October 20, 2008 Newsletter

In this issue:

Veterans Group Awards "A" grade to Congressman Oberstar

University of St. Thomas Establishes James L. Oberstar Professorship of Law and Public Policy

Candidate Spotlight: Al Doty, House District 12B

Veterans Group Awards "A" Grade to Congressman Oberstar

Earlier this month, the nonpartisan Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) Action Fund awarded Congressman Jim Oberstar an “A” grade on their 2008 Congressional report card.

The votes cover a range of issues facing new veterans, including veterans’ health care, the new GI Bill, mental health, and support for homeless veterans.

“I am proud to receive an “A” grade from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America,” Congressman Oberstar said.

“Regardless of whether we supported this war at the beginning, it is imperative that our servicemen and women have the full support of the government to show our gratitude for their service and help them transition back into civilian life.”

In their 2008 Congressional report card, IAVA has graded all Representatives and Senators. Unfortunately, not all Members of Congress share their priorities, including presidential candidate John McCain who received a “D” grade from the organization.

John McCain has followed in the footsteps of George W. Bush, urging Americans to “support our troops” but then not being there for them on issues like veterans’ healthcare or college tuition reductions for our returning veterans.

This year, on important issues ranging from health care to job creation and college affordability, Democrats stand united to make addressing the working-class crunch the forefront of our agenda. John McCain and Congressional Republicans still rehash the same George W. Bush economic policies that haven’t worked for the past 7 years.

Today we renew our call to Minnesotans to support Barack Obama for President and Al Franken for U.S. Senate.

We will fight for affordable health care, for veterans and all Americans; we will work to make college more affordable; we will invest in the American workforce and create good-paying jobs here in Minnesota and across the county; we will develop renewable energy solutions to help lower the cost of energy; and we will fight for the middle class, but we need your help first.

Please vote on November 4th and please get involved. Contact your local DFL office or email our campaign manager Blake Chaffee at blake@oberstar.org to help elect Democrats this year.

Upcoming Events

Join Congressman Oberstar as he tours the district over the next few weeks. Be sure to check www.oberstar.org/events for the most up-to-date event information. Contact Blake Chaffee at (218) 723-8813 or blake@oberstar.org for more information on any of the following upcoming events.

Friday, Oct. 24. 12:00-1:00 p.m. Rally with Al Franken to kick-off Al's statewide bus tour. Franken Campaign Headquarters, 2575 University Ave. W., Suite 100, St. Paul

Friday, Oct 24. 3:30-4:30 p.m. Rally with John Persell and supporters. Also join Frank Moe, Mary Olson, and Rod Skoe. Bemidji Airport Conference Room. 3824 Moberg Dr. NW #101, Bemidji.

Friday, Oct 24. 5:00-6:00 p.m. Rally with Meg Bye. Village Square, 411 Minnesota Ave. W., Walker.

Saturday, Oct. 25. 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Campaign gathering with Brita Sailer. Jack Pine Java, 311 Main Ave. S, Park Rapids.

Saturday, Oct. 25. 1:30-2:30 p.m. Campaign gathering with Tim Nieminen. Village Emporium, 114 Jefferson St. S, Wadena.

Saturday, Oct. 25. 6:00-7:00 p.m. Cass-Crow Wing DFL Dinner. 5:00-6:30p.m. meet and greet. Also join rormer U.S. Congressman Rick Nolan. Nisswa American Legion, 25807 Main St. Nisswa.

University of St. Thomas Establishes James L. Oberstar Professorship of Law and Public Policy

The University of St. Thomas has established a professorship dedicated to Congressman Oberstar on behalf of his tireless work in public policy on a range of issues including; transportation, public works, water resources, and the environment.

“Congressman Oberstar’s long-term commitment to public policy and his strong ties to the university and the law school make the establishment of this professorship a natural fit,” said Dean Thomas Mengler.

“The position will allow us to recruit and retain a nationally recognized scholar in law and public policy.”

From the University’s release:

Oberstar is a native of Chisholm, Minn., and is fond of telling how he received a $250 scholarship for his freshman year from a Slovenian organization on the Iron Range, where his father worked in the mines. Many years later, after his father’s death, Oberstar found an old financial passbook with scores of entries.

“Every payday, dad went to the home of the S.N.P.J. lodge treasurer and put 25 cents in an account,” Oberstar said. “That was the equivalent, then, of an hour’s wage in the depth of the Depression. He couldn’t afford to do that, but he did it. Those quarters added up, and they helped me to go to college.”

Oberstar excelled at St. Thomas and graduated with degrees in political science and French. He taught French and Creole in Haiti for three years before becoming a congressional aide to Rep. John Blatnik. When Blatnik retired, Oberstar won election to the seat and has represented the Eighth District since 1975. He is the longest-serving congressman in Minnesota history.

He chose to follow in Blatnik’s footsteps and serve on what now is known as the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which he has chaired since the Democrats won control of the House in the 2006 elections. He is a past chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, where he became known as Mr. Aviation. He has been influential in shaping the reauthorization every six years of legislation that funds highways, bridges and mass transit, and will oversee that process in 2009.

Candidate Spotlight: Al Doty, House District 12B

Next in our series of 8th District DFL candidate profiles is Al Doty running for reelection in the Minnesota State House.

Candidate: Al Doty
House District 12B, Cities: Little Falls and surrounding area.
--Not sure what district you're in? Just visit the Minnesota District Finder on the State Legislature's official website.

Al Doty is seeking reelection to the Minnesota House to build on the bipartisan accomplishments he has made in the past two years. “We had a good start,” Doty said, “but we’re not done yet.”

Doty, a 15-year resident of Royalton, touts a record of working across party lines to get results for the people of his district.

“I’m a Representative, and I proudly represent the people of my district, not a party or interest group,” Doty said.

His accomplishments include authoring a bill to get the Minnesota Departments of Natural Resources, Health, and Agriculture all onto a board of animal health--before the latest outbreaks of Bovine Tuberculosis, he points out--to have reliable coordination and communication between the departments to deal with an epidemic.

“When the bird flu shows its ugly head, we’ll have the right people at the table,” Doty said.

Doty also carried bills for Camp Ripley, the National Guard Training Center located in his district, including authoring a bill which will put a $5 million training facility for public safety at the Camp, which piggy-backs on a $17 million federal project to train troops for urban fighting.

“Piggy-backing on Federal funding is one of the ways I aim to use state money wisely,” Doty said. “We need sensible spending now more than ever and it’s the most important factor in my judgement of legislation.”

Doty says spending such as early childhood education saves the taxpayers’ money down the road on learning problems, and says keeping drinking water clean is a lot more cost-effective than cleaning it up.

On smart spending, Doty argues his healthcare plan is more sensible than his opponent’s.

“My opponent talks about more health care options, but the fact is that while it might be a cheaper policy when you don’t pay for prevention, in the long run, it’s the taxpayer who will bare the burden of increased emergency room visits due to lack of prevention care,” Doty said.

Asked the most important issue this election, he responded with the issue that has dominated the Presidential race, and is on the mind of nearly every voter this year--the economy.

“We must address issues affecting the middle-class, and though all of a sudden the attention has been shifted to the economy, people here in Minnesota have been feeling the crunch for a while.”

Doty points to the increasing rate of property taxes throughout the state and the strain they put on working families.

“We tried to get the funding for property tax relief, but the governor vetoed it,” Doty said.

Many of the bills that dealt directly with the problems facing the middle class, like property tax relief and healthcare reform, the governor vetoed, Doty argues. That’s why he’s asking for another term in the Minnesota House--to keep fighting for the working class.

For more information, or to view a list of his endorsements, visit his website:

http://aldoty.homestead.com .