2010 candidates and potential candidates galore at the business partnership dinner

By Rachel E. Stassen-Berger

The Minnesota Business Partnership's annual dinner tonight was awash in candidates for governor. The pending flood was so great that state Rep. Paul Kohls, a Republican candidate for governor, tweeted before the event: "Attending MN Bus Partnership dinner tonight & wondering if there will be more CEOs or candidates for Gov in attendance."

The business folks out numbered the folks vying and potentially vying for Gov. Tim Pawlenty's job -- but not by much. Republican candidates state Reps. Marty Seifert, Tom Emmer and Kohls were all at the Minneapolis event as were Democratic candidates House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and state Sen. Tom Bakk. Potential Republican candidate Charlie Weaver and potential Democratic candidate Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak were in attendance. Reportedly possible GOP candidate Rep. Laura Brod was also espied.

Here's a little about what some of them said after the dinner:

Business Partnership executive director Weaver introduced Pawlenty's speech at the dinner and gave a speech of his own with some funny pokes at politicians' presence on Twitter, including a faux tweet from Pawlenty using the hashtag #veer2theright and former U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad tweeting that he'd decided to run for governor and then tweeting that he'd changed his mind. (see update at bottom for more fake tweets.)

After the dinner, Weaver said he hadn't yet made up his own mind about whether to run for governor.

"It's a little early yet," he said. "I think January would be too late. Originally, I thought Labor Day would be too late. But the more I talk to people and talk to the candidates, talk to the people in this room and talk to the delegates, I think there's just not a clear choice emerging. It might happen, it just isn't happening yet."

Seifert, R-Marshall, is weighing a different decision.

He's definitely running for governor and on Thursday he'll make an announcement "regarding his future in the Minnesota House." Whether he'll decide to run for re-election to the House should he not be endorsed for governor, he wasn't saying.

"No confirming or denying anything until Thursday. Isn't that a shock? I have nothing to say? When is that ever a Marty Seifert moment?" said Seifert, who is known for his volubility.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said after the dinner that there's nothing to read into his on-again-off-again appearance at a bipartisan gubernatorial candidate forum on hunger and poverty tomorrow.

Rybak, who is seriously considering running for governor, was not originally slated to appear a the forum but then yesterday said the organizers said he would appear alongside 11 DFL and GOP candidates for governor.

Rybak, who is running for re-election as mayor, said his changed forum plans have nothing to do with his likelihood of running for governor.

The mayor did certainly sound like a candidate when he gave reporters his review of Pawlenty speech: "I thought he did a very good job of describing the problems in Minnesota. I would hope after 7 ½ years he would be digging in and solving more of those problems."

Update:

The fabulous folks at the Business Partnership sent me the powerpoint off all the fake tweets. Here are some more highlights --

(The next four were in succession)