DFL candidates for governor back nurses

As Twin Cities nurses prepared to go on strike, they could count on key Minnesota DFL politicians to be with them.

The three major DFL gubernatorial contenders -- Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Matt Entenza and Mark Dayton -- have nearly tripped over each other to lend their voices to the nurses.

Each has appeared at pre-strike events and all have said they would walk the picket lines Thursday if nurses staged a one-day walk-out, as planned.

The candidates' public display of support is a calculated risk -- the Democrats need labor support to win, but opinion could turn against the nurses if the public is too disrupted by the labor dispute.

In the run-up to the walk-out, Kelliher has held the edge with nurses. Last month, the 20,000-member Minnesota Nurses Association endorsed her and she has very publicly appeared at their media events.

"I am proud to be standing with Minnesota nurses as they stand up for the safety and well-being of their patients," Kelliher said Wednesday, using the opportunity to again express her support for a policy that would use federal dollars to fund Minnesota health care programs. Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty opposes that policy.

GOP and IP positions

"I appreciate the compassion and concern that our nurses have for their patients and their profession. However, I believe hospital management is in the best position to make final decisions regarding staffing ratios. That being said, I understand that our nurses already do have input in this decision making process and our hospitals should be commended for considering their concerns."

Independence Party candidate Tom Horner comes at the strike from a different angle. His public relations firm, Himle Horner Inc., represents the hospitals where the nurses work.

The hospitals hired Himle-Horner late last year to provide strategic advice about how to tell the public about the negotiations and, now, a strike, Horner said. The firm has not been involved in the business details of labor negotiations.

Horner said that while he is not the hospitals' principal contact, he has provided communications advice.

As a candidate, he said he thinks the nurses and hospitals "ought to continue negotiations." When pressed, he said that if he had to pick a side, it would be that of the hospitals.

Horner's primary rival, IP candidate Rob Hahn, dinged Horner on Wednesday for having a "vested interest" in the negotiations.

"He's unable to provide -- because of his client base and past client base -- unable to provide true independent leadership," Hahn said. "That is a conflict of interest. We cannot get beyond some of these problems we have in the state without a true outsider."

Hahn offered to "sit down with both sides and see if we can find some more common ground."

Pawlenty is not involved in negotiations but has said he finds the one-day action "unsettling" and a matter of concern.

"The state doesn't have authority or jurisdiction in this dispute," he said Tuesday. "We can plead. We can encourage."