by Jake Levy-Pollans

One of the jobs of campaign staffers and volunteers across Minnesota throughout February and March is to attend county or senate district conventions on behalf of their candidates. These conventions are a crucial stage in the endorsement process where folks select a group of delegates to represent their community at the DFL State Convention in late April.

Let's be honest, if not for these conventions there are other things I could be doing with my Saturday mornings (hint: sleep.) But the truth is while I often walk into these conventions a bit tired, waiting for the morning jolt of coffee to kick in, I always leave them energized.

by Joe Radosevich

Sometimes we forget how diverse our state really is, or how big it is.

Well it's hard to forget when you're traveling to every corner of Minnesota like Matt and I did this past weekend. We were in Browerville, MN about 30 miles northeast of Alexandria. Their story is familiar to lots of towns in Greater Minnesota.

They have rich natural resources and their own high school, but their greatest export has been young people eager to enter the workforce. They're struggling after years of neglect from the state. It doesn't have to be this way.

by Brian Falldin

Greetings everyone, I'm Brian Falldin, New Media Director with the Entenza campaign. If there's one thing I learned, and learned well, from working on the Obama campaign in 2008, it was that the Internet is transforming the way we generate participation in the political process.

We are now interconnected with each other more than ever, and finding new and innovative ways to work together politically and civically will only help our democracy and increase the efficiency of our government. It's why I'm very honored to be working with Matt Entenza on his campaign to be Minnesota's next governor.

You see, Matt gets it.

His vision for Minnesota reimagines the way our government and our state will work in the 21^st century.

As I'm sure many of you know, he talks a lot about the clean energy economy, American-made clean energy, and the secure high-wage jobs it'll bring, but he also firmly supports using the Internet and related technologies to improve our state as a whole.

He understands that while yes the Internet brings Facebook and Twitter to the living rooms of everyday Minnesotans, it also is a way to create new opportunities for businesses and organizations throughout Minnesota. The way Matt sees it, we need to increase and improve broadband access to rural Minnesota and beyond.

Matt likes to say: "The Internet is the new main street." And I couldn't agree more.

If you haven't checked us out yet on Facebook or Twitter. Please do!

And if you really want to show off your support for Matt, we put up some brand new (and did I mention FREE) icons for people to use on their Facebook and Twitter profiles.

Until next week...

http://www.facebook.com/entenzacampaign

http://www.twitter.com/Entenza4Gov

by Jake Levy-Pollans

People tend to assume that a young 20-something working on a campaign would know a lot about social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. The truth is that I'm no expert - I'm the guy who still tries punching my computer when it freezes up.

But I do know one thing: To successfully run a social media campaign, you've got to keep it fun. That's why I am so excited to share with you new images we'd love you to use as your Facebook profile pic or Twitter avatar. If I do say so myself, they are pretty clever.

by Joe Radosevich

On Thursday Matt and I went to Hibbing Community College to tour their new Solar Photovoltaic Technician program - check it out. The visit was energizing. Their work drove home the fact that Minnesotans are going to power this state into strong economic growth with smart investments in our people.

The program prepares students in solar panel installation, maintenance, and best practices. After the course, they are ready to help build a new generation of clean, locally owned, power. These technicians will help Minnesotans cut energy costs, improve the environment, and keep more of our electricity bill here at home. It's a win-win-win.

by Bridget Cusick

Last fall I wrote a post here about why I chose to do what I do for a living. Today was one of those days that reminded me, in a couple of different ways.

First, the large-scale policy reasons, brought to the fore by the governor's budget proposal. Obviously a huge, macro issue. As Jim Wallis has said, a budget is a moral document. It reflects our priorities. On that level, it appears we have some major issues. Twenty thousand fewer people with health care. $47 million taken from higher education - a huge engine of job-creation in Minnesota.

But then something else happened. I got an email from one of our organizers introducing me to a woman who had recently attended a meeting of undecided voters and come away very impressed with Matt. This person is very ill herself and shared some of her own health care stories but also talked about friends who can't afford prescriptions and other things for very serious illnesses they have.

I'm a numbers person from time to time because I have to be, but the truth is, when you're talking 20,000 this and 47 million that and 300-plus million something else, it's easy to get separated from the reality that we're talking about people's lives.

Never forget that.

By Matt Entenza

(Source:  League of Women Voters)

On February 14, 1920, with passage of the 19th amendment imminent, women met to transform the suffragist movement into the League of Women Voters. (You can read more about this important event here.)

Ninety years on, I'm commemorating this important moment in history - but I'm also aware of how much there is left to do.

It is time for women to be guaranteed equality. It's amazing to me that we still don't do this - that, for example, women still endure massive pay disparities and unequal access to health care.

That's why between 1995 and 2003, I carried the legislation to pass an amendment to our state constitution guaranteeing women equal treatment under the law - today called the Constitutional Amendment for Equality.

My commitment to equality is unwavering. I encourage you to ask all candidates not only whether or not they support an amendment for equality, but what they've done about it. You might be surprised what you hear.

In other news...

Today we heard Gov. Pawlenty's budget proposal. I've said a few things about this already. But I want to share with you something else that helped put into perspective what happens when our leaders we lack a vision for Minnesota's future.

I interviewed with a student journalist from one of our universities right before the governor's budget went public. When one of my staff called her with the news of the governor's cuts to higher education, her response was simple and telling: "Oh no."

Higher education in Minnesota has been an engine of economic growth. Our universities are centers for innovation; they help us attract and create good jobs. That is exactly where we should be investing right now. The governor's action is a classic penny-wise, pound-foolish maneuver.

Last week I also talked about how spending down Minnesota's budget reserve has contributed to a negative outlook for our state's credit. On Fri., MinnPost's Sharon Shmickle wrote extensively about this and other issues related to our budget crisis. She writes, in part:

The real problem... wasn't tapping the funds when the state needed them. The problem is what wasn't done after they were spent....

[Say] The breadwinner in a family loses a job. There are savings to cover the bills for a few months. But would it make sense to sit around bickering until the savings are gone?

We need new leadership in St. Paul. We need leadership with a vision. We need someone who is ready to face our state's challenges and able to turn them into opportunities.

I hope you'll join me.

By Matt Entenza

Yesterday, Tim Pawlenty spent part of his lunch hour going after me on MPR. Interestingly, he went after me in conjunction with Minnesota 2020, the think tank I founded in 2007. More interestingly, he didn’t dispute their many criticisms of him – he mostly seemed irritated that anyone WOULD criticize him.

(I left Minnesota 2020 last spring, but I’m very proud of the work I did there.

Gov. Pawlenty’s interview was, of course, in conjunction with the start of the 2010 legislation. Tonight, he and some of our legislators will address the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. No doubt there will be a pretty significant gap between what he says and what they say.

My question for you is this: Is there any reason to believe things will go better this year than they have the past few?

As I have said before : It’s time to get tough.

We elect leaders to get a job done for us. It’s unconscionable that we allow the governor to have his way on critical issues at nearly every turn. Is our party leadership going to stand up to the governor this year – or will they allow him to run roughshod over this session, too?

There’s a saying: If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting. In our case, that means if we keep letting the governor have his way, we’ll continue to see our state deteriorate. We’ll also continue to see more voters decide it doesn’t matter whether or not they show up.

On Tuesday night, about 46,000 Minnesotans of all political stripes participated in precinct caucuses – less than 1% of the population in a state that normally has the highest voter participation in the nation.

The outcome shows several things: First, that Democrats are depressed and unhappy with their current leaders. Second, that this race is wide open – but that victories, even very small ones, go to those who show up.

I’m in this race to win because Minnesota needs a leader who is ready to boldly face our state’s challenges and create opportunity for people to succeed. I’m going to continue spreading my message. And I’m going to continue standing strong for our values.

We must be strong. We must be bold.

Join me!

By Matt Entenza 

I just wanted to share with you a quick note about my friend Rep. Keith Ellison.

Keith is a remarkable public servant and a true friend.  We've known each other since law school, and I'm very honored by his commitment to make Minnesota work again.

As many of you know, Keith was an early endorser of my campaign, and as we get ready to huddle in our schools and community centers tonight, I wanted to share a message from Keith about why he's supporting our campaign.

Listen to what Keith has to say:

As a reminder, tonight is precinct caucuses, and I'm asking for you to caucus for me.

We face many challenges, but we also have great opportunities before us. Working together, we can build a better Minnesota for everyone. Thank you.