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Should Petter’s whistleblower Deanna Coleman get a lighter sentence?

Mark Dayton has won a tight race in the DFL primary for governor, although he has yet to officially declare victory. Fellow candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher went home early this morning without conceding defeat. But Dayton’s margin exceeded 5,000 votes with nearly all the precincts checking in — a margin large enough that no recount will be needed. Dayton will face Republican Tom Emmer and Independence candidate Tom Horner in the November

election.

NOTES:

9:50 p.m.: Matt Entenza has conceded the race (reported by KARE-11 ).

9:57 p.m.: KSTP reports Tom Horner the IP winner and Tom Emmer the Republican winner.

11:30 p.m.: According to the Secretary of State, if there are 2,000 or fewer votes between Margaret Anderson-Kelliher and Mark Dayton in the primary, an automatic primary recount will kick in. The State Canvassing Board is scheduled meet on August 17, 2010. With a critical general election for the Democrats this year already underway, however, a recount is probably not in the best interests of the Party and seems unlikely.

12:49 a.m.: AP declares Mark Dayton winner of the Democratic gubernatorial primary.

100% of precincts reporting:

Independence Party

Horner/Mulder  64.21% (11,393 votes)
Ratte/Lemaster  6.93%
Workcuff/Workcuff  4.62%
Uldrich/Willilams  9.97%
Hahn/Harens  14.26%

Republican Party

Savior/Anderson   3.37%
Davis/Soderberg   6.59%
Carney/McGaughey   7.56%
Emmer/Meeks   82.48% (107,542 votes)

Democratic Party

Anderson-Kelliher/Gunyou  39.77% (175,780 votes)
Idusogie/Fontaine   .71%
Entenza/Robinson   18.21%
Dayton/Solon   41.32% (182, 637 votes)

____________________________________________________

With 87.52% of precincts reporting, results are as follows:

Independence Party

Horner/Mulder  65.31%
Ratte/Lemaster  6.62%
Workcuff/Workcuff  4.47%
Uldrich/Willilams  9.48%
Hahn/Harens  14.11%

Republican Party

Savior/Anderson   3.33%
Davis/Soderberg   6.42%
Carney/McGaughey   7.38%
Emmer/Meeks   82.86%

Democratic Party

Anderson-Kelliher/Gunyou  40.51% (164,236 votes)
Idusogie/Fontaine   .68%
Entenza/Robinson   18.25%
Dayton/Solon   40.57% (164,481 votes)

______________________________________________________________

For excellent play-by-play commentary, see MNProgressiveProject. (What a night for the Democrats!)

For incremental results throughout the evening, see here.

For more primary election results, see the MN Secretary of State’s website.

Simply put, they had made a campaign contribution – through a legal PAC – to an anti-gay candidate in Minnesota. Needless to say, this caused quite an uproar in social media. Yet, Target chose not to respond to the many angry posts on their wall.

Now they have….sort of.

As you can see by this story, Target’s CEO Gregg Steinhafel wrote a letter to his employees apologizing for the way the donation played out. In addition, based on a discussion on Target’s Facebook page, they responded to individual complaints with the following e-mail:

Target has long believed that engaging in civic activities is an important and necessary element of operating a national retail business. What’s more important than any one candidate’s stance on a particular issue is how we nurture thoughtful, long-term growth in the state of Minnesota.www.target.com/company, and view the Civic Activity page.

Our support of causes and candidates is based strictly on issues that affect our retail and business objectives. To continue to grow and create jobs and opportunity in our home state, we believe it is imperative to be engaged in public policy and the political process. That is why we are members of organizations like the Minnesota Business Partnership, the Chamber of Commerce and many others. And that is why we decided to contribute to MN Forward.

MN Forward’s objective is to elect candidates from both parties who will make job creation and economic growth a top priority. We operate best when working collaboratively with legislators on both sides of the aisle. In fact, if you look at our Federal PAC contributions year to date, you will see that they are very balanced between Republicans and Democrats. For more information please visit

Target has a large stake in Minnesota’s future, which is why it is so important to be able to provide jobs, serve guests, support communities and deliver on our commitment to shareholders. As an international business that is proud to call Minnesota home, it is critical that we have a business environment that allows us to be competitive. Our guests, team members, communities and shareholders depend on Target to remain competitive.

Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Hanson
Target Executive Offices

My point is not to take sides in this issue. Target has the right to support the candidate(s) they choose and consumers have the right to praise or punish Target for those stands.

However, since Target has established a rather firm beachhead in social media you would think they would respond to a tempest like this in a more timely – and direct – fashion. Isn’t the point of developing brand relationships in social media to be responsive?

I have talked to several clients recently who are looking to wade into the social media waters with their brands. One of their big concerns it – will my ‘likers’ see any complaints?

The answer is – yes….but. Brands should not look upon this as a negative. Rather, they should embrace an opportunity that resonates on two levels.

First, promote responses to complaints soothes a cranky customer and (ideally) keeps them in the fold. Social media has dramatically shrunk the consumer response cycle from days to minutes. This is an advantage for any brand. It allows them to hear what their customers are concerned about and take steps (when possible) to assuage those concerns.

Second, it shows those who are satisfied how their ‘favorite’ company treats the disgruntled. In any exchange like this, the reader will almost always identify with the complainer over the brand – even if they disagree with the complaint. The complainer represents the consumer base at-large and how the brand treats one is perceived as how the brand will treat all.

Social media leads to transparency in this relationship. To ignore – or dramatically delay a response to – any complaint fosters the image of the large, impersonal, monolithic brand that cares little about the people that support it.

I do not believe Target shot itself in the foot with their handling of this episode. The public’s memory is notoriously short. However, hopefully Target – and any other brand using social media – learned a valuable lesson in responding promptly.

A point to consider for your brand. What is your planned response to social media controversies or complaints? This should be a part of your social media policy and strategy.

Your thoughts?

Steve Allan

Social Media Specialist
Hyper Smash

So, I didn’t really anticipate that this blog would be political in nature, but sometimes you have to talk about more than nail polish and good food. Target has donated $150,000 to a PAC, Minnesota Forward,  who runs TV ads on behalf of Tom Emmer, a Republican who is vocally anti-gay and running for Governor.

Ick.

I love Target, but I love my gay friends, my gay family, and human rights more.

What can you do to send a message to Target?

• Join the rapidly growing group on Facebook.
• Stop shopping at Target and then email, mail or call Target’s corporate offices and let them know that until they take some sort of corrective action, you will not patronize their stores (contact info on the Facebook page link above).
• If you are a fan or “like” Target on Facebook, comment on a thread showing your disgust for their actions, then unlike the page.

Read more here

A week after suggesting that tips for waiters be included in their minimum wages, Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer will sit down with servers to talk about his controversial idea. Emmer says his plan would eliminate taxes on the first

$20,000 made by servers. His proposal comes after Emmer set off a political debate with the call for tip “credits” for restaurant owners, allowing them to deduct tips from the minimum wage they’re required to pay servers. Emmer said SOME servers make more than 100-thousand dollars a year. Emmer plans to hold a Town Meeting with servers at the ‘Ol Mexico Restaurante in Roseville this afternoon.

The MAK campaign is hard to find and even harder to understand. All solutions will come later. She grew up on a farm and experienced a financial crisis. She shares the institutional DFL fear of talking about restoring tax morality. Only Dayton brings up the subject of restoring the tax cut
gifts to the wealthy. MAK apparently shares the GOP mantra that all the rich will pack up and drag all of their companies to more pleasant tax climes if they are asked to pay their share of state operating costs

Curmudgeon :: The Great DFL Sleepover
A few years ago Howard Dean burst on the scene and the DFL and other states saw a massive housecleaning as an unprecedented wave of progressives moved into the electoral process. In 2007 Barack Obama started another wave of citizen involvement and produced what we hoped to be a real reformation. Now it seems we may be in need of another housecleaning. The current DFL establishment is not doing very well by us.
I’m probably still a sore loser, but I think our problems began when the DFL establishment decided to overrule the rank and file of the party and install Margaret. We had a chance of a real campaigning candidate, one who would have a far higher profile at this time of the campaign. Imagine an RT campaign in mid-July. He was the clear choice of caucus straw poll voters. He was the first choice of Take Action and other progressives. At the state convention it was sad to watch the inside power brokers brain trusting her campaign. Many of our elected legislators joined the program to bring another legislative leader (as Pawlenty was) to the state house.

The right wing has organized a marvelous counter to the sanity we fought so hard to install. Everybody is against everything and all government (except military and other gifts to the ultra wealthy) is to be slashed and burnt.

We do have a tougher job since we see more complexity to political issues and though we have a clearer view of the role of government it is more complicated than the ultra-simplistic right wing. Our government exists for the good of all and it does require reasonable financing.

We have to end the big sleepover and start making big noises and raising enough hell to really attract attention. The Pawlenty legacy is such a huge pile of feces that it should be easy to attack.

Emmer in the state house? Please, no way!

Campaigns are by nature unpredictable, with issues and candidates thrust into the spotlight seemingly without notice. Earlier this week, Minnesota’s hospitality industry found itself in the middle of the race to replace Gov. Tim Pawlenty. By now I am sure that many, if not all, of you know that during a campaign stop in St. Paul, GOP-endorsed candidate Tom Emmer found himself discussing the issue of tip credit. (Click here for a July 5 article from the Star Tribune and here for a July 6 article from Minnesota Public Radio which depict how the issue has been covered by Twin Cities media). Although as an industry we appreciate the opportunity and attention being paid to the slim-margins we operate on each and every day, the manner in which the issue has been presented has caused the general public to be inundated with a great deal of misinformation.

I spent a great deal of time this week fielding calls from restaurateurs around the state seeking clarification on the required wages for servers and other employees. We have also, through conversations with the media and policymakers, sought to clarify the facts and tell the tip credit story.

As part of a broader discussion of how to best grow Minnesota’s economy, we welcome the opportunity to discuss the issue of tip credit. Our approach has always been to find a “go-forward” solution that does not incorporate take-backs or reductions. Instead, as demonstrated in our Super Wage proposal in 2009, we have sought legislation to level the playing field for all restaurant employees through the creation of a super wage for tipped employees. Click here for our Super Wage issue briefing provided to lawmakers during the 2010 legislative session.

In the midst of the hotly contested race for Governor, it is likely that this issue will gather attention for some time to come. Gubernatorial Candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher has now seized on this issue and is proposing an increase in the state’s minimum wage. Read her proposal here. Emmer has arranged for a meeting with servers to discuss the issue, covered here.

The Association issued this minimum wage / tip credit statement to help clarify the issue:

WE DO NOT ADVOCATE A PAY CUT
First, we want to make it clear that the industry has never advocated for pay cuts. Our position for more than two decades of seeking to accomplish a tip credit has always been a going forward position. In other words, when the minimum wage increases in the future, Minnesota law should allow servers to continue to make what they are presently making, and not subject them to the increase. To be clear, our industry has not advocated reducing server pay at all.

INTERPLAY BETWEEN FEDERAL AND STATE LAW
Second, there is a great deal of confusion as to the present rate of pay for servers. In the interplay between state and federal law, the statute that most benefits the employee applies. Federal law says that any restaurant that is grossing above $500,000 per year annually is subject to federal standards. Today, while Minnesota’s minimum wage is $6.15 per hour, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Thus, any restaurant grossing more than $500,000 per year annually or whose employees are engaged in interstate commerce is required to pay its servers $7.25 per hour. This covers the vast majority of servers in our state. For those restaurants performing at less than $500,000 per year and whose employees are not engaged in interstate commerce, the Minnesota minimum wage for smaller operations applies, which is $5.25 per hour. Most restaurants in Minnesota gross at least $500,000 per year or have employees engaged in interstate commerce, thus the higher $7.25 wage applies to the vast majority of servers in Minnesota.

WHY IS THIS SUCH A BIG ISSUE WITH RESTAURANTS?
There are a few key reasons why this is such a passionate issue for restaurant owners. Because Minnesota statute does not allow for a tip credit (the use of tip income to offset minimum wage), when either the federal or state government mandates a minimum wage increase, the restaurateur is forced to pay what are often the highest paid employees in her or his establishment a higher base wage. This uses up whatever available capital the restaurant has that might pay raises for back-of-the-house cooks, bussers and dishwashers. It does so without even providing an opportunity for the owner and his or her staff to have a conversation about compensation. Thus, minimum wage increases without tip credit create huge disparity between front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house.

Second, tipped employees work for tips and have the opportunity to function as their own entrepreneurs. The restaurant operator provides the facility, the cooks and support staff, designs the menu, provides the ambiance, advertises the business, pays for the light and heat, buys the point of sale system. This creates the opportunity for servers to make substantial income. For the restaurateur to continue to provide this opportunity, reinvest in the facility, offer benefits, and grow, he or she needs economics that work.

Third, tips ARE wages. One of the injustices of present law is that even though their customers give tips to servers, employers must still pay FICA (social security tax) and unemployment compensation taxes on these gratuities. Tips are considered wages for purposes of Social Security (FICA), Federal Department of Labor, Federal Unemployment Taxes (FUTA), Internal Revenue Service, Minnesota Workers’ Compensation, Minnesota Unemployment Compensation (SUTA) and the Minnesota Department of Revenue. The only instance in which tips are not considered wages is by the state when determining minimum wage compensation

MINNESOTA RESTAURANTS WANT TO CREATE JOBS
Minnesota restaurant owners want nothing more than to create quality jobs and grow their operations, while serving their customers well. These are extraordinarily difficult times and it appears it will be years before restaurant traffic returns to previous highs. Restaurant owners need the flexibility to work with their employees to create productive work environments. Going forward, as the minimum wage increases, restaurant operators seek the reasonable provision to continue paying servers what they presently make, while ensuring that they make the minimum wage at all times.

David Siegel, CAE, IOM
Minnesota Restaurant, Lodging and Resort & Campground Associations and Hospitality Minnesota

I am not one to push a political agenda as I feel that every person has a right to vote how they see fit.

However, there is someone that I have decided is need of a Coming-to-Jesus smack up-side the head. Mr. Emmer wants to change the laws in Minnesota to count tip income towards the minimum wage that employers have to pay.

Basically what he wants to do is decrease the amount of money an employer would have to pay you if you are a tipped employee. Meaning, if you wait tables, any tips you would make would be taken and counted as part of your minimum wage payment.

Click here to read the article yourself.

TTFN kiddies, Xochial

But could I be so sure in my dismissal? After all, this is the Age of the Tea Party.

Later, taking the time to look it up, I was blown away to find out that it was true. Yes,the gentleman who represents me in St. Paul wants to give the legislature the power to nullify federal law, which in effect would grant full independence to Minnesota. This kind of talk has got me thinking.

Are we really so entrenched in our partisan ways that we are willing to dissolve the United States over one piece of legislation that will end the pariah-hood of the pre-existing condition and that will end lifetime coverage limits in its first year of enactment?[1] The (I’ll say it) noble pursuit of liberty for the individual has taken a turn so dramatic that I feel as though I must now adopt a label I once thought – until now – forever implied for every American: Unionist.

Yes, I support the Union; there, I said it. I have surrendered myself to the republican ideals of President Lincoln and find myself rejecting the nullification first proposed by President Jefferson. Though the proposed (and since then failed) constitutional amendment tried to justify itself by (redundantly) pointing out that “Minnesotans enjoy inherent, natural, God-given rights”, I cannot bring myself to accept its conclusion. Though it claims that we “are sovereign individuals, subject to Minnesota law and immune from any federal laws that exceed the federal government’s enumerated constitutional powers”, I truly do not believe Minnesota to be an independent nation. We’re just not. Minnesota is another Union star in a constellation that is democracy’s last best hope of earth.

Lending an open ear to those who seriously espouse such radical ideas gives a credence undeserving of the 21st century. Would you be willing to listen to an argument in favor of feudalism? What about an argument encouraging the deregulation of child labor laws? No, you wouldn’t because these are ideas proven wrong and long resolved in the canon of history.

Or so we hope.[2]

[2] If you are interested in reading a short history of Minnesota’s past squabbles over the 10th Amendment and States’ Rights, I recommend this little gem from Talking Points Memo.

Voters were asked that if the primary election were held today, which DFL candidate they would support to face Republican Tom Emmer and the endorsed Independence Party candidate, Tom Horner. The same poll showed Dayton as the only DFL candidate capable of beating Tom Emmer, the Republican candidate. The poll had a 500 sample size and a 4.5 percent margin of error.

I have been saying for more than a month that likely to win the DFL primary. Here are my reasons: First, Dayton knows how to craft a simple and effective message and stay on task. Second, he appeals to the senior voters. This is important because we’ve moved the primary one month earlier to August, and seniors will be among the most likely to vote. Senior also like Dayton for his earlier work on the cost of prescription drugs. Third, he brings tremendous personal resources to the campaign. Money isn’t everything, but it means a great deal in politics these days, and Dayton has the money to get out his message.

Of course, I thought R. T. Rybak would gain the DFL endorsement and Marty Seiffert would win the Republican endorsement, so what do I know?

On the other side of the aisle, it seems almost assured that Rep. Tom Emmer will take the Republican primary. He is a formidable candidate with tremendous passion and a strong vision for change in Minnesota. While Dayton, Kelliher and Entenza have all publicly supported tax increases as a major piece of solving our state’s budget shortfall, Emmer has not. He has talked much more about reforming government and restructuring the delivery of our services.

For political watchers, this is quite a time.

David Siegel, CAE, IOM
Minnesota Restaurant, Lodging and Resort & Campground Associations and Hospitality Minnesota

My honey is studying diligently for the Washington State Bar exam and applying for jobs in Seattle, and I’m very supportive, but at the same time, missing my creator in crime.  (She’s licensed in California, but is hoping to stay and work in Wa.).

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Meanwhile, how am I occupying my time?  Getting back on a bike for the first time since my crash 10 years ago (I made it around the block!  I bought a cute little bell!  I’m planning my costume for the Fremont Solstice Ride on Saturday!), I’m helping Jack scrape and sandpaper the hull of his new skiff (but oh, the neck), photo-journaling Jack’s refinishing project, gardening, sitting on my sunny porch, reading books on all-natural cooking, and helping Noel develop a nutritious meal plan to get her through the next 6 weeks!

Discovered a great new grain last night – Emmer (from Bluebird Farms in Winthrop)!  It’s like really chewy rice, and the cooking ratio is 1 part Emmer to 5 parts water, so it goes a long way!  It was delicious served with my lemon-curry chickpea dish, with a dollop of Greek sour cream!

Can’t wait until August…when I’m looking forward to our upcoming swimming trip to Lake Washington on the anniversary of our meeting last year.

Thanks to Lippe for noticing this Atlantic Monthly article, which discusses the resurgence of grain-growing in the Northeast region of the US. Our bulk section carries grains & flour from three of the farmers mentioned in the article, Wild Hive Farm, Birkett Mills, and Cayuga Pure Organics, all of NY state. Cayuga has been providing us with several unusual grains including live oat groats (suitable for sprouting), freekeh, and farro (AKA emmer). The latter two are forms of ancient wheat, often referred to as heirloom or heritage varieties. Freekeh is known to have a smoky flavor. Check our recipe page for ideas on how to use them.