Rebecca Otto
gregladen | September 27, 2017True that. In the US, energy policy and regulation happens much more at the state level than the federal level, and our federal government went belly up last January anyway. Some states will not lead, they will go backwards, but others will lead, and show the way.
So, here I want to highlight this new item in Scientific American by Rebecca Otto.
States Can Lead the Way on Climate Change
The Trump administration's threats to abandon Obama's Clean Power Plan and exit the Paris accords don't necessarily mean all is lost
The word “corporation” does not appear in our Constitution or Bill of…
gregladen | September 20, 2017Earlier today, Minnesota Gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Otto released her energy transition plan. It an ambitious plan that puts together several elements widely considered necessary to make any such plan work, then puts them on steroids to make it work faster. To my knowledge, this is the first major plan to be proposed since the recent dual revelations that a) the world is going to have to act faster than we had previously assumed* and b) the US Federal government will not be helping.
Here's the elevator speech version: Minnesota residents get around five thousand dollars cash (over…
gregladen | June 5, 2017State Auditor Rebecca Otto is running for Governor of Minnesota. She will seek the DFL (Democratic Party) Endorsement. There are several other candidates either declared or likely to run, but Otto stands head and shoulders above all the others, especially in three areas:
1) Honesty and integrity in government.
Otto has been recognized nationally by the auditors around the country, and this is for good reason. In fact, she's recognized internationally. The Minnesota Auditor's office, under Otto, is one of those places the US State Department sends people from other countries to figure out…
gregladen | June 3, 2017For some reason, Facebook is not posting reliably and I will not abide writing paragraphs that the Internet sucks into oblivion!
So, I have a few thoughts I'll put here and try to link to.
Rebecca Otto for Governor
Let's start with Rebecca Otto, who just gave a great talk at the DFL (that's what we Minnesotans call "Democrats") Environmental Caucus meeting. Rebecca is running for Governor, and we need her to win.
I've written a bit about that (see: Rebecca Otto: by far the strongest and most progressive candidate for Minnesota Governor in 2018), and some time over the next week or so I'…
gregladen | May 23, 2017Here’s why: All the available data strongly indicates that Otto will beat all the other contenders across state in the upcoming Governor's race.
Democrats have two major problems to face in 2018 and beyond. First, how do we win elections? Second, how do we remain true to our progressive and liberal roots?
For Democrats, 2018 is a must-win election, and Minnesotans have a lot at stake. Will the state remain the shining star of the North, or will it go the way of Wisconsin, and sink into a Republican dark age of union busting, environment polluting, professor bashing, service slashing, and…
gregladen | August 12, 2014I've spoken to a lot of Minnesota DFLer's (that's what we call Democrats 'round these parts) about today's Primary, especially in relation to the auditor's race. Rebecca Otto, who, full disclosure, I don't know at all but whose husband is a friend and colleague, is the incumbent. Rebecca has really put a shine on the Auditor's office. I understand that the previous auditor, a Republican, pretty much sucked, so that might have made looking good a bit easier for Rebecca, but it can't be true that all of the other auditors across the country also suck, and the various professional associations…
gregladen | August 12, 2014Don't forget to go and vote in today's primary!
I for one will be voting for Rebecca Otto for auditor. She is nationally recognized as one of the best Auditors ever in the country. Rebecca Otto is the DFL endorsed candidate. The person running against her in the primary, Matt Entenza, has run a highly questionable and dishonest campaign. See this for more details.
gregladen | July 25, 2014The 2000 election was probably won by Al Gore. But George Bush was put into office anyway. Imagine what this world would be like had Gore been ensconced in the white house? The Tea Party would probably have emerged sooner and madder, but less organized; global climate change would have become a widely accepted issue to do something about within a couple of years, instead of much later (cuz, you know, that hasn’t even happened yet). We probably wouldn’t have had this war in Iraq. If Gore had continued Clinton’s policy dealing with Al Qaida and Osama Bin Laden (no relation) there probably…
gregladen | July 22, 2014[Updated: Letter to the Editor, Worthington Daily Globe.]
This is a followup on my earlier post (see "How do you say “Surprise” in Norwegian? The word is “Entenza.” I am not making that up" also reposted here) on Matt Entenza’s bid for the DFL (Democratic Party) Primary candidacy for Minnesota State Auditor.
Entenza claims he is from Greater Minnesota, and thus, would do a better job representing the interests of Greater Minnesotans. This implies that highly acclaimed sitting State Auditor and candidate for re-election Rebecca Otto is not doing well in this area. In fact, she is doing very…
gregladen | July 15, 2014How do you say “Surprise” in Norwegian? The word is “Entenza.” I am not making that up.*
DFL activists and party leaders were both surprised and annoyed when perennial candidate Matt Entenza filed at the very last moment to run for Minnesota State Auditor against sitting Auditor Rebecca Otto in this year’s primary. He claimed he would fight corporate giveaways at the local level and scrutinize spending on education, addressing the state’s achievement gap. Also, he would be nice to out-state local governments and not favor the Metro, because he was born out-state. Entenza has a habit of…
gregladen | February 1, 2014This is mainly about copper mining in a part of Minnesota that has previously seen extensive iron mining. Most mineral rights across Minnesota are owned by the state, which then may lease rights to miners. Recently, 31 nonferrous mineral leases were approved by the Minnesota Executive Council, which consists of Governor Dayton, Secretary of State Ritchie, State Auditor Otto, Attorney General Swanson, and Lt. Governor Prettner-Solon. It was a four to one vote with Otto voting no.
The reason that Rebecca Otto voted no is that she felt the science based policy justifying these leases was not…