Dec 7, 2004
Rep. Nora Slawik (DFL-55B, Maplewood) is entertaining the notion of vying for Secretary of State in 2006. Slawik a suburban legislator who has played in the political school of hard knocks after losing reelection following her first term, but showed true grit and...
Dec 7, 2004
As the legislative session commences in January we believe there is an open opportunity for the DFL Senate Majority and DFL House Minority to capitalize on; that is playing the expectations game. As every proposal comes out of the Governor’s office or the Speaker of...
Dec 7, 2004
As we look past the results of the 2004 Presidential election some realities set in. President George W Bush (R) is limited to two–terms of office and it was the brilliance of Republicans in 1951 after four-terms for Franklin Delano Roosevelt (D) that brought about...
Dec 7, 2004
The proposal by Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) for a Special Session to address agreed to items in a small Bonding Bill doesn’t seem to be gaining ground. The window of opportunity is closing rapidly and Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson (DFL-13, Willmar) and Senate...
Dec 7, 2004
When Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) went to Willmar a couple of weeks ago to meet with Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson (DFL-13, Willmar) he expressed his support for a Constitutional Amendment to raise the Gas Tax. Now this is qualified support for the Amendment...
Dec 7, 2004
We were surprised to hear some Republicans beginning to carp about Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) Administration’s lack of clear focus or established course. To some, it appears a policy-a-week was floated out and not well vetted and had a feeling of being more of a series...
Dec 7, 2004
The State of Minnesota has a projected $495 million surplus for 2004-05 and is looking at a deficit in 2006-07 of between $700 million and $1.39 billion when factoring inflation. Current projections show the state’s burden of healthcare costs climbing significantly...
Dec 7, 2004
We had heard previously that the House Republicans were considering not seating the incoming class of freshman DFL legislators until the issue of House Minority Leader Rep. Matt Entenza’s (DFL-64A, St. Paul) $300,000 contribution to the 21st Century Democrats...
Dec 7, 2004
We attended the press conference held by incoming Civil Law Chair Rep. Jeff Johnson (R-43A, Plymouth) and have included the press release from the event. During it, he called on House Minority Leader Matt Entenza (DFL-64A, St. Paul) to disclose the records for the...
Jul 29, 2004
We at Checks & Balances apologize for the recent disruption of web services. Checks & Balances website suffered a hostile attack from a hacker who we have come to find out is a resident of Germany. Our file server became to collection point for Nazi...
