Elwyn Tinklenberg

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On September 28, 2007, Tinklenberg announced his plans to again challenge Bachmann for the seat in 2008, along with two other announced candidates, Bob Olson and Bob Hill. [4] Following Tinklenberg's entrance into the race, Hill dropped out. [5]

Tinklenberg received strong support from unions, receiving endorsements from all of the labor organizations that become involved in the election. Throughout the Senate District conventions in March and April, both Olson and Tinklenberg campaigns claimed having a lead in the delegate count.

Closer to the Sixth District DFL Convention, Olson's critiques of Tinklenberg grew sharper. Tinklenberg was accused of supporting the use of taconite tailings in transportation aggregate. Tinklenberg contended that, indeed, he did support the use of western Iron Range taconite tailings in transportation aggregate through a University of Minnesota Natural Resources Research Institute program, which was backed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The University's research concluded that taconite tailings from the western side of the Iron Range were safe for use in road construction, unlike the by-product from the eastern side of the Range, which had been linked to an increased risk to cancer. [6] Tinklenberg reiterated that he would only support the sustainable use of western Iron Range taconite tailings as long as the research showed it to be a safe practice. [7]

Tinklenberg was also accused by congressional opponents, including Bob Olson of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, of not complying with lobbying registration regulations. [8] Through his work as a transportation consultant, Tinklenberg had been hired as an adviser to a number of counties and municipalities. Because his work required him to have contact with state legislators, Tinklenberg was required to register as a lobbyist in the state of Minnesota. On February 27, 2008, Eric Zaetsch, a local liberal blogger, filed a complaint with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board. The Board found Tinklenberg to be in full compliance with the law. [9]

On April 26, 2008, Tinklenberg received the endorsement of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (Minnesota's Democratic Party), garnering 72% of the delegate support on the first ballot 12% above the required 60% threshold. Olson immediately withdrew, and Tinklenberg received the unanimous support of the Convention.

On the evening of October 17, 2008, Tinklenberg's opponent, Bachmann, appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews. She said she was "very concerned that [Obama] may have anti-American views," and called for the news media to "do a penetrating expose" on "the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America?" [10] Tincklenburg's total fundraising before the Bachmann appearance was approximately $1 million, under $720,000 of which was from individuals. [11] Prior to Bachmann's remarks, Democrats had already planned to spend $1,000,000 against the Republican incumbent after Tinklenberg had reached the milestone of raising $1,000,000 on his own. [12] Nevertheless, Bachmann won re-election, by just under 3 percentage points. [13]

2010 campaign

Although he had set up a website for a 2010 run for the seat, Tinklenberg announced that he had withdrawn from the race to allow the campaign against Bachmann to be conducted in a unified manner by DFL supporters. [14]

References

  1. "Newsline, Full Articles". Newsline.dot.state.mn.us. 2002-07-12. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  2. MN-DOT News: http://www.newsline.dot.state.mn.us/archive/02/sep/25.html
  3. "MPR: Campaign 2006: U.S. Congress: 6th District: Elwyn Tinklenberg". Minnesota.publicradio.org. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  4. "Candidates lining up in the 6th, 3rd Congressional Districts". Minnesota Public Radio. 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  5. "Bob Hill out of MN-06 race, will enter 52B State House race". mnblue. Archived from the original on 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  6. "NRRI Taconite Website". Nrri.umn.edu. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  7. Elwyn Tinklenberg for Congress 2008 - Official Campaign Blog: Setting the Record Straight (Part 2 of 3): Taconite tailings Archived November 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Bob Olsen" (Press release). Bobolson.org. Archived from the original on 2008-10-24.
  9. "MN Campaign Finance Board Ruling" (PDF). Cfobard.state.mn.us.
  10. "Transcript of Hardball appearance". Blogs.suntimes.com. October 17, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-10-19.
  11. "Congressional Elections: Minnesota District 06 Race: 2008 Cycle". OpenSecrets. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  12. Scheck, Tom; Tim Pugmire (2008-10-20). "Democrats to spend $1m against Bachmann". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
  13. "Results from Congressional District 06". Minnesota Secretary of State. 2008-11-05. Archived from the original on 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2008-11-05. With all precincts reported, Bachmann won 46.41% to 43.43%.
  14. "Tinklenberg 2010 website". Tinklenberg2010.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
Elwyn Tinklenberg
MN IBEW 160 Picnic - El Tinklenberg (cropped).jpg
Tinklenberg at an IBEW local picnic
Mayor of Blaine, Minnesota
In office
1987–1996