It's official: Dayton is running for governor

Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, who formally announced his DFL candidacy for governor Wednesday, has always done things differently.

He is a department store heir who worked his way into politics, a former U.S. senator who left his seat after one term, and now a gubernatorial candidate who has adopted a "tax the rich" mantra.

"A better Minnesota begins with better leadership and that is the leadership I will provide," Dayton said Wednesday.

His path, on a quest begun more than a year ago, will take him straight to the primary, with no time wasted vying for party endorsement. Of the dozen DFL candidates, he is the only one to tell party leaders to pull his name from ballots for a Feb. 2 caucus straw poll and the April endorsing convention.

Dayton has proven he can be a fierce and tenacious competitor. In his first attempt at political office he crushed Eugene McCarthy in the 1982 Senate DFL primary, although he lost the general election. Dayton later won a term as state auditor but in 1998 lost badly in a gubernatorial primary bid. In 2000, he re-emerged to defeat his party's endorsed Senate candidate in the primary and went on to win against the GOP incumbent.

With deep pockets and near-total name recognition, Dayton enters this race with two polls that show him an early favorite. He has also nailed down support from two powerful unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 5, Minnesota's largest state employee union, and Teamsters Joint Council 32, which represents 14 locals in four states.

On Wednesday, he demonstrated some support from party insiders.

"Mark knows Minnesota and Minnesota knows Mark," Davis said.

State Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, on Wednesday became Dayton's first legislative backer. Chaudhary said Dayton would protect the environment, improve education and run a strong statewide campaign.

"Many of the other candidates have these qualities as well," Chaudhary said. "What finally convinced me to endorse Mark was his display of one of the rarest of human qualities and that is the ability to admit one's flaws."

Last month, Dayton publicly disclosed that he had an alcoholic relapse during the end of his U.S. Senate term and has suffered from depression all his adult life.

During his 2000 Senate race, questioned on a mishandled stock transaction, Dayton told a reporter, "I am reminded daily of my fallibility."

The former senator made bold promises during Wednesday's announcement.

Dayton said he would do "whatever I can, whenever I can, wherever I can to bring new jobs to our state." Dayton served as economic development commissioner under former Gov. Rudy Perpich, the last DFLer to occupy the governor's office.

To create a foundation for economic growth, Dayton said, "I promise I will increase state funding for K-12 public education in real dollars every year I'm governor. No exceptions; no excuses."

Over the past decade, school funding has been "pretty checkered," said Charlie Kyte, executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators. Currently, schools are coping with flat funding, said Kyte, who has no favorite in the race.

Dayton said he would raise taxes on the wealthiest 10 percent of Minnesotans, which he claims would raise $3.8 billion over two years. Asked whether the proposal might set off class warfare, Dayton said, "I didn't start the war."

Michael Brodkorb, deputy chairman of the state Republican Party, said Dayton's wealth makes him a "very credible candidate." Dayton poured nearly $12 million of his own money into the 2000 Senate race.

But Brodkorb also said Dayton's record is one of failed leadership. He noted that Dayton was the only U.S. senator to close his office over a fear of terrorism that no one else saw -- a move that led Time magazine to dub Dayton "The Blunderer."

Dayton will find himself jostling in a crowded field of 12 DFL candidates -- at least four whom say they will run in a primary.

Few questions

After a 35-minute announcement, Dayton took just three questions from reporters before cutting the news conference short. Afterward he told one reporter, "You can call me any time you want to ask as many questions as you want. You have my number."

"I think it shows that people are expecting progress," Dayton said. He also said the health care reform package being debated in Washington would have caused the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts to "roll over in his grave" because it doesn't go far enough.

Dayton quickly left St. Paul to launch a campaign tour of the state's 87 counties, which he said he would complete in 87 days, starting with a stop in Duluth.