Well, yes, Ms. Becker. Political players should
disclose their funding, whether they are on the
left or the right or screeching from the pits of Hell.
But it seems you are only noting "left"
organizations, suggesting they are taking over
and making you uncomfortable. No mention of
various Chambers of Commerce, reactionary
building trade unions, Koch fronts, school
privatization fronts, real estate and banking
interests, utilities not wanting real energy
policy reforms, cop unions, the editorial board
of the Star-Tribune, garbage incinerator
interests, get-rich-off-of-sick-people interests, and so on and on.
IMHO, we should be so lucky as to have
organizations interested in human welfare as
opposed to corporate welfare "... growing in
strength and ... leading the discussion in our
community more and more ..." Let us hope.
am
At 07:38 PM 10/27/2017 -0500, BeckerMpls wrote:
>Mr. Bearman. When I teach public policy, I ask
>my students the following question. If I line
>your mother and your father against a wall and I
>tell you you must shoot one or the other, who
>has the power in that situation? The person
>making the decision or the person shaping the
>question? I would argue that the person shaping the question.
>
>In this case, I look across the landscape of
>what is going on in the City and try to see who
>is really shaping the discussion. And I then
>ask myself who is funding them because most
>people have jobs and kids and lives beyond just
>politics. We have a paid advocacy class that has
>been growing in strength and is leading the
>discussion in our community more and more,
>especially as people like you and I are involved
>less and less. I wonder who is funding them.
>
>I see three groups that have really shaped the
>discussion this election in
>Minneapolis. FairVote, as RCV is driving all
>the debate, all the campaign strategy. It is
>even driving people to get snarly with each
>other on this forum. RCV would not be here if
>FairVote had not pushed it and not continued to
>protect it. And I have looked at their 990Ć¢ĀĀs,
>I have asked Jeanne Massey personally and gotten
>no answer to who is funding them. I honestly,
>legitimately would love to know who is behind it.
>
>Second, I see Our Revolution Twin Cities. I have
>also asked them who is funding them. I asked as
>one of their folks was literally carrying in
>cases of free beer to a gathering of several
>hundred people. And was told that it was all
>donated. And that because they had not accepted
>any cash donations, they donĆ¢ĀĀt have to
>disclose who is funding them. But I know they
>had what had to have been thousands of dollars
>of donations between food, drinks, venues,
>printing at the convention, their website,
>etc. But they have not filed any paperwork.
>
>Third, I see WedgeLive as a huge influence on
>the conversation. They have a huge
>web/twitter/Facebook/video operation, much more
>than could be done by one person with a
>full-time job. I see them attack many people
>who they think are too entrenched in City Hall
>but enough but oddly, never Betsy Hodges, who
>has been in City Hall 12 years. When John
>Edwards decided he was going to do a write-in
>campaign for the BET, his first supporter was
>Javier Morales, who is married to John Stiles,
>Betsy Hodges Chief of Staff. I would love to
>see the financing of that operation disclosed also.
>
>I also think there are other organizations that
>are having a huge influence on elections, groups
>that I hope I will be able to get information on
>who is funding them eventually. The Bike
>Coalition has nine positions listed on its
>website that someone is paying for. They are
>responsible for the growing bike lane wars. Jake
>Virden and the Park and Power project through
>Hope Community which I think is a grant from a
>local foundation. NOC. BLM. TakeAction
>Minnesota. A few others. There is money behind
>these folks, serious money. I expect when their
>reporting is filed, we will better understand
>who is funding them. And better understand what
>is tearing our community apart. After all the
>non-profit reporting is in, I hope to make a
>request to all the major players to ask the same
>question - who is funding them.
>
>I donĆ¢ĀĀt think we are seeing just a popular
>uprising. I think there is money driving what
>we are seeing. I do agree with Mr. Kelly that
>some is probably local and some national. But
>without reporting, it is all speculation.
>
>I think raising a stink about last-minute
>mailings is really a smoke screen. The last
>minute mailings will have an impact of a few
>points in the voting at best. The real power,
>the real shaping of what is happening, is with
>the groups that I listed above. It is in paying
>people from the Advocacy Class to work day in
>and day out on the issue you want to have
>promoted. We still honestly donĆ¢ĀĀt understand
>the money behind that. And that is why I ask.
>
>Carol Becker
>Longfellow
Rest of post
>
>
>
> > On Oct 26, 2017, at 3:27 PM, Ken B <<email obscured>> wrote:
> >
> >> On 10/26/2017 7:47 AM, BeckerMpls wrote:
> >> The article misses two important players.
> Who is funding FairVote ... I brought up the
> question of who is funding FairVote
> previously. I looked at their 2015 990 and
> there was no listing of donors. There is no
> 2016 990 that I could find. ... So we have no
> idea who is funding some of the big players in the debate.
> >> Carol Becker
> >> Longfellow
> > = = = = =
> > [KB] I don't shock easily, but I'm much more
> than surprised at Carol Becker's obsessive
> obtuseness about FairVote Minnesota (FVM)
> considering her wide knowledge. She's just got
> it completely wrong again. (BTW, FairVote is a
> national, unaffiliated organization that copped
> its name from FVM 15+ years ago and has nothing
> to do with anything in Minneapolis.)
> >
> > FairVote Minnesota, the 501(c)(4), is NOT "a
> player" -- much less "a big player" -- in the
> election. The money FVM has spent has been
> used ONLY toward the Ranked Choice Voting
> election system in Minneapolis. None of the
> money has been spent on candidates or
> issues. That's illegal, and you should know
> it, Ms. Becker. Here's the IRS's language to
> refresh your memory: "The promotion of social
> welfare does not include direct or indirect
> participation or intervention in political
> campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any
> candidate for public office. "
>
(https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/other-non-profits/social-welfare-organizations)
> >
> > And in case you didn't read the purpose
> statement (or whatever it's called) in the
> 990s, the purpose and work of the 501(c)(3),
> FairVote Minnesota Foundation, is
> education. Right now, that would be explaining
> to votes about the Minneapolis and St. Paul
> Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) elections and the voting mechanics in them.
> >
> > And to repeat: If you want to get
> information about an organization's sources of
> income, ask them! For FVM, start at http://www.fairvotemn.org/about-us .
> >
> > I'm CCing Ms. Becker personally, something I
> ordinarily avoid and dislike immensely, to be sure she sees this post.
> >
> >
> >> On 10/26/2017 11:08 AM, <email obscured> wrote:
> >> TWhy aren't local 501(c)4 non-profits are
> >> disclosing in a timely fashion per the Hennepin County campaign finance
> >> law?
> >>
> >> If the Hennepin County campaign finance law needs to be strengthened, so
> >> be it. I've already contacted one of my reps at the Capitol on this
> >> issue. Will do more after the election. Hope you will join me in this,
> >> else all political associations will organize as 501(c)4s and we will
> >> have no transparency.
> >> ...
> >> Shawne FitzGerald
> >> Powderhorn
> > = = = = =
> > [KB] Mr. Fitzgerald, as you may know, not
> all 501(c)(4)'s are of the Koch brothers
> variety that gives (c)(4)'s such a bad
> reputation. Since FVM isn't a "political
> association" and doesn't engage in any issue-
> or candidate-related advocacy in any election, what else do you need to
learn?
> >
> >
>
>
>Carol Becker
>Longfellow, Minneapolis
>About/contact Carol Becker: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/carolbecker