Fwd: Re: [Mpls] Kiffmeyer has booth at Pride - but doesn't show

[Eva Young]

Posted with permission of author:

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>From: Kent Kaiser <Kent.Kaiser at state.mn.us>
>To: "'lloydletta at yahoo.com'" <lloydletta at yahoo.com>
>Subject: Re: [Mpls] Kiffmeyer has booth at Pride - but doesn't show
>Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 12:44:22 -0500
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>Dear Eva:
>
>It wasn't "weird" that our office was not able to attend Pride this 
>year.  It was a matter of not having the resources (for those who are 
>unaware: the state budget is tight, and our office has been hit 
>particularly hard for the past several years).  Last year, we had a 
>windfall of resources because of the federal Help America Vote Act of 
>2002, which allowed us to attend the many events listed below.  (As a 
>result of that windfall, I had 2 student workers to cover most of these 
>multiple-day events, plus we had another employee on loan from another 
>department to cover the one-day/evening-type of events).  Last year was a 
>great opportunity to see what events were worthwhile.  Pride was 
>worthwhile, but not as much so as the State Fair or Taste of Minnesota, 
>the only two events that our office is attending this year, in terms of 
>traffic to our booth and voter registrations collected.  (This year I have 
>zero student workers to cover events.)  We hope to return to more of the 
>worthwhile events, like Pride, next year, another major election year, if 
>we can scrape together the resources.  The fact that our office was listed 
>as supposed to be having a booth at Pride should give you some clue to the 
>fact that we found it worthwhile and only as the date approached found 
>ourselves short staffed and therefore having to pull back.  As for 
>Secretary Kiffmeyer's attendance, she never claimed to have attended Pride 
>herself, and in fact did not attend or claim to attend most of the events 
>on the list.
>
>And, as I have invited on multiple occasions in the past, if you have 
>questions about our office's activities, I welcome you contacting me so 
>you avoid making uninformed comments.  Indeed, Eva, I would like to have a 
>conversation w/you off-line to discuss further.
>
>Thank you,
>
>Kent Kaiser
>Communications Director
>Office of the MN Secretary of State
>kent.kaiser at state.mn.us
>
>
>This is an email I sent to a media outlet that inquired in August, 2004:
>
>Here is a list of recent events at which our office staffed voter 
>education displays:
>Paddle for the Presidency (free booth)
>Pride (paid booth)
>Taste of MN (free booth, underwritten by Waste Management, Inc.)
>Heritagefest in New Ulm (paid)
>Farm Fest in Gilfillan (paid)
>Game Fair in Ramsey (paid)
>Vietnamese New Year Festival (paid)
>MLK celebration (paid)
>Vietnamese Community in MN event (paid)
>Somali Action Alliance event (free)
>Founders of Vietnam event (free)
>Cinco de Mayo banquet (free)
>Somali education night (paid)
>Lao Community of MN, Inc. event (paid)
>Latino Voter Participation Summit (paid)
>First African Women's Conference (paid)
>Somali Independence Day (free)
>Lao Family Community Midwest Sport Tourney (paid)
>Dragon Festival (paid)
>In the spring we had displays at several colleges and universities across 
>the state (free).
>There also were several events a staffer attended to distribute materials, 
>but we didn't specifically put up a display, including events with the 
>Urban League, Liberians of MN, Hispanic Media and Marketing Network, 
>United Cambodian Association of MN (at a Buddhist temple), JCRC Yom 
>Hashoah Commemoration (at a synagogue), American Indian Heritage 
>Celebration, Festival of Nations, Juneteenth Celebration, and several others.
>
>And, we'll be at the State Fair (paid booth).
>In the past, we've done only a few events, but this year we have been able 
>to do more (paid) because of funds having been made available for voter 
>education through the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002. HAVA also has 
>allowed us to afford a couple of student workers to staff these events.
>
>-----------------
>
>
>NOTICE: E-mail correspondence to and from the Office of the Secretary of 
>State of Minnesota may be public data subject to the Minnesota Data 
>Practices Act and/or may be disclosed to third parties

I believe my post on the blog and on Minneapolis Issues was correct. 
Secretary Kiffmeyer's Office did purchase a booth at Pride - and then 
didn't send people to staff the booth. That's what I posted.

As I recall Kiffmeyer said something about attending Pride to the Strib 
when she was under fire last fall. This was a discussion item on the 
Minneapolis Issues list last year.

"Where's the Star Tribune when I'm working at Gay Pride and my staff has
to take flak for being there?" - Mary Kiffmeyer, quoted in Mark Brunswick 
Strib story.

http://www.mnforum.org/pipermail/mpls/2004-October/035542.html

Kaiser tells me that Mary Kiffmeyer was misquoted here - and she did not 
say she was at Pride.  Kaiser also says that the SOS cancelled  their booth 
at Pride in 2005 without paying this year - but it was too late to be 
removed from the list.  Now I thought that late cancellations had a 
substantial penalty.  I also didn't think you could reserve space without 
paying for it upfront.


Eva Young
Near North
Minneapolis
lloydletta at yahoo.com
http://lloydletta.blogspot.com

"You do not have the right to never be offended.  This country is based on 
freedom, and that means freedom for everyone - not just you!  You may leave 
the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc., but the
world is full of idiots, and probably always will be."  --Article II of the 
Bill of Non-Rights.