For further info, the Thissen legislative page is online here, where he really should update the photograph, but as with all such legislators' pages it gives key information - such as committee assignments, and his "chief author" bills list, here.
Thissen appears attuned to the need for leading edge good jobs, and appears to be a friend of continuing higher education excellence. The Twin Cities U.Minn. campus has reached nationally recognized stature, and it is the post-graduate capability of that institution that ultimately will shape the future directions local enterprise takes. Thissen appears cognizant.
BEYOND THAT There is a second good reason to post about This clearly early entry into the DFL race beyond the newsworthyness of Thissen's intent and his announcement.
His website is http://paulthissen.com/, with this screenshot of his issues page. (As always, click to enlarge and read):
This is yet again a reflection of the growing power and awareness of the power of the Internet.
This use of the Internet, early, shows Thissen is aware of the power of the Internet for reaching people who vote and contribute. He wisely recognizes the Internet as a political communications tool and a means of individual initiative in broadcasting news and views.
Howard Dean years ago was the pioneer, and the Obama campaign's success this cycle was in large part due to its donor lists, generated in the way Thissen is approaching his run for governor. Locally, even Tinklenberg in MN 6 used the "sign up for email" approach which creates a potential donor list where you are dead in the water if you cannot raise funds to campaign, along with a parallel blog, and the all important donate online page where cashflows are made to flow.
The Thissen website is quite cleanly and professionally designed. The screenshot page, above, in particular shows not just emailing reach, but already demographic awareness by offering a range of email issue topics to be selected to match interests and priorities of the voter responding.
Brauer at MinnPost.com notes, "Thissen has not been among the 'big names' mentioned for the race, but has some intriguing qualities." One such quality is Internet awareness, and jumping the gun for Internet advantage over opposition "big names" where they may have advantages in the rolodex and old-boy, old-girl face-to-face networks that are, for better or worse, all too, too prevalent in DFL politics.
I could support this candidate. Depending on who else stands up saying, "Me," he could end up my favored choice. Most certainly I see no apparent downside factors, so far.
It is an interesting step to declare early, where my guess would be a prompt exit being necessary if his candidacy does not show some quick degree of resonance.
However, the press release and website stage of things is low-budget, so staying power will exist until the need for big media spending arises and for travel and staff leading up to endorsing convention cycle effort dominates. The precinct caucus level is first and key stage of the process, and for statewide office it demands statewide mechanisms. Thissen, for now, is early and has caught a leading edge wave.
We wait. We see.
________UPDATE________
Strib reports:
The Minneapolis DFLer becomes the fourth Democrat to lay groundwork for a gubernatorial campaign.
Others who have filed with the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board are Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, state Sen. Tom Bakk (bock) and frequent candidate Ole Savior.
Thissen just won a fourth term in the Minnesota House, where he has focused on health care issues.
Gaertner appears to be the major official DFL opponent. Bakk's Senate district is the Arrowhead Region, Iron Range region, along Lake Superior north of Duluth, and it appears to include the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and the folks up in Ely, the Sixth Senate District, see the district map, here. How he'd do in a primary, vs how he'd do in a general election, being so regional, is unclear. Both Gaerther and Thissen are metro area people, and how they'd separate on the issues is yet to be seen. Each, as a successful office holder, has a track record. Each is a lawyer.
________FURTHER UPDATE________
Tom Bakk seems to have some baggage related to Mall of America and parking ramp concerns there. I have not read a lot, but there's reporting, see, this Google.
Bakk does not yet have a campaign website. Gaertner does, here. To me, the Thissen product is smoother by far. Are there any reader views of whether the heavy-handedness during the RNC show in Xcel Energy Center will have repercussions for her, since she is the prosecutor having to face facts in court, for some of those arrests, those not simply thrown out?
On the Mall of America parking ramp thing, and Tom Bakk's role as chair of the Senate tax committee, including counterproductive and apparently tacky rabble-rousing crowd chanting tactics, see here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Weigh it for yourself. I have no helpful comments.
On the Gaertner website, please leave a comment if you were able to find an issues page. I did not, but I use FireFox with a script blocker and Adblock, which shuts some webpage stuff off that is not plain vanilla hypertext. Double checking, using IE, and searching the site "Issues," plus this Google, with this screenshot of the search return - it does not hack it for saying who you are and why I should vote for you beyond what I already know, County Attorney for about a decade. So?
