It takes a while for the Pony Express to bring news of Minneapolis politics to Bluestem's new headquarters in the pastoral splendors of Summit, South Dakota, so we're a bit behind the curve on an astonishing change of heart on the part of the Minnesota Jobs Coalition.

For years, Bluestem has watched this Republican front group attack rural Minnesota DFL state legislators for being too kind to Minneapolis.It has also criticized Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith for living in Minneapolis. Oh, the horror.

Now, it's been tapped to launder corporate contributions that can't be sent directly to Minneapolis City Council candidates or to Minneapolis Works!, a new business political committee placing a heavy hand on city council races in the City of Lakes, according the Star Tribune and the WedgeLive.

The latter reports in Downtown business interests align with right-wing PAC to crash Minneapolis election:

The Minnesota Jobs Coalition Legislative Fund is a Republican political action committee that used a "flood of attack mail and radio ads" to give the GOP control of the Minnesota House in 2014. In 2016, they used the same tactics to flip the Minnesota Senate. Right now, less than a month from election day in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Jobs Coalition has aligned with downtown business interests who have formed their own local political fund called Minneapolis Works.



Minneapolis Works is backed by the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Council, commercial real estate interests (BOMA), and controversial developer Steve Minn. Their goal is to keep City Council President Barb Johnson's majority intact. Minneapolis Works has already funded mailers promoting the campaigns of Council Members Barb Johnson, Lisa Goodman, Kevin Reich, John Quincy, as well as challenger Tim Bildsoe. Bildsoe was a Republican council member in Plymouth until 2014; he's now posing as DFL in Ward 3. [View mailers from Minneapolis Works at the bottom of this post.] To skirt state law prohibiting corporate contributions or expenditures to "promote or defeat" a candidate, Minneapolis Works is directing corporate checks be sent through the Minnesota Jobs Coalition. According to the Star Tribune, the Minnesota Jobs Coaltion will "funnel the money" they receive from corporations back to Minneapolis Works where it will be spent supporting a collection of City Council candidates aligned with Barb Johnson.

Lovely. We learned about this hot mess via twitter, and take time from processing the last tomatoes of summer and the logistics of storing winter squash to warn Minneapolis voters: these placebaiting folks are not your friends. They've worked through two election cycles to convince rural Minnesotans that Minneapolis is the suck, the evil metro.

Our evil metro bestie, labor leader, organizer and brilliant storyteller Javier Morillo-Alicea tipped us off about some of this nincompoopery via a series of tweets (as is his practice):

This here is how you know the Mpls Downtown Council & the @MplsChamber are intellectually bankrupt. Their PAC was formed because they OPPOSE https://t.co/JRG6v0MVuM — Javier Morillo (@javimorillo) October 23, 2017

progressive policies like the earned sick ordinance. — Javier Morillo (@javimorillo) October 23, 2017

They could support their candidates by saying “they support business interests.” But they know that’s not politically popular so they lie. — Javier Morillo (@javimorillo) October 23, 2017

But they can’t do that honestly. So they send you out pieces touting “progressive” policies they OPPOSED. Reject this deceit. — Javier Morillo (@javimorillo) October 23, 2017

So the Downtown Council & @MplsChamber are working with precisely the rightwing forces that HATE Mpls & drive placebaiting — Javier Morillo (@javimorillo) October 23, 2017

@sallyjos at @bspinmn has documented the Jobs Coalition hit jobs in Greater MN. One example: https://t.co/45s78LaBGy — Javier Morillo (@javimorillo) October 23, 2017

The last tweet isn't in the order of Morillo-Alicea's original thread, but placing it last doesn't alter the meaning.

The image at the head of the post, Against messaging: why did the MN Jobs Coalition pass on $300K biff in 2014 attacks? is presented here in all its glory. MN Job Coalition's ad placebaited against two DFL lawmakers, creating resentment of funding for the Minneapolis Central Library and other projects.

The group made no bones about this strategy in speaking to the press in the 2014 and 2016 elections. In 2014, Forum News political reporter Don Davis wrote in a Capitol Chatter post, Conservative group focuses on defeating 12 DFL representatives:

. . .Coalition leader Ben Golnik said the Democrats "who despite promises of working across the aisle, being independent voices for their regions and other appeals to their moderate districts, voted lock-step with Minneapolis and St. Paul Democrat leadership for higher taxes on all Minnesotans, a crushing regulatory environment and billions of dollars of wasteful spending." . . .

Libraries for Minneapolis. Light-rail. Oh the wastefulness. Tina Smith? Here's what the MJC said about that Minneapolis resident:

“By selecting fellow Minneapolitan Tina Flint Smith, Mark Dayton has turned his back on the nearly 5 million Minnesotans who don’t live in the City of Lakes,” said Ben Golnik, chair of the Minnesota Jobs Coalition, in a statement.

Outside of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, we've not seen as dramatic a political turnaround.

On the other hand, we're not holding our breath while waiting for the MJC to embrace Minneapolis values while helping pay for the con job.

Images: A Minneapolis Jobs! flyer, sent independently of City Council Member Lisa Goodman (above); a MN Jobs Coalition ad from 2014 damning then House members John Ward and Joe Radinovich for funding stuff in Minneapolis. Irony note: Radinovich is now mayoral candidate Jacob Frey's campaign manager. Small world.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.



Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.