Perhaps there were multiple mailings, each targeted demographically, but all I know is that's the one that landed in Anoka County mail. In the 'burbs. Saying "independent and suburban voters" is saying middle of the spectrum, i.e., well within the more moderate end of the DFL.
Well, the ox-stupid part of the population here in the Sixth Congressional District, (Stillwater to St. Cloud with some north metro in between), voted twice in the plurality for Michele Bachmann, (strongly so in Sherburne and Wright Counties), so I wonder if anyone but that kind of individual could carry a plurality here. Mike Jungbauer has been a repeat victor in my Senate district. With Mike Starr likely to challenge the District 48 seat for the DFL, with a DFL primary all but certain between two clearly capable and experienced moderate candidates seeking the Sixth District congressional seat this year, and with the chance to improve the executive branch from the sorry state it's been in recently with the unalloting itinerant tax-hater, we shall see if decision making while voting has improved, for the State and national district races and for the Governor race. Franken did not do well. Yet, there was the Klobuchar victory. Always, there is hope for betterment.
Clearly, I think Kelley differs from the level of people too many here support. More education, at quality places, more brains, none of the offensive and divisive baggage ideologically.
There are quality people here who do vote, and Kelley might be more appealing to some in that sector than my other favorites, John Marty and Mark Dayton, (and on the more moderate level with Kelley, Paul Thissen).
Kelliher also is okay, as a moderate, but has that "list thing" to be survived and clearly the GOP party officials have already begun sharpening their knives over that with a CFB complaint. Whether that is a strong, lasting demerit is yet to be seen.
From the Steve Kelley campaign website, the "about" page, this screenshot [from this webpage]:
This key background excerpting:
Steve grew up in Minnetonka along with six brothers and sisters. He went on to Williams College in Massachusetts where he met his future wife, Sophie Bell. After graduating from Williams, Steve went on to Columbia Law School. In 1983, Steve and Sophie settled in Hopkins, where Steve’s grandfather had been postmaster from 1922 to 1948. Steve and Sophie have two adult children, Paul and Eleanor. Steve served as a Minnesota DFL state senator for District 44 (St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Golden Valley) from 1997 to 2006 and as a state representative for District 44A from 1993 to 1996.
Most recently, Kelley landed quite a nice job, "Steve Kelley is currently a senior fellow at the Humphrey Institute and the director of the Center for Science, Technology, and Public Policy ["the CSTPP"]. He currently teaches 'Public Budgeting,' which focuses on budget principles and processes at the state and federal levels including departmental budgeting and the duties of the chief executive and the legislature."
For policy wonks liking funky diagrams, this CSTPP screenshot:
Kelley seems to have class and dedication. Not at all the type who would hire somebody to shadow someone else in his own party. He left the legislature and got into an existing, recognized, and growing policy study and university-level teaching situation, not starting anything anew just to have an affiliation.
On issues, Kelley's energy page recognizes the need for sustainable energy, meaning less national wealth flow out to petroleum producing nations among other things, however
Kelley's healthcare page lacks the words "single payer," and that is a large and very glaring negative, to me.
Have a look at all his brief "issue" pages, this link.
________UPDATE_______
Another thing I would hope to see revised and expanded on the Kelley website's education issues page is a clearer statement about the critical importance of post graduate excellence at the Twin Cities U. Minn. campus, as the seed corn of the future prosperous and innovative business growth in the state, and something about the tuition crisis being faced now by students because of funding realities with a GOP governor of the quality of the present one. There needs to be a focus on keeping key faculty since excellence takes years to build and months to dissapate; and some price relief for the students at what is, after all, a public land-grant university. I have no cause to believe Kelley is unmindful of the truths, and his education policy heading is "Education and Opportunity for All." Yet under that banner, it seems higher education is given short shrift. As one affiliated with an academic policy center, he should say more about where his own expertise has gravitated. And for a relevant context, there are two recent Strib links worth reading, here and here. Perhaps the word "excellence" also should be added to the page headline, perhaps "maintianing excellence" as a flag to what is there that can be far too easily lost.
_______FURTHER UPDATE________
Broadband: This CSTPP link, for this quote.
Director Steve Kelley, interviewed on MPR, January 26th, 2009: Steve Kelley favors a "build it and they will come' approach to expanding broadband. He said once people see the opportunities high-speed Internet service creates, if its available, they'll buy it. "When the tools are there ahead of time people invent lots of new ways to use it," Kelley said. "So I do think we've fallen behind on providing the capacity and infrastructure that will generate new innovation in how we use it." Follow this link for the full story.
This screenshot, for the January 2009 MPR item per the embedded link in the above CSTPP quote [as always, click the image to enlarge and read]:
The chart MPR presented, readable, this link.
The remainder of this update is me, not Kelley, on what's best for people, the state, the nation and the world. That has to be understood. See the sidebar link to the Fibernet Monticello pages. My hope is that Kelley, indeed all of the DFL governor candidates, would embrace what the municipality did, and would consider legislation aimed to forestall the sabotage, abusive litigation, and tardy uptake of opportunity that City of Monticello suffered at the hands of the private-sector telephone services provider holding a contract with the City. We learn from history or repeat it. Learning is best in this instance. The private service provider's level of obstruction was obscene and should not recur in Minnesota in ways that would retard broadband progress statewide. And while rural broadband has national attention as part of stimulus spending, there should be no donut-hole problems tolerated, for towns, the Twin Cities, or where I live, in the seven-county metro area, but in the outer cusp where growth has recently gone from excessive and problematic, to moribund. This is perhaps the most troublesome area to assure suitable braodband, due to the housing and business state of flux. Qwest and Comcast, there has to be something better than either, and they should not be accorded any profit-centered broadband stranglehold against progress. Finally, regarding broadband in Minnesota, and levels of government transparancy and openness we all would want our progressive or moderate candidates for governor to embrace and support; this link.