The following people were elected as delegates and alternates to the DFL district and state conventions: (L-R, front) Barb Dvorak, Pat Campanaro, Christine Kraus, Jerry Hiniker, Frank Dvorak. (L-R, back) Stan Tull, Denny Fitzpatrick, Bill Hansen, MaryAnn Atwood, Larry Caven and Anton Moody.
Saturday, March 10, about 40 members of Cook County’s Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL) met at the Cook County Senior Center and picked delegates and alternates to represent the local party at upcoming district and state conventions.
Cook County DFL Chair Diane Parker was elected temporary convention chair while Denny Fitzpatrick was named temporary secretary for the meeting.
After the adoption of the agenda and convention rules were agreed upon, several people spoke in favor of candidates running to represent our area.
Sawbill Outfitters owner Bill Hansen of Tofte said Rick Nolan is a former three-term Congressman who is an expert on exports and who owns a sawmill.
“We need to put Nolan in what I like to think of as Congressman Oberstar’s seat,” said Hansen.
Tim Kennedy read a letter supporting Senator Amy Klobuchar. Jordan Metsa, field coordinator for Nolan, spoke on behalf of Nolan.
Bev Denyes gave the treasurer’s report and said that after 40 years, she was giving up the secretarial position. “I’ve been doing this since Richard Nixon was president. It’s time for someone else to take over,” said Denyes, who got a standing ovation and was presented with a gift from Parker.
Getting down to business, the group nominated and elected the following to two-year terms: Diane Parker, party chair; Anton Moody, associate chair; Jerry Hiniker, secretary; Paulette Anholm, treasurer; and Abbey Tofte as its affirmative action officer.
President Barack Obama’s 74 votes cast at the Cook County Democratic caucus were ratified, along with one uncommitted ballot for president. Rick Nolan’s 66 votes, Taryl Clark’s one vote and Jeff Anderson’s one vote for the party’s Congressional nomination were also ratified.
The following six people were selected as delegates to the district and state convention: Bill Hansen, MaryAnn Atwood, Barb Dvorak, Jerry Hiniker, Christine Kraus and Stan Tull will attend the state convention in Rochester June 1-3 and attend the district convention on May 5 at the Spirit Mountain Recreational Center in Duluth.
If they can’t attend, the following were elected alternates and will go in their place: Abbey Tofte, Anton Moody, Pat Campanaro, Denny Fitzpatrick, Frank Dvorak and Larry Caven.
Hansen and Atwood were elected delegation co-chairs. The county has six half-votes that will be cast for Rick Nolan at the district convention.
Maxine Linehan and Anton Moody read 20 resolutions that were submitted at the caucus. The resolutions were voted on and the delegates will present those that passed at the state and district convention. Voice votes were taken unless it couldn’t be determined who won, then a show of hands for or against was held, and the measure passed or failed based on a hand count.
Several measures went to a hand count. When proposed that legislators study the effects the national health care law will have on small business owners as it is now written, the measure was defeated when (largely) business owners raised their hand in favor of modifying the bill and (mostly) non-business owners won the day with their hand count against the measure.
Opposition against sulfide mining in its current proposed form was unanimous as was opposition to the Keystone pipeline.
Opposition against any kind of sulfide mining, even if as one resolution later asked, “What if it could be shown that no environmental damage could come from sulfide mining?” failed by two votes in a show of hands.
The group also was against the requirement for voter identification and was for instant run-offs and was opposed to the marriage rights amendment act—calling instead for equal rights for every loving family.
There was strong support to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. This surprised Denny Fitzpatrick, among many.
“Didn’t we pass that in the ’60s? he asked incredulously.
“No, we’re two states short and it gets tied up and lost in committees,” came the answer back to Fitzpatrick.
Also passed were resolutions to uphold the rights of unions to represent workers, close loopholes in the tax code and make taxes fair and equitable for all, fund education adequately so that all children can be well educated, and after some discussion it was agreed upon that the state should keep the current seniority system for teachers.
A resolution passed calling for the state to look at funding rural school districts beyond what is currently available and another resolution passed calling for federal elections to be financed only through federal funds.
Other resolutions that were passed called for the end of an act that now allows corporations to gain citizen status, thereby ending Superpacs, and a repeal or change to the Dodd Frank Act that forces small and midsize banks to operate under austere measures meant for the largest five (failed) banking institutions for which the rules were put in place.
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