Liberal in the Land of Conservative: And Then There Were Three...

And Then There Were Three...

4:14 PM | Posted in 6th District Election, Elwyn Tinklenberg

Yesterday, we saw the third entrant into the race for the Democratic nomination of the 6th Congressional District. Elwyn Tinklenberg has announced he will be seeking the nomination. Thus far, I have not decided whom I would support between these three candidates. There are wonderful posts throughout the blogs in the area expressing reasons to support (See Beyond Soundbites for an Olson endorsement, Blue Man for an Olson endorsement, & MNPublius for a Tinklenberg endorsement) this candidate or that candidate.

I have been previously of the mind that the 6th District needs a Pro Life Democrat in order to counteract much of this single issue voting bloc that allows Republicans in this area to win elections handily. However, this is not a hard and fast rule that I live by so I am teetering in my support. Not that an endorsement by this bog will mean much, but I intend to come to some decision within the next month as I look closer at their positions.

Tinklenberg decides to run for Congress
By Lawrence Schumacher lschumacher@stcloudtimes.com

Published: October 02. 2007 12:30AM

For Elwyn Tinklenberg, Aug. 1 changed everything.
The day the Interstate Highway 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River is the reason the former Blaine mayor and state transportation commissioner announced Monday that he will run for Congress.
“I could not sit by and watch this happening in our state,” Tinklenberg said. The bridge collapse, and the decaying state infrastructure it symbolizes, made him change his mind about running for the DFL endorsement for a 6th Congressional District race against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., in 2008.
Six months ago, Tinklenberg was the presumptive front-runner when he told the St. Cloud Times he would not get in the race, citing financial and family obligations.
Today, the field includes Stillwater trial lawyer Bob Hill and bank owner and tax lawyer Bob Olson, who now lives in St. Cloud.
Both have said they will abide by the party endorsement, a commitment Tinklenberg declined to make on Monday.
Tinklenberg lost the endorsement battle in 2006 to St. Joseph child safety advocate Patty Wetterling, who went on to lose to Bachmann.
Spokespeople for the Hill and Olson campaigns said Tinklenberg’s announcement Monday did not change their plans.
The 6th Congressional District covers all or most of Anoka, Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, Washington and Wright counties, including the St. Cloud area.
State Republican Party Chairman Ron Carey took a shot at Tinklenberg, noting his previous statement to the Times.
“With his decision to break his word to the Sixth District, Elwyn Tinklenberg cements his position as just another politician who cannot be trusted,” he said in a release.
As transportation commissioner under then-Gov. Jesse Ventura, Tinklenberg said he tried to warn lawmakers about the deteriorating condition of Minnesota’s transportation infrastructure, but was unable to get legislators to agree to increase state transportation funding.
Tinklenberg, a former United Methodist minister, owns and operates a transportation consulting and lobbying firm.
He declined to endorse a proposal from U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, DFL-Minn., to raise the federal gas tax by 5 cents a gallon, with the proceeds to be dedicated to bridge and infrastructure repair.
“Sometimes we resort too quickly to adding the burden onto the consumer,” Tinklenberg said.