DFL hopefuls in Sixth District share goal of ousting Bachmann

In a region where God, guns and other social issues matter, a retired minister with a nuanced stance on abortion vies with an avowed liberal today for the DFL Party endorsement to challenge U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann this fall.

Elwyn Tinklenberg, the former Methodist minister, and tax attorney Bob Olson are seeking party backing in the Sixth Congressional District, which stretches from the eastern Twin Cities suburbs to northwest of St. Cloud.

The district is conservative, and Bachmann, a Republican, won it decisively in 2006. But Democrats hope that her performance in office and general GOP malaise have turned the seat into a takeover opportunity.

Tinklenberg is a former suburban mayor and state transportation commissioner. He narrowly lost the Democratic endorsement two years ago to child-welfare advocate Patty Wetterling, and one party activist said this week that Bachmann's later triumph over Wetterling taught some Democrats a hard lesson.

"A lot of people I talked to felt that El would have run a stronger campaign than Patty did," said Chris Brazelton, a Wetterling delegate in 2006.

Political experience and ideological positioning will influence decisions on who gets the endorsement at the district convention today in Andover. About 150 delegates are expected to attend the event at the Bunker Hills Regional Park activity center beginning at 10 a.m.

Purity vs. pragmatism

Olson, 62, says he's a "progressive." He calls for ambitious subsidies for alternative energy and for eliminating tax advantages for stockholders. He favors abortion rights and legalizing same-sex marriage or civil unions. An Iowa representative of a gay rights fund is among his campaign contributors.

Bachmann made part of her reputation opposing same-sex marriage in the Legislature before running for Congress.

Tinklenberg, 58, calls himself a "moderate" who wants to freeze mortgage interest rates for some homeowners facing steep hikes. He doesn't support legalizing same-sex marriage or civil unions but says he believes that gay people deserve legal protection in housing, inheritance and other areas.

He calls himself "pro-life" on abortion, explaining he favors pregnancy-prevention programs and better health care for children as alternatives to abortion.

But like Olson, Tinklenberg opposes reversing Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.

Olson emphasized his strong support for abortion rights recently in promoting his progressive credentials.

"Democrats are going to love him for that, but unfortunately, he doesn't just have to get Democrats to vote for him," said Patric Lewandowski of Foley, a Tinklenberg delegate. "Around here, the more conservative, more moderate people would probably appreciate Tinklenberg's position more."

Tinklenberg defends gun rights and promotes federal initiatives to preserve and create more hunting and fishing habitat.

"He's wise to be talking about that," Lewandowski said. "Among the swing voters, hunting and fishing are very big here."

Jacobs says the endorsement comes down to purity vs. pragmatism.

Experience and ideals

Yet Tinklenberg says experience, not ideology, separates him from Olson. He emphasizes his time as mayor of Blaine from 1987 to 1996 and as state commissioner of transportation from 1999 to 2002 under Independence Party Gov. Jesse Ventura, who was popular in the Sixth District. In that role, Tinklenberg helped secure funding for light rail in Minneapolis over some legislative opposition and championed the Northstar commuter rail line between Minneapolis and the St. Cloud area.

"I see myself in a better position to take [Bachmann] on because I've been involved in some of the more intense battles," he said.

Olson, the son of a minister, is a tax attorney who owns St. Stephen State Bank and started a nonprofit that focuses on renewable energy projects, including a wind turbine manufacturing facility in southern Anoka County. He proposes spending $30 billion a year on tax breaks and loan guarantees on renewable energy.

A supporter, state Sen. Gary Kubly, DFL-Granite Falls, who likes Olson's energy initiatives, called him "a guy who not only has a lot of ideas, but they're based on some ideals."

"A lot of the funding against Bachmann that will be necessary to beat her ... will come from outside the Sixth District and maybe even outside ... Minnesota," he said.

Through the first three months of 2008, Olson has raised $268,370 to Tinklenberg's $260,944. But Olson lent his campaign $182,000 of his total.