Twin Cities Pioneer Press: State Supreme Court hears arguments over legislative budget veto
There will be a heavyweight championship battle for the ages in a Minnesota Capitol courtroom on Monday.
In one corner: Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gov. Mark Dayton, who vetoed funding for the Minnesota House and Senate for the next two years. In the other: the Republican-led Minnesota Legislature, which scored a win in district court when a judge declared the vetoes unconstitutional.
Representing them are two attorneys with lots of wins on their records. The lawyers — former Supreme Court Justice Sam Hanson and powerhouse litigator Doug Kelley — spent the summer trading cordial, professional jabs, but both make clear they are ready to land that knockout punch when they go before the Minnesota Supreme Court on Monday morning.
The case — known formally as the Ninetieth Minnesota State Senate and the Ninetieth Minnesota State House of Representatives vs. Mark B. Dayton, in his official capacity as governor of the State of Minnesota — will feature the Minnesota Constitution, the most powerful people in Minnesota and the most powerful court in the state.
Minneapolis StarTribune: Activist candidates shake up Minneapolis City Council races
The traditional path to Minneapolis City Hall starts at the neighborhood level, with a stint lobbying the powerful about potholes and controversy close to home while building a broad network of community contacts.
But the 2017 election season brings a slate of City Council candidates who have made names for themselves in a different way — through advocacy on specific high-profile issues, from legalizing same-sex marriage to passing a citywide $15 minimum wage. Council races in more than half the city’s 13 wards include candidates who have led or worked with local activist groups.
“We’re on the ground. We’re doing this work. We’re passing policy,” said Stephanie Gasca, a Fourth Ward council candidate who works for workers’ rights organization Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha. “We deserve to lead and be the decisionmakers as well.”
It’s not clear how issue advocacy will translate to wins on Election Day. But left-leaning groups organizing around national political turmoil have propelled many of the activist candidates to DFL endorsements and fundraising hauls.
Minnesota Public Radio: Former Minneapolis police chief starts consulting firm, launches website
Former Minneapolis Chief Janee Harteau says she is focused on her future, a month after being forced to resign amid the scrutiny of the fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk. Harteau is advertising work as a consultant, a coach and a speaker on her new web site.
But she said she’s not currently looking for a job as a chief.
“I would never say never, because I don’t know what the future holds,” she said. “But there’s just a lot of opportunities to do things on a more global basis and I’d prefer to entertain those first and really try to have an impact on the profession and women in leadership in both the private sector and the public sector.”
Harteau’s website describes her as a “visionary leader, trailblazer, transformational change agent.” The site also links to her MPD 2.0 plan she developed early in her tenure.
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