El's endorsement victory at the 6th District DFL Convention received a lot of news coverage. In case you missed it, we've compiled some of the highlights.


From the St. Cloud Times:

For someone who appeared to be done with politics a year ago, Elwyn Tinklenberg's rise to win the DFL Party's endorsement Saturday to run for Congress was remarkably well put together.

Tinklenberg, a former Methodist minister, mayor of Blaine and state transportation commissioner, won the party's endorsement to take on U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., on the first ballot at the 6th Congressional District convention.

Winning 72 percent of the party delegates' vote against businessman and tax attorney Bob Olson was a far cry from the 2006 DFL convention. He lost the endorsement that year after multiple ballots to St. Joseph child safety advocate Patty Wetterling.

Several DFLers who backed Wetterling then said they were supporting Tinklenberg this time, leaving little room for Olson.

"I always felt El was a viable and respectable candidate," said Ric Studer, a St. Cloud DFLer who backed Wetterling last time. "I think his even-tempered nature and ability to run that marathon and stay with (Bachmann) is what we need."

Tinklenberg, who runs a transportation consulting firm, said last year that he did not plan to run again for Congress, citing financial and family responsibilities.

But after the Interstate Highway 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed, he changed his mind.

He now hopes to take on Bachmann. She became the incumbent by winning an open seat representing the suburban/exurban district mostly north of the Twin Cities with 50.1 percent of the vote in a three-way race.

"This is our time, but we need to live our beliefs," Tinklenberg told the DFL crowd. "We need to prove that we're different. We cannot build courage while peddling fear. We cannot build hope while peddling cynicism."

The 6th Congressional District covers most or all of Anoka, Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, Washington and Wright counties and includes the St. Cloud area.

... Tinklenberg gave the delegates his unequivocal support for abortion rights, civil unions and a commitment to vote to withdraw troops from Iraq.

With the support of every union that made an endorsement in the race, he also had significant institutional muscle behind him and racked up big wins in district conventions earlier this spring.

Tinklenberg also promised to incorporate Olson's primary campaign themes of tax reform and renewable energy independence.

And in the end, DFLers said they needed to unite if they stand any chance of taking down Bachmann. She has already raised more than $1 million for her re-election campaign and enjoyed significant grass-roots support in 2006.

"I know Bachmann a little too well," said State Auditor Rebecca Otto, a former DFL state legislator from the same district as Bachmann when she was a state senator. "She's not nice, she's not fair, and she's not good for our state, frankly."

Click here to read the full story.

From ECM Publishers:

Elwyn Tinklenberg blew aside his Democratic rival on Saturday (April 26), winning a commanding first ballot endorsement at the 6th Congressional District DFL Convention in Andover.

Tinklenberg won 72 percent of the ballot — threshold of victory was 60 percent — against attorney Bob Olson who garnered 26 percent of the vote.

Tinklenberg, former Ventura transportation commissioner, Anoka County official and Blaine mayor, told the 300 convention goers that the campaign against Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, R-Forest Lake, was “going to be a tough battle.”

“This is going to be door to door. This is going to be phone call by phone call,” he said of the “retail” style campaign he anticipates waging.

Two years ago Tinklenberg lost the DFL district endorsement to child safety activist Patty Wetterling in a multi-ballot contest.

But signs suggested things might be different this time.

Several weeks ago a DFL district official suggested Tinklenberg was nearing the endorsement threshold in the delegate count.

... A number of local officials were at the convention to back Tinklenberg in his bid for endorsement.

State Auditor Rebecca Otto, who seconded Tinklenberg’s nomination, noted she came from the same area where Bachmann had gotten her political start.

“She (Bachmann) isn’t nice. She isn’t fair,” Otto told delegates.

Rob Rapheal, who serves on the Forest Lake School Board, got to know Tinklenberg during an unsuccessful run at the Minnesota House, Rapheal explained.

“He’s (Tinklenberg) a man of deep character,” he said.

“He’s a good fit for the district,” said Rapheal.

Sixth District DFLers are psyched-up — their local unit convention was overflowing, he explained.

“It’s exciting ... the things we’ve been thinking about for a long time, really starting to come together,” he said.

... The public, Tinklenberg said in his speech to the convention, is looking to Democrats to see what they will do about issues like crowded schools, the mortgage crunch, the “veteran who’s been lost in the shuffle.”

“They’re (the public) waiting,” Tinglenberg said.

“We’ve got to show them we are different. We’ve got to bring them a message of change,” he said.

“Not because we’re angry. Not because we’re afraid. Because we believe in what we can be,” said Tinklenberg.

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From Minnesota Public Radio:

Tinklenberg won the endorsement with 72 percent of the vote on the first ballot over DFL opponent Bob Olson, a minister's son who owns a bank and founded a green energy nonprofit. Tinklenberg himself is a former Methodist minister and state transportation commissioner.

Tinklenberg said he hopes to appeal to moderates and independents in the district who think Bachmann's positions are extreme.

"This is still about retail politics, I believe this is about door to door. I believe this is about out-phone calling. We are going to out-work her," said Tinklenberg. "We are going to build the coalition, the kind of network, the kind of volunteer base that's going to support a strong campaign district-wide."

... "We believe that the people of the 6th District are looking for something different," said Tinklenberg. "They are looking for someone who can bring them a message of hope and change and opportunity but who can also get something done."

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From the Star Tribune:

Two years after being passed over by party activists, former state Transportation Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg captured the DFL endorsement Saturday for bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Tinklenberg notched a first-ballot victory over tax attorney Bob Olson at the party's Sixth District convention at Bunker Hills Regional Park in Andover.

A former Methodist minister and Blaine mayor, Tinklenberg was viewed as the more moderate choice in the conservative district.

Bachmann, a Republican, won the north-metro district seat two years ago over child-welfare advocate Patty Wetterling, who had edged Tinklenberg for the DFL endorsement. DFL Party leaders contend the district is increasingly competitive.

Though he opposes reversing Roe vs. Wade, Tinklenberg has described himself as against abortion. He also defends gun rights. In the buildup to Saturday's convention, Tinklenberg said that his experience in government, and the tough battles that come with it, made him the best choice to take on Bachmann.

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From the Pioneer Press:

Former Minnesota Transportation Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg won a swift endorsement battle in the 6th Congressional District today, receiving the Democratic nod to challenge U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in the November election.

Party activists handed him a first-ballot win over St. Cloud banker Bob Olson at their convention in Andover. Tinklenberg, who lost a tough endorsement fight in the district two years ago, got 72 percent of the votes this time.

Afterward, he asked delegates to join together to defeat the first-term Republican congresswoman and promised to wage an aggressive effort that will appeal to independents and moderates.

"This is going to be a tough battle,'' said Tinklenberg, flanked by his family. "I am absolutely certain that we are going to set the 6th District in a new direction, come fall of 2008.''

... The district, which runs from the St. Croix River through the northern suburbs to beyond St. Cloud, has been widely considered to tilt toward Republicans.

But Democrats point to recent election gains, and add that a worsening economy, an unpopular war, and what they consider Bachmann's rigid partisanship and affiliation with the Bush administration will work for them.

... Tinklenberg, a 58-year-old former Methodist minister and Blaine mayor, told reporters after his endorsement that his campaign organization "is ready to go to work tomorrow'' to defeat Bachmann.

Noting her criticism of state Rep. Kathy Tingelstad, R-Andover, support for overriding Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of a transportation bill, Tinklenberg said Bachmann's stances are too rigid for many moderates and independents.

"Rep. Bachmann is all about lock-step obedience and that's not what independents are all about,'' he said. "We're going to say the room for independents is in the Democratic Party.''

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