Monday, May 13, 2013
The bill will now move to the governor's desk to be signed into law.
After similar measures failed in past sessions, Sen. Scott Dibble's same-sex marriage bill was passed by the Senate in a 37-30 vote Monday afternoon. Dibble (D-61) and fellow Southwest Minneapolis Sen. Jeff Hayden (D-62) both entered yea votes Monday afternoon. Dibble, along with the bill's co-author Republican Sen. Branden Peterson and Reps. Karen Clark (DFL-62A) and Steve Simon (DFL-46B), introduced the bill back in February. The Minnesota House passed the measure last Thursday in a 75-59 vote. When the measure was introduced Monday, Dibble called it "a very simple bill," and added that "sometimes the simplest bills are the most powerful." Read: Dibble Introduces MN Same-Sex Marriage at MN Senate: 'A Very Simple Bill' Sen. Warren Limmer…
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Dibble, Hayden join Rep. Paul Thissen at head of new DFL majority.
The 2012 elections ushered in a new DFL majority in the Minnesota Legislature. Its fallout, though has ushered several members of Southwest Minneapolis' delegation into top leadership positions in St. Paul. Last week, Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL-61B) was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. Now, according to the Star-Tribune, Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-61) has been elected chair of the Senate's Transportation Finance subcommittee. According to MinnPost, Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-62). MinnPost quoted Hayden saying he was ready to "roll up his sleeves" to move Minnesota beyond "political stalemates." Dibble's elevation is also good news for the Southwest Light Rail line and other mass-transit projects.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Hayden has focused on working for a single-payer healthcare system in Minnesota.
Name: Jeff Hayden Age: 46 Place of Residence: 4018 3rd Ave South Attended College: Yes College: Metro State University, Bethel University Degree: Working towards a BA Year of Graduation: Job titles held: Manager, Hearth Connection; Policy Aide to City Councilmember Gary Schiff; Community Outreach Coordinator, Hennepin County Powderhorn Partners. Employers: Hennepin County, Hearth Connection, City of Minneapolis Party affiliation: Democratic Farmer-Labor Running for a: State Office Running for position: MN State Senate Chamber/district: 62 Incumbant: Yes First elected: 2011 Previous elective offices: Yes (MN House of Representatives District 62B, 2009-2011) Unsuccessful bids for offices: No Address Name : Title : Website : Jeffreyhayden.…
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Allen becomes the first Native-American woman to serve in the state legislature.
DFLer Susan Allen has won the special election to replace now-Sen. Jeff Hayden. With all precincts reporting, Allen took 56 percent of the vote. At 8:20, Allen's opponent threw in the towel after taking 43 percent of the vote. “Susan is a remarkable woman and a dedicated progressive,” Nathan Blumenshine said. “Her personal story is a powerful one, and I can’t think of a stronger leader to serve as the voice of this community. I laud the respectful tone that she showed me and brought to this race. I will now do everything I can to support her work, to ensure that we bring affordable health care to all Minnesotans, educational opportunities to all children, and living-wage jobs to the many unemployed in our community.” Wednesday morning, …
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Southwest Minneapolis Patch covered the event live at Powderhorn Park.
Questions and answers ricocheted off the walls of the Powderhorn Park Rec Center as Susan Allen and Nathan Blumenshine squared off in a candidate forum Wednesday night. Blumenshine and Allen are vying to replace now-Sen. Jeff Hayden as Kingfield’s state representative. With only a minute to answer questions posed by the audience, the debate resembled Steven Douglas versus Abraham Lincoln, armed with machine guns. For those who watched the duo’s debate last month at Turtle Bread Company at 48th and Chicago, many of the candidates’ answers—and even some of their jokes—were predictable. Both said they support universal healthcare and unions’ collective bargaining rights, and oppose voter ID laws and public funding for a Minnesota Vikings …
Monday, November 14, 2011
Kingfield will vote for its next state representative on Jan. 10
The DFL primary may not have even happened yet, but Kingfield and the rest of state House District 61B now know who the party's candidate to replace now-Sen. Jeff Hayden will be. Political newcomer Susan Allen got the nod Saturday afternoon at the local DLF committee's endorsing convention. Josh Bassais and Nelson Inz, her two DFL opponents, have both said they will suspend their campaigns rather than run against the party's endorsement. Her chief opponent now will be Nathan Blumenshine, a independent candidate running on a liberal platform. "I'm really proud to get this endorsement," Allen said. "We all worked really hard for this." Allen had picked up endorsements from many prominent DFLers around the metro, including City Councilmember …
Friday, November 11, 2011
Kingfield and much of South Minneapolis are searching for a replacement for now-Sen. Jeff Hayden.
For longtime labor organizer Josh Bassais, running for state representative was a natural direction to take his longtime involvement in local DFL and neighborhood politics. "My belief is that good policy and what benefits the community the most is what's generated in the community," he said. Bassais said his long career in the organized labor movement gives him unique skills in his bid for now-Sen. Jeff Hayden's old seat in Minnesota House District 61B. He added that he wants to put those skills to use stumping for other candidates to win over suburban swing districts for the DFL. "I'd want to start internally within the DFL caucus," he said. "I want to speak to folks from outstate and formulate a powerful message that we all can stick to…
Kingfield and much of South Minneapolis is searching for a replacement for now-Sen. Jeff Hayden.
Her two chief DFL competitors are the veterans of several campaigns and leadership roles with the local DFL committee. However, political newcomer Susan Allen likes to distinguish herself as the candidate who will be "a voice for those left out" of the traditional political process. "I think people see themselves in me," she said, citing many years of activism in the Native American and LGBT communities. She said she understands how to engage the many ethnic communities with Minnesota's House District 61B. "Minority communities are sort of insular," she explained. "It’s difficult for them to go outside those communities because they face a lot of discrimination, and they’re afraid they’ll lose their identities." She plans to put that …
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Kingfield and much of South Minneapolis searches for a replacement for now-Sen. Jeff Hayden.
Running on a decidedly left-of-center platform, independent candidate Nathan Blumenshine might seem a natural fit for the DFL ticket in Kingfield and South Minneapolis, where he's running to fill the seat in the state House of Representatives vacated by now-Sen. Jeff Hayden. Even though House District 61B has a long history of support for liberal causes such as single-payer healthcare, abortion access and workers' rights, Blumenshine thinks pursuing those causes at the State Capitol with a DFL label stamped on his back would do more harm than good. That's why he's calling himself the "respect candidate." Blumenshine, who's volunteered or worked on several DFL campaigns in Minnesota and North Dakota, believes Republicans would be more …
Kingfield and much of South Minneapolis searches for a replacement for now-Sen. Jeff Hayden.
Sen. Jeff Hayden, while still in the Minnesota House of Representatives, phoned Nelson Inz in the run-up to the Senate District 61 DFL committee's endorsing convention, asking for his support. The pair started talking about the then-hypothetial race to fill Hayden's house seat, when Hayden asked Inz if he was interested in running. "I’ve got a great job, I love my job," said Inz, a social studies teacher at a St. Paul charter school. "I’ve been on the senate district central committee, I've been a delegate. Until then, I hadn't thought of running." Inz, three other DFLers, and one independent candidate are vying to replace Hayden in his seat in District 61B, covering Kingfield and a large swath of South Minneapolis. "I want to push the …
Mike Hindin
11:15 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Thanks for great leadership Senator Dibble and best wishes I hope you have a public party to reaffirm your marriage in Minnesota as I would love to attend. So much was gained by affirming equal marriage rights. Minnesota is a better state and will become even better when there is a track record of marriages without any major disruptions and opponents learn to accept that their rights are … more ›