“I have said it before and after — I still have a lot of concerns with the way things are moving with same-sex marriage,” he said.  “It’s obviously still very new. We don’t know how it will work. We have very limited ground experience.”

And even in as conservative a district as FitzSimmons’s, he believes there are Republicans who are conflicted on the issue of gay marriage. “Most Republicans are struggling with this issue,” he said.

So much so that FitzSimmons offered a post-legislative analysis of the gay-marriage vote.  “Someone asked me what the Republican vote would have been on a secret ballot,” he said.  “I think 15 to 20 [House Republicans] would have voted yes.”

John Pederson

State Sen. John Pederson, the 6th Congressional District’s newest entrant in the race to replace Michele Bachmann, will have to cover a lot of ground to get the Republican endorsement — geographically and politically.

Pederson has a reputation as a solid conservative with a strong record on fiscal and labor issues, but constituents in his St. Cloud district are not as ideologically alike as those in Wright and Anoka counties, home of the two other Republican candidates, Tom Emmer and Rhonda Sivarajah, respectively.

Pederson sees that as his strength.

“I have a different approach,” he said. “My approach of serving Senate District 14 is one of an open-door policy — giving a chance for people to be heard and make their arguments.  This is an approach that the 6th District is ready for.”

However, David Strom, a Republican consultant who worked on Tom Emmer’s gubernatorial campaign, disagrees. He believes that Pederson’s distance from the conservative heart of the 6th district could be a disadvantage. 

“It’s a major complication because St. Cloud does not think of itself as an exurb, certainly not a suburb,” Strom said. “There’s a great deal of regional pride. They think of themselves as quite distinct.”

Furthermore, Strom noted, Pederson’s relatively quiet rollout of his candidacy means he has some catching up to do on name recognition.

“Neither Wright nor Anoka County has had much of an introduction to Pederson,” he said.

That won’t be a problem, Pederson said. “I love to campaign.  I love meeting constituents, putting myself in a situation to let them know where I am coming from.”

Pederson also points to his deep roots in the district: born in Glencoe, raised in Buffalo, graduated from Monticello High School and now earning a living in St. Cloud as the owner of a concrete-block manufacturing company.

He sees that in particular as a positive distinction: “I’m the only candidate in the race that comes to work every day and makes something and tries to sell it.”

Pederson’s volunteer campaign committee includes state Sen. Michelle Fischbach; Dave Gruenes, a former legislator and Commerce commissioner; and Gruenes’ mother, Marge, former chair of the Minnesota Republican Party. They will help him with fundraising.  He said it’s too early to discuss whether he would enter a primary contest.

“We’re trying to put together a plan that we think is a path to victory,” Pederson said. “The first stage is a lot about making money.”

“Smack dab in the middle of the middle class.”

With these words Sunday, state Rep. Kurt Zellers described both his family and his campaign theme as he announced his bid to be the Republican nominee for governor in 2014.

Zellers, the former House speaker until Republicans lost the majority in 2012, repeated the frequent criticisms of Gov. Mark Dayton’s budget decisions that he voiced in the Legislature.

More than $2 billion in new taxes and fees, he said, will “impact every Minnesota family and employer.”  To a crowd of about 100 supporters, he said, “We’ve got to get the yoke of government off the backs, out of the pockets and out of the way of these small business owners.”

The optics matched the rhetoric.  Zellers made his announcement in Maple Grove in a yard splashed with sunshine and accessorized with babies and small children. 

His middle-class, working-class background will distinguish him from his opponents, he said. “I’ve worked hourly jobs. I dealt blackjack in college. I delivered pizzas. I bagged groceries,” he said.  “I don’t know if the rest of the folks in the race can say that.”

The rest of the folks, to date, are: Scott Honour, an Orono businessman, and Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson. State Sen. Dave Thompson of Lakeville will announce his candidacy on Wednesday. Another state senator, Julie Rosen of Fairmont, is also expected to join the field.

Zellers is the most quantifiable of the candidates, with well-documented positions and votes. His decision while House speaker to allow a vote on public funding for a new Vikings stadium while voting against it himself still rankles some of the conservative delegates he needs to court to get the GOP endorsement. 

But that’s the role of the speaker, he said. “There maybe may have been some things as an individual [that] maybe wouldn’t have been my position, but on behalf of the caucus, I would lead us that way,” he said.  On the stadium, “I promised a fair process.” 

Another controversial vote resulted in legislation proposing to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The defeat of the amendment contributed to the loss of the Republican majority in both chambers and led to approval of same-sex marriage this year.   Zellers indicated he would not revisit the issue.

 “It’s the law of the land now,” he said. “If you ask most Minnesotans and anybody that’s here today, I think they’re fed up with the issue on both sides. I think they want us to get back to what are the bread-and-butter issues.”

Zellers said he will seek the Republican endorsement but will go to primary if he fails.

“One of the candidates in this race has already indicated that he plans to go to a primary, so I think it’s incumbent upon me on behalf of a lot of the folks here who won’t go to convention, who’ve never been a delegate to a convention, to give them that opportunity to vote for me as well,” he said.

“I’ll prepare for the convention first, the primary second, and then Mark Dayton lastly.”

State Sen. Dave Thompson of Lakeville — the fourth candidate in the race to be the Republican candidate for governor in 2014 — chose the simple setting of a state Capitol hearing room,  to make his Wednesday announcement. He was surrounded not by crowds of supporters but just by his wife and children.

He made the case for his candidacy just as simply and directly: “I believe in the individual. As your governor, my goal will be to get out of your way.”

Orono businessman Scott Honour, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson and state Rep. Kurt Zellers are also candidates for the GOP nomination, raising the likelihood of a Republican primary.

Honour and Zellers said they will seek the Republican endorsement but go to a primary if not endorsed.  Johnson and Thompson both said they would abide by the endorsement.

Thompson — one of the more conservative members of the Republican Senate caucus — said his top priority is education reform: “I intend not to use the old solutions.”

He said he wanted parents to have more choice in education and endorsed tuition tax credits to give parents the option of sending their children to private schools.

Thompson also criticized the tax and spending increases passed by the DFL-controlled Legislature. “You folks… were treated like ATM machines,” he said, addressing the public. “We need to check out every line in the budget.”

Thompson, 58, is an attorney and former radio talk show host. He is regarded by Republicans in the Senate as an articulate, if somewhat undisciplined, spokesman for conservative causes.  

The DFL Party immediately used some of Thompson’s rhetoric in a response to his candidacy.

“If Thompson got into the governor's office, he'd look out for Minnesota’s wealthiest citizens and his personal interests rather than serving the average Minnesotans who make this state great,” said DFL Party Chair Ken Martin.

He was referring to statements Thompson made during a Senate debate and during consulting work Thompson did for the state Republican Party while running for office himself.

In an interview with MinnPost prior to his formal announcement, Thompson discussed the issues that would be part of his gubernatorial campaign. Here are edited excerpts from that interview:

MinnPost: Are you going for the endorsement of Minnesota Republican Party?

Dave Thompson: Yes.

MP: Will you abide by the endorsement?

DT: Yes. I believe that the stamp of approval of the delegates that put the hard work in to move this party forward is very, very important, and it’s my intent to honor that.

MP: Often candidates seeking endorsement (in both parties) stake out extreme positions, only to run toward the middle during the general election.  What will be your approach?

DT: I am a believer that all Minnesotans benefit from the same kinds of policies ultimately. And by that I mean families [and] individuals benefit from a healthy economy. They benefit from freedom. They benefit from a safety net that takes care of those folks that are truly vulnerable, incapable of taking care of themselves.

So, I don’t feel I’m going to change who I am or my tone at any stage of the campaign. I believe that if you speak the same way to all Minnesotans, tell them what you think about each issue, then you don’t have to worry about what you said yesterday. You just be who you are.

MP: As a relatively new elected official, what do you need to do to build a fundraising base?

DT: I believe the ability to raise money is largely dependent on the ability to convince people of two things: one, that you have the right ideas; two, that you can communicate them in a way that you’re likely to win.

So, I think that for every candidate early on it will be difficult to raise money. But I believe if a person can distinguish him or herself and demonstrate that you have the right ideas and that you can talk about them in a way that builds broad coalitions of Minnesota voters, the money will follow. 

MP:Turning to the state budget, how would you change one of the biggest cost-drivers in the budget — health and human services?

DT: It’s impossible to talk about serious change in the overall state budget if you don’t try to manage the health and human services budget. We need to look at each program and determine whether or not it’s effective and if the money there that’s being spent is resulting in helping the people it’s supposed to help. That would be Step One. 

I think we have to take a serious look at the degree to which we are allowing the federal government to drive our human services budget. That’s a tough one because, of course, the federal government often gives you matching funds, but I think anyone who wants to truly lead in this area is going to have to do that.    

You have to look at health care. We certainly need to look at more private market solutions, less control by government. We need to get the provider and the patient involved more in the transaction, rather than a have third party dictate the way these things are going.

MP: How would you improve education outcomes?

DT: We don’t want to change things for those who are happy with the school system they have. We know that lots of Minnesota parents are very pleased with their local schools, that those schools serve their children well, and we don’t want to change that.

However, what we do need to do is look at a completely different approach at those areas where schools are underperforming. And the solution so far is  — well, if we just throw another $50 per student per year into the formula, we can change the outcomes.

That defies logic because right now the schools that are the highest in per-pupil spending are getting the worse results. This is not exclusively a money issue. Obviously, there has to be sufficient resources put into the system to provide the basics for an education. But that isn’t the problem where we have schools that are not doing well.

So, I believe the only realistic alternative is some sort of school choice that allows a parent to get his or her child into a school that is going to teach the children, and that ability can’t be dependent upon income.

Right now, people that have children in a failing school, by and large, cannot get them out unless they have resources, and that strikes me as un-American. In America we believe that once you hit the starting line, then you’re free to make decisions and fail or succeed by your own, but we believe that everybody should be at the same place on the starting line.

MP: How would you improve transportation in the state?

DT: We need to do a better job with our roads and bridges. There are many areas in rural Minnesota and areas outside the metro area that are not getting enough attention. Here in the Twin Cities, we’ve got huge problems on 494 and many of the other major arteries with insufficient capacity.

Then you get the issue of mass transit. I tend to be a believer in buses. The reason I like buses, as opposed to trains, is that, No. 1, you don’t have anywhere  near the upfront capital costs.  Secondly, it’s easer to adjust usage based on demand. It’s a much more efficient way to move people in large numbers.

MP: Would you support a gas tax or sales tax increase dedicated to transportation?

DT: No. We tax people enough in this state. For me, it’s a matter of priorities.  Three billion dollars [based on the $2.1 billion tax and fee increases passed this session and what Thompson says is additional revenue from economic growth] is enough money, that had we prioritized correctly, we would be able to take care of our transportation needs. 

MP: Would you roll back the tax increases that were passed this session?

DT: First, you have to talk about the spending issues because — let’s face it — taxes at the state level are the result of big spending. 

To reduce taxes is a very good thing. It leads to a healthy economy. But I can’t recklessly come in and reduce taxes without addressing the spending issue. 

The other thing that I think is a little disturbing about the way the governor and Legislature raised taxes — it’s a very divisive approach: Well, we’ve got these people who make money and let’s stick 'em because they are not a politically correct group of people to protect. 

And then we’ve got these smokers (and let’s be clear — I do not smoke cigarettes) but we’ve got this group and they’re not politically correct anymore because we all know there’s all these anti-smoking campaigns, so let’s stick them.

Taxes should be levied with the purpose of funding government without an eye toward manipulating people’s conduct. 

MP: Would you support increased background checks for gun control?

DT: I believe right now we have sufficient gun-control laws and regulations and, in some cases, more than we need. So at this point, I don’t believe that we should be passing any more laws pertaining to gun control. We should enforce the ones we have. Obviously any reasonable person believes that we should not allow dangerous felons to have firearms, but for law-abiding people, there should not be impediments to their ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

MP: Would you attempt to change the new law legalizing same-sex marriage?

DT: No. The people have spoken. I’m a big believer in our system. I’m a big believer in our process, and the people voted down the constitutional amendment last November. They voted people into office who decided that they wanted to pass the same-sex marriage bill.  They did so. And I think the idea of one elected official coming in and saying, ‘We’re just going to tip that over right away,’ I don’t think shows respect for the voters and respect for the people of Minnesota.   

MP: Would you support further restrictions in Minnesota’s abortion laws?

DT: I don’t know what those would be. I am thoughtfully pro-life. I was the chief author of the bill to discontinue state funding of abortions. I believe most Minnesotans agree with me on that, even many who are pro-choice. If that bill came across my desk, would I sign it, absolutely? Am I making that issue a linchpin of my campaign? I am not.

MP: How will you campaign to present a more inclusive face of the Republican Party?

DT: Well, NO. 1, I intend to campaign everywhere. Unfortunately, human nature is such that we tend to surround ourselves with people that make us feel comfortable and that we fit in with. I am going to do the best that I can to pay attention to all areas of Minnesota and address the issues of people, maybe a percentage of whom don’t vote Republican. And then I am going to listen to those people. I will spend time with groups of people that are not the traditional Republican voter. 

MP: You have been very critical of unions and had a bill to allow a constitutional amendment to make Minnesota a right-to-work state. Would you try to revive this issue?  

DT: Certainly I believe that that is a very important economic reform. Most Minnesotans believe that people ought to be able to get together and form a union to bargain. But most people believe you shouldn’t have to sign up with group as a condition of your employment.  So that’s all the right-to work-concept is: Go ahead have a union, but you just can’t force people to sign up. 

My concerns with unions are focused on public unions. Do I think some things need to be done there? Yes.  No. 1, to control the state budget, and No. 2, to help us resolve a lot of service issues.

Private unions are different matter. Private unions were created and formed to help individual employees amass market power to negotiate a fair share of profits from large businesses.    

MP: You were a member of the Senate when Michael Brodkorb was fired, and you may find yourself a part of his legal action. Does that concern you?

DT: No and, obviously, I am not going to comment on the lawsuit. I learned about the situation between the former majority leader and Mr. Brodkorb four hours before you did, and have nothing to do with investigating, finding out about it, terminating employees. I can’t imagine how that can affect me in any way.

MP: How would you proceed as governor if you find yourself in office with DFL control of the Legislature?

DT: I think you have to make your arguments well and hopefully get the people with you, because ultimately, if the people are with you — by that I don’t mean check with polls. I mean a general sense that folks believe in the general direction that you want to take the state, then you’re given a little extra negotiating prowess.

And then, secondly, you have to realize that you are going to have to compromise and give some things up. Now, I believe you don’t cave on principles. You don’t give up things that our near and dear to your heart. But clearly, if I were to be elected and have the honor to serve and have the House and Senate controlled by the DFL, I would be required to sit down with the majority leader and speaker and find a way to compromise and come up with solutions.

Attorneys for the Minnesota Senate have served a 35-page affidavit of requests to Michael Brodkorb, seeking a wide range of information.

The requests include medical records and his employment record after he was dismissed as communications director for the Senate Republican caucus in 2011 for his affair with then- Majority Leader Amy Koch.

The Larkin Hoffman law firm representing the Senate has also asked for the current status of Brodkorb’s relationship with Koch and the name and title of every legislative staff member who, Brodkorb claims, had similar relationships with legislators but who were not terminated as a result.

Attorneys Phil Villaume and Greg Walsh, who are representing Brodkorb in his wrongful termination case against the Senate, responded to some but not all of the requests.

The attorneys stated that Brodkorb would identify legislative staff members and legislators “under separate cover and marked ‘For Attorneys’ Eyes Only.’”

Villaume and Walsh replied that the request regarding Brodkorb’s current relationship with Koch “is intended to harass, embarrass, and simply annoy” him.

They revealed that Brodkorb had been retained as a consultant by four public affairs firms and the 1st Congressional District campaign of state Sen. Mike Perry. Brodkorb will provide his medical history in a sealed document, according to the Villaume and Walsh response.

Senate attorneys are also asking Brodkorb to produce documentation of all communications with the media and public relations firms and text messages and emails between him and Koch after his termination.

The affidavit reveals the names of individuals whose conversations with Brodkorb were tape recorded, including former Secretary of the Senate Cal Ludeman, former Senate President and current Sen. Michelle Fischbach, state Sen. Julianne Ortman and former Senate Majority Leader David Senjem.

The affidavit also includes copies of the media coverage of Brodkorb’s traffic accident in January, which resulted in DWI conviction.

The audiotapes that Senate staffer Michael Brodkorb made after he was fired in December 2011 are part of an escalating pre-trial drama in his wrongful-termination lawsuit.

While they may have little evidentiary value, they can be a useful public relations tool to break loose a settlement agreement, according to an employment lawyer with no connection to the case.

“In my opinion, the highest and best use of these tapes is to rattle cages and get publicity,” said Daniel Kelly, an employment attorney with the Felhaber law firm in Minneapolis.

Brodkorb made the recordings after he was fired as communications director for the Republican Senate caucus following the revelation of his affair with then-Majority Leader Amy Koch.

Kelly, whose firm generally represents defendants — the Senate position in the Brodkorb case — said that Brodkorb's recordings of conversations with senators and staff must meet a certain threshold before they can admitted as evidence.

“Tapes of these kind oftentimes constitute hearsay and, therefore, may not be admissible in court,” he said. 

But that doesn’t mean the tapes can’t be useful, depending on exactly what they contain.

Brodkorb’s attorneys have acknowledged the existing of three recordings: a conversation with Senate Chief of Staff Kevin Matzek and former Secretary of the Senate Cal Ludeman; one with Republican Sens. David Senjem and Julianne Ortman; and one with Sen. Michelle Fischbach, who was president of the Senate when the Republicans were in control.

The Fischbach recording could be the most damaging. According to a source who has heard the recording, Fischbach acknowledged that several state senators had been involved with staff members who were not terminated as a consequence of their relationships.

“The basis of the Brodkorb case is that different people were treated differently,” said Kelly.  “The person who said that [Fischbach] would be subpoenaed, put under oath and would be asked, ‘Are you aware of other situations where people engaged in similar behavior and were treated differently?’ ”

Then there’s the public relations value. After news reports on the Fischbach audiotape, there were at least two published calls for a settlement of the case, including an editorial in the New Ulm Journal.

The editorial noted Senate approval of another  $500,000 to cover future legal expenses, a sum added to the $200,000 already paid to the Larkin Hoffman law firm. 

But Brodkorb isn't necessarily on public-relations high ground, according to attorney Kelly.

Although secret recordings of conversations are legal in Minnesota as long as one party is aware of the recording, they aren’t crowd-pleasers. “Surreptitious tape-recording of conversations is not popular,” Kelly said. “It looks sneaky, and juries don’t like sneaky people.”

But a jury may never be seated in the Brodkorb case. “Most cases, in excess of 90 percent of cases, will settle,” Kelly said.

Still, DFL and Republican Senate leaders have stated publicly that they do not intend to settle the case. Senate attorneys recently filed a 35-page affidavit asking Brodkorb for a wide range of personal information, including medical records and the status of his relationship with Koch.

So, the Brodkorb case may continue to make waves in Minnesota politics, with  the added threat of exposure of other legislators and staffers who engaged in similar office romances.

Republican state Sen. David Hann is not going to run for governor, but he wants to lay the groundwork for other Republicans to win in 2014.

“I was elected to lead our caucus,” he said. “It deserves my full attention.”

Hann said that part of that attention will be directed at helping Republican candidates in the House win back the majority. “Every House district is part of a Senate district, and a number of those races are in districts where we will have contests, so helping our friends win will be helpful to us as well,” he said. 

Legislative Republicans have been unified in their message that the state budget enacted under DFL leadership has overreached, overtaxed and overspent. Hann said he will encourage GOP candidates to continue to press those themes. 

“I don’t believe that that’s what citizens in the state were hoping for,” he said. “ [It’s] excessive spending that, for the most part, is political payback to union allies without real reform. I don’t think that’s the kind of government that people were voting for.”

At one time, Hann, a fourth-term senator from Eden Prairie, had signaled he would be interested in joining the field of candidates seeking to challenge Gov. Mark Dayton. He indicated that family reasons were part of his choice to stay out of the race. 

His wife, Anne, has had chemotherapy treatment for a lymphoma. Hann says she is in recovery. “Hopefully it will continue to get better,” he said. But her condition “certainly was a part” of his decision, he said.

Orono businessman Scott Honour, Hennepin County commissioner Jeff Johnson, state Rep. Kurt Zellers, and state Sen. Dave Thompson have said they will seek the Republican nomination. “I know three of them of them reasonably well,” Hann said. “I don’t know Scott Honour. I suspect one or two others will become candidates before this is said and done.”

For the present, Hann said he prefers to focus on other challenges, including the day-to-day business of running a legislative caucus, like handling the personnel and training issues that come with any organization.

Hann also hinted at a more aggressive Republican presence for the 2014 legislative session, one emboldened by DFL concerns about the new state tax on warehousing.

“The fact that we’re all ready seeing Democrats echoing the same concerns — that is pretty telling,” he said.

State Rep. Pat Garofalo’s skirmish on Twitter with liberal blogger Eric Pusey produced only a modicum of candidate remorse at a fundraiser on his behalf Thursday night.

On Twitter earlier this week, the Farmington Republican and Pusey exchanged barbs, with Garofalo mocking Pusey’s last name.

Of the tweets, Garofalo said, “He’s acting like a moron and the best thing to do is to avoid morons, [but] there’s no shortage of left-wing stupidity on Twitter.”

Garofalo stands by his words and actions, including his vote in support of gay marriage. He’s one of four House Republicans whose yes vote on gay marriage may affect their chances for party endorsement. But so far, he says, he’s not heard rumblings.

“This is my ninth year in office, and this is the most positive feedback I’ve ever received,” he said.

He’s amassing a sizable campaign fund, nonetheless.

“On July 1, I raised $10,000 in one day,” he said proudly. “Not much if you’re a statewide candidate, but not bad for a House seat.”

He padded that sum on Thursday at a fundraiser sponsored by longtime friend and public affairs consultant Mike Franklin, who did work for Project 515, one of the groups that pushed for the gay-marriage legislation.

“What can you say about one of only four House Republicans to support same sex marriage,” Franklin wrote in email invitation to the event, “and yet his most notable moment in the 2013 session was arguably letting some ‘boisterous’ AFSCME members know who ‘runs the place?’ ” — a reference to one of Garafolo many colorful floor speeches.

“It’s an important year for Pat, “ Franklin said in an interview.

“If I had to guess, he’s trying to build his war chest so that if anybody tries to take a run at him, he’s able to show that, one, he’s going to put a fight and, two, that he’s got a lot of support from a broad spectrum.”

Garofalo say’s he is prepared for any challenger that tries to outflank him on the right, noting that he’s the Minnesota chair of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the conservative think tank that produces model legislation for state legislatures and is scorned by Democrats and liberals.

“The feedback I’ve been getting is overwhelmingly positive in the district, and mostly on the union, tax and spending issues,” he said.

“It’s because I’ve never fought the Democrats so hard.”

Yet Garofalo voted with the Democrats on, arguably, the most significant legislation in two decades on a social issue. He makes no apologies.

“My vote was in defense of religious freedom and religious liberty,” he said. “Anybody knows that same-sex marriage is the direction our country is moving. People are thankful that we got religious freedom protection [an amendment sponsored by GOP Rep. David FitzSimmons] put into the bill.”

According to Garofalo, the only protest he has encountered is that his vote came as a surprise.

“People wish they knew about it advance, but the way the amendment process plays out, there wasn’t an opportunity to do that,” he said.

Thursday’s event attracted business lobbyists, such as Loren Laugtug from Otter Tail Power Co. and Jacob Millner from the Minnesota Auto Dealers.

But also well represented was the lobbying effort in support of gay marriage.

“From a Republican perspective, I was glad to see Republicans took a stand, looked at the future and then moved forward,” said Patrick Connolly, whose firm, Connolly Kuhl Group, coordinated outreach to Republicans on the issue.

Minnesotans United, the umbrella group supporting gay marriage, has offered to support Garofalo’s campaign with a PAC contribution, but Garofalo has demurred.

“I don't think I need to [accept it],” he said.

With strong support from the business community and gay-marriage advocates, Garofalo now sets off to convince his district’s Republican activists not to define his candidacy by that one vote.

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann emerged from her blackout on public appearances Friday with more warnings on the problems of Obamacare and an acknowledgement that the unrelenting pressure of congressional campaigning was part of her decision to not seek another term. 

At a speech and question-and-answer session at the I-94 West Chamber of Commerce meeting in Elk River, Bachmann showed no signs of stress over the legal problems of her failed presidential campaign and appeared to want to put controversy behind her.

She spoke of working in bipartisan fashion on the group’s goal to expand I-94 west of Highway 101.  

 “I had a wonderful working relationship with our governor, Mark Dayton, to get the bridge built in Stillwater. I think we can work with Governor Dayton. I encourage all of you to work with him, work with our senators,” she told the group of 50.  “This is not a partisan issue in any way.  This is as bipartisan as you can get.”

She also sympathized with another Chamber complaint, the Affordable Care Act.

“The No. 1 reason we are failing to see more jobs being created is because of the president’s health care plan,” she said.  

She attacked Obama’s decision this week to modify some requirements as “the arbitrary nature of what the federal government is doing in decision-making.”

Bachmann said later in a brief interview that one of the highlights of her term of service is alerting the nation to the potential problems of the president’s health care plan.

“I made Obamacare an issue [in her presidential campaign],” she said. “That’s why even the president is admitting it’s not working and the chief author is calling it a train wreck.”

Minnesota should be the model for substitute legislation, she said. “Minnesota has been a leader in innovation — the Minute Clinics — very effective.  We want to be nimble, innovative and always cost-effective.”

Bachmann was not without the sweeping generalizations that have caused her problems in the past.

“We have a problem right now with granting amnesty to illegal aliens,” she said on one hot-button issue. She cited studies that showed that jobs are lost and wages depressed because of the president’s policy of “ongoing rolling amnesty with no possibility of deportation.”

On the environment, she accused Obama of a “magic wand trick” for enforcing his policy on cap-and-trade emissions. “The cap-and-trade agenda just this last week shut down a coal-fired plant in Ohio,” she said. “You’re going to see that repeated over and over and over again.”

But after concluding her speech and posing for pictures, Bachmann offered a more pensive tone. The pace of a member of Congress had taken a toll, she said. 

“We’ll have a break in August, and I’m hoping I will have some time to think about it a little more, about what my next move is going to be,” she said. “I just want to have a space of time so I can think. That’s one of the problems and hazards with Congress  — that you go at such a fast pace, it’s tough to even think sometimes. That’s not good.

“Not being in Congress or running for Congress, that frees me from doing parades, from doing fundraising.  I was very involved in both of those activities. I’m relieved of the necessity of doing those, so I’ll have that time.”

And she insisted that her family has been the source of her strength. “My husband has had some health challenges, so I’ve tried to be very careful with him,” she said. “What’s worked well for us is that we’re tag-teamers. We’ve really swapped roles throughout our marriage. That’s worked really well.”

Her voice, she promised at the start of her speech, will continue to be heard.

And she will make good on that promise as soon as Sunday, when Bachmann is scheduled to re-join the morning talk shows with a 9 a.m. appearance on ABC News'“This Week.”

Minnesota’s employment rose in June to pre-recession levels. The state’s 2012-2013 budget ended with a surplus of $463 million. Republican candidate for governor Kurt Zellers was Speaker of the House when the 2012-2013 budget was enacted and makes a modest claim to the state’s improved economic condition. 

“The easy answer would be to point to all the numbers, but the simple answer is, we brought a calm and consistency to government that the business community responded to,” he said in an interview.

Zellers elaborated on the state budget and on other issues he would address as governor in an interview with MinnPost. Here are excerpts from that interview.

MinnPost: Why do you think the GOP control of the Legislature contributed to the state’s revenue improvements and lower unemployment rate?  

Kurt Zellers: No new regulations, no new taxes, no wild, yahoo warehouse taxes that nobody else in the country has. It’s things like that that drive business people crazy. If you bring a consistency and calm to your business community, to your economy, people will respond. And, it’s not because of what we in government did on their behalf or for them, it’s what we didn’t do. It wasn’t creating new programs, it wasn’t adding new layers of government, regulations that. ... Wisconsin doesn’t even have. You let the private sector thrive on its own because it will then.

MP:What do you think will be the defining issue of the 2014 election?

KZ: I think it’s the competitiveness [of the state]. Watch what happens when a company decides they’re going to start a new plant. The Cargill [expansion] – there were at least a dozen states interested. It came down to Minnesota and Denver.

MP: But Denver offered Cargill big incentives, did it not?

KZ: They did, yeah. But having our corporate rate at 9.8 percent, which is among the highest in the nation, you can never even enter the conversation. If we can’t offer a big tax break like Colorado did, but we also can’t bring our corporate rate down, automatically, there’s really no incentive for them to look at us.

MP: In balancing the state budget, do you have a budget philosophy beyond holding the line on taxes?

KZ: It would be efficiency and effectiveness. You’ve got example after example; Michigan, Ohio, Indiana – there are examples all across the country of states that have been in worse financial conditions than we are, have made some common-sense improvements: going to an updated computer system, buying your products a different way, consolidating back-office operations. There are very simple but also very easy-to-implement solutions that don’t involve Draconian cuts.

MP: In what areas would you, as governor, make different spending choices?    

KZ: Education would be at the very top of the list. We have got to demand better not only from our students but from our teachers and from our parents. I personally think we should focus on what has always been what Minnesota has been great at – the hard sciences, math, physics, geometry.

MP: How would you improve education outcomes in lower-achieving schools?

KZ: You’ve got to allow the parent to opt out of that school. They don’t have 10 years to change the system. By the time their kids get to sixth grade, a lot of these decisions and a lot of how they’re going to be affected going forward have already been made. 

MP: How would you address transportation?

KZ: We’ve got to build roads. My priority would be on roads and on bus rapid transit versus more trains and trolley cars downtown.

MP: Would you support a gas-tax increase?

KZ: I wouldn’t and it’s not just on the old, ‘I don’t believe in taxes.’ It’s diminishing returns.  As cars get more efficient and with more people on rapid transit, we’re not going to have as many people using gas.

MP: How would you modify the new health-care exchange?

KZ: The health-care exchange concept, which is a marketplace, where everybody is able to come in and compete, is a great model. What they’ve done, though, is put it into government hands, which is the worst possible place. I think the idea should be that we open it up. 

Until the consumer is as involved in buying their health insurance, as involved in getting a good deal on their health insurance as their car insurance, we’re not going to get savings in the system. 

If you’re going to have a health-care exchange, it should be a true exchange, which involves everybody in the state and everybody who would like to be involved is allowed to offer their product, not the government providing winners and losers and then deciding the price.

MP: You support rolling back the new income tax bracket and the new business taxes, but how would you cover the $2 billion hole in the budget if that happens?

KZ: The $2 billion, where would you get the money? Minnesotans will make up the difference for us. They will expand. They’ll grow jobs. They’ll bring their businesses back here.   

It’s not as if we’re going back to the 1980s with this budget. This budget is going to be $39 billion.  The budget we passed just two years ago is $34 billion.

At the end of the day, if we’re the No. 2 highest taxed or the No. 3 most regulated state, or the No. 1 most confusing state to do business in, we’re off the table.  I’m not saying we go all the way down to 48, but I’d like to get out of the top 10.

MP: Would you support the legislative proposal to legalize medical marijuana?

KZ: I wouldn’t.  Other states that have tried it are seeing spikes in crime. Law enforcement has said very clearly this is not a plan that has been well thought out yet. Until they can fully assess what the societal ramifications are, I put my trust in them in managing how safe our society is. 

MP: Would you attempt to modify the new law allowing gay marriage?

KZ: It’s the law of the land. I think the conversation has been had, so I’m moving on to what most Minnesotans are talking about.

MP: Would you support further restrictions in Minnesota’s abortion laws?

KZ: Whether it’s going to be an abortion or a medical procedure, we want the health and safety of the mother and the child to be at the forefront, so if it is guaranteeing that, I would support it.

MP: Is there one thing you learned as Speaker that you think would serve you well as governor?

KZ: It’s understanding the intricacies of the budget and the time that you have from when you know the forecast and when you have to have the budget finished. That is invaluable. And, also knowing the limitations and the abilities of your political opponents and your political supporters.

Richard Carlbom, the director of the campaign that legalized same-sex marriage in Minnesota, is back in the thick of things in New Jersey.

On Wednesday, Carlbom helped kick off “New Jersey United for Marriage,” a campaign that he will direct to overturn Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s veto of 2012 legislation allowing same-sex couples to marry. Carlbom said he will rely on his Minnesota experience.  

“Our goal is to override Governor Christie's veto and we will need strong Republican help to do so,” he said. “Politically, this is a huge opportunity for people. We understand that our country is moving toward greater freedom, so there are more people who are confident that they should stand on the side of freedom. I see this as a very conservative issue in some ways and that clears the pathway for everybody.”

In Minnesota, five Republican legislators followed that path and voted for Minnesota same-sex marriage legislation. Four of them are House members who must run for re-election next year. Same-sex marriage opponents Minnesota for Marriage and the Minnesota Family Council have promised to educate voters about the vote taken by Andrea Kieffer of Woodbury, Pat Garofalo of Farmington, David Fitzsimmons of Albertville, and Jennifer Loon of Eden Prairie.

So far, and it’s early in the 2014 election cycle, the four are facing no primary opponents. Party activists say that Keiffer, Garofalo and Fitzsimmons appear to have satisfactorily answered the concerns of the delegates who could block their endorsement.

Loon has had more difficulties in House district 48B. The problems are not with the general electorate, 60 percent of whom voted against the constitutional amendment to define marriage in Minnesota exclusively as the union between a man and a woman.

According to several sources, Loon had a contentious meeting with delegates after the close of the legislative session, where some of the delegates “railed on her” about her vote. Said one source about the possibility that Loon will face a Republican challenger, “You never know until endorsement time rolls around.”

The Minnesotans United political action committee that was formed right after Gov. Mark Dayton signed same-sex marriage legislation into law has pledged to support all legislators whose yes vote could put them into political hot water. The pledge specifically covered Democrats and Republicans.

But for the moment, Minnesotans United is staying away from Republican territory. One legislator, Garofalo, even maintains he has enough support from his district that he will not need the MU PAC money.

Carlbom declined to be specific about his PAC’s eventual involvement in targeted legislative races except to note that the PAC continues to send out requests for contributions. “The money raised by the PAC has been very strong, but we haven’t raised enough,” he said.

Meanwhile, Carlbom has campaigns with shorter deadlines. The New Jersey United for Marriage campaign wants a vote on the veto override during the legislative session that starts in November. That is the same time frame for a same-sex marriage vote in Illinois, another campaign Carlbom is directing. 

In Minnesota, House members who need to defend their seats from same-party challengers have started their work independent of the Minnesotans United PAC. A request for help, if it comes at all, will be months in the future.

Scott Honour, one of four announced Republican candidates for governor, held an old-fashioned campaign rally Tuesday night at his new headquarters, followed Wednesday by a newfangled snag in modern-day campaigning — a computer hack.

@ScottHonourMN sent a message to his Twitter followers this morning: “We’ve been hacked, if you receive a DM please ignore it; do not click on the link.”

That tweet was followed within seconds by a second one assuring all that the account password had been changed.

Honour, officially opening his headquarters in Plymouth, celebrated in Minnesota-style with what he called his “official campaign beer” and “the best hot dogs in Minnesota” — respectively, Grain Belt Nordeast and hot dogs from Garbers’ Meats in Lester Prairie.  Attending the open house was former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Bills, who announced Wednesday that he is supporting Honour.

Honour and fellow Republican candidates Jeff Johnson, Dave Thompson and Kurt Zellers meet Thursday in the first candidate forum of their trek to be the GOP nominee to challenge Mark Dayton in 2014.

“I liked what they all said, but they all said pretty much the same thing — except the ones who said they wouldn’t abide by the endorsement.”

That observation from Republican activist Leslie Lawrence of Long Prairie came at the end of Thursday night's hour-long forum in Mounds View featuring the four candidates seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Gov. Mark Dayton in 2014.

Opining on public employee pensions, taxes, education, and light rail transit,the four declared candidates revealed barely a shade of gray in their differences during their first joint meeting.

“We need to ultimately move our plan from defined benefit to defined contribution,” said businessman Scott Honour on the issue of how to handle  unfunded public pensions.

His rivals — Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, state Sen. Dave Thompson and state Rep. Kurt Zellers — agreed.

“The achievement gap between white students and students of color … is the worst in the nation in Minnesota,” said Johnson. “We have to empower parents … where if your kids are failing in school, the parents actually get to vote, a vote of confidence or no confidence in that administration.”

Honour, Thompson and Zellers agreed on the concept of choice to improve failing schools.

On designing a state budget, Thompson said: “Principle No. 1 is: Always ask yourself is this a task something the private sector can do. If the answer is yes, don’t have the government do it.”

Agreed, said the other three.

Zellers pleased the crowd of 200 Republican activists with his criticism of the Metropolitan Council: “The Met Council is always wrong. First you defund it — you take away their money.”

Honour, Johnson and Thompson joined Zellers in putting the Met Council red meat on a skewer. 

The Met Council response, however, was the only forum moment when each of the four appeared to try to outflank the other on the right.  And it was the only exchange that drew audience hoots of approval.

When Tea Party activist and moderator Walter Hudson asked them about their views on bipartisanship, the four agreed again: Bipartisanship is a necessary part of governing.

“We have to do a better job of conveying why our ideas really are the best ideas for everyone,” said Honour.

“You’ve got to figure out how to pick up enough Democrats to change the direction,” said Johnson. “I was able to do that when I was in the House with a DFL Senate.”

“You go get Democrat authors not only to sign onto your bill but to help pass it,” said Zellers.

Thompson summed up the subject:  “You’ve got to be willing to stand for your principles, but not everything’s a principle.”

Only the question of abiding by the endorsement of Republican delegates divided the group. Thompson and Johnson stated they would abide by the convention's choice.

The other two demurred.

Honour said: “I’m seeking the endorsement [but] we’ll decide at a later date if we abide by the endorsement process.”  He added, though, he was preparing for a primary.

“The decision’s already been made for me,” Zellers said. “I do believe in my heart of hearts that I can be the endorsed candidate, but I also can win a primary election.”

The endorsement issue made a difference for some of the attendees.

Not abiding by the endorsement, “that to me is not good,” said Long Prairie's Lawrence.

Not everyone, though, was concerned about the endorsement issue.

“I’m inclined to go toward Scott,” said Maria Buchholz.  “He just seems like he came from humble beginnings and he made a name for himself.”

The Buchholz house, however, is split.  Said Wayne Buchholz: “I’m torn between Jeff and Dave, and then Zellers is a close third.”

Throughout the forum, the candidates remained close in their positions and in their general respect for one another.

At the end of the evening, the candidates exchanged friendly gestures, even talking in pairs as members of the audience approached them. That camaraderie may fade, however, as time and campaigning make their political differences more distinct.

Julianne Ortman wants Minnesota’s U.S. Senate delegation to be all female and bipartisan.

Ortman, the Republican state senator from Chanhassen, hopes to join Minnesota's senior senator, Amy Klobuchar, in Washington. On Saturday, she announced that she will seek the Republican nomination to run again Sen. Al Franken in 2014.

Ortman joins former financial adviser Mike McFadden and state Rep. Jim Abeler in the Republican race for endorsement and nomination.

Before a crowd of 50 at a Waconia city park, Ortman said the state needs new representation because Franken has ducked the major issues. 

“You would think that a senator with a seat on the powerful Judiciary Committee would insist on our behalf that the Department of Justice and Attorney General Eric Holder be accountable for the investigations into the brutal murder of American diplomats in Benghazi, Libya, the sale of guns and weapons to Mexican drug cartels, the politically motivated and illegal targeting of law abiding taxpayers by the IRS,” she said.  

 She twice sidestepped a question about whether she would go to a primary election if she did not get the endorsement.

“I have one opponent I’m running against, and that’s Senator Al Franken,” she said. “I’m working every day ... to earn all the support that I’m gonna need to defeat him on Nov. 4, 2014.”

She hinted at a line of attack she intends to pursue against McFadden, a wealthy businessman.

“We don’t need any more disinterested millionaires in the Senate,” she said. “I know that Mr. McFadden has not had any public service,” she said. “I think making that transition to Washington is not necessarily an easy thing.”

Ortman, an attorney and former chair of the Minnesota Senate Tax Committee, said her experience gives her informed perspective on national issues.

In a brief question-and-answer session, she said national security and use of private information is a top concern.

“We have a court that is meeting secretly, ex parte, meaning there is no opposition, so the government attorney shows up, asks a judge in secret for a court order that then is being enforced against millions of unsuspecting Americans,” she said.

On the immigration reform bill that just passed the Senate, Ortman said she is not satisfied with its scope: “I’m not sure that the bill actually satisfies the need to secure the borders.”

The DFL Party, in a statement, responded quickly to her candidacy, accusing Ortman of raising state property taxes.

“Minnesotans won't forget that it was Ortman who led the charge to cut property taxes for big corporations while raising property taxes for middle-class families,” said DFL Party Chair Ken Martin.

Ortman responded that Martin didn’t have his facts correct.

She made her announcement flanked by her husband, Ray, and sons William and Sam. She also has a daughter living in Alaska and a son in the military.  Pfc. Raymond Ortman, she said, is  “a very good reason and motivation for running.” 

Sen. Dave Thompson

Dave Thompson, a state senator from Lakeville and a Republican gubernatorial candidate, is first out of the gate with legislation to repeal the new warehousing tax, should Gov. Dayton call a special legislative session to deal with disaster relief for counties hit by severe storms earlier this summer.

Dayton has been cool to calls to repeal the tax, but Thompson says he has asked Senate staff to draft the legislation, believing there will be DFL legislators who will join Republicans in the repeal effort.

“Obviously the most important thing, if there is a special session, is to deal with the issue of people who have been harmed and take care of the disaster issue,” Thompson said. “However, Rep. Ryan Winkler has opened the door for consideration of other issues [the state's minimum wage] and there is no reason this could not be a bipartisan bill to get rid of the warehousing tax.”

A special legislative session is still in the early planning stages, but Dayton has indicated he would call one only if there were agreement to limit the scope of the session.

“I do think there is bipartisan recognition that this warehousing tax is very damaging to employment and damaging to business in the border areas, in particular,” Thompson said.

In June, Republican lawmakers gathered a group a business owners to explain why they consider the tax harmful. Rep. Ann Lenczewski, DFL-Bloomington, who heads the House Tax Committee, has said that she, too, opposes the tax but that its repeal would leave a hole in the budget.

The tax, which does not take effect until April 2014, would generate $13 million for the 2014 fiscal year and $82 million for the 2015 fiscal year. The Legislature would either be forced to find a new tax source or make budget cuts to make up for the revenue loss.

Even in a relatively calm political season, it seems nothing can spark a few flames like a Twitter exchange.

A recent Twitter conversation between state Rep. Ryan Winkler and former state Sen. Amy Koch has led to the scheduling of a debate between the two on whether to raise the state’s minimum wage. Winkler favors it; Koch does not.

After the two exchanged tweets last week, Koch said, they agreed to disagree at a debate in October at the Maple Lake Bowling Alley, the establishment that Koch owns.

“He [Winkler] tweeted that education and raising the minimum wage were a top priority, and I had just been at my first Bowling Proprietors Association meeting, and this was their top concern,” she said.

Winkler has indicated he’d like the Legislature to take up the minimum-wage issue as early as the special session that Gov. Mark Dayton intends to call in September to allocate disaster relief money to counties affected by storms earlier this summer.

Koch has a backup a plan if the issue gets settled during the special session: “If this goes in special session, Ryan and I will just bowl.”

Another Twitter tussle emerged on Friday, when political consultant Michael Brodkorb tweeted, disputing whether U.S. Senate candidate Julianne Ortman had argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, as her website biography states.

Brodkorb tweeted: “This AM: Supreme Court official said Ortman hasn't argued a case, nor is there a record of her being admitted to the Supreme Court Bar.”

Brodkorb said he made the discovery while responding to a media call about Ortman’s candidacy.

Ortman’s website states: “Together [she and husband Ray], they successfully represented small and medium sized businesses for 12 years, including several very high profile and ground-breaking cases in state and federal court, and in the United States Supreme Court.”

Ortman’s campaign manager, Andy Parrish, maintained the statement is correct, if the reader follows the punctuation and wording carefully. Ortman’s husband, Ray, has argued before the Supreme Court through a law firm for which he worked in 1994 and both Ortmans had submitted an amicus brief to the high court in 2002, he said.

“I understand what they’re attempting to write, but what they wrote is not accurate,” replied Brodkorb, who questioned the use of the word “ground-breaking.” 

“Ground-breaking is Brown versus the Board of Education,” he said.

Parrish rejoined: “This is a silly argument, if someone is going to argue over where a comma is place.”