In the Matter of Public Safety Matters, Part 4

Democrat State Representative Carly Melin represents Hibbing and environs in the state legislature.  While I don’t admire her politics, I do admire her taking on the state’s public safety union machine.

Rep. Melin is advocating for medicinal marijuana, and is running into (her words) “a brick wall” of union bosses concerned that legalization may reduce law enforcement budgets.

Prominent in opposition is union chief Dennis Flaherty, who refuses to negotiate with Melin on her bill.  Observant readers may recall Mr. Flaherty’s starring role in my series of posts [1, 2, and 3] on the shadowy political group Public Safety Matters Campaign.

Public Safety Matters was one of those many groups that sprang up in the interval between the next-to-last campaign finance disclosure deadline and Election Day 2012.  This group was unusually successful in deploying hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions—from police unions and progressive political nonprofits—to defeat a dozen Republican candidates in targeted districts.

But Public Safety Matters didn’t disappear after the last election.  According to its 2013 filing at the Campaign Finance Board, Public Safety Matters continued to raise money in 2013, receiving almost $20,000 from three police unions, including one in Duluth.

It certainly looks like Public Safety Matters is gearing up for a 2014 effort.  Look for more mailers near Election Day as unmoored from the truth as the group’s 2012 work product.

The real question is, “Will Public Safety Matters expand its target list beyond Republicans?”