Matt Entenza
Matt Entenza was a Democratic Party candidate for Minnesota State Auditor in the 2014 elections.[1] He lost in the primary election on August 12, 2014, against incumbent Rebecca Otto.
Biography
Entenza served as an assistant attorney general in the state's charities division after completing his law degree. He also served in the Hennepin County Attorney's Office. Entenza was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1994 and served until 2006. During his time in the House, he served as the minority leader from 2003 to 2006. Entenza founded a progressive think-tank called Minnesota 2020 following his legislative career. He also serves as a senior adviser on energy and economic issues for Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton.[2]
Education
- B.A., environmental education, Macalester College[2]
- J.D., University of Minnesota
Elections
2014
Entenza was running for election to the office of Minnesota State Auditor. He lost the Democratic nomination in the primary on August 12, 2014.[1]The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
Primary
| Minnesota Auditor, Democratic Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Rebecca Otto |
80.9% | 149,628 | ||
| Matt Entenza | 19.1% | 35,258 | ||
| Total Votes | 184,886 | |||
| Election results via Minnesota Secretary of State. | ||||
Voter ID complaint
Entenza filed a complaint against incumbent Rebecca Otto regarding her position on a 2003 bill dealing with voter identification requirements. Entenza claimed that Otto supported a voter ID bill during her term in the Minnesota House of Representatives, while stating in her 2014 campaign materials that she always opposed voter ID requirements. A panel of three judges with the Office of Administrative Hearings dismissed the case on July 24, 2014, citing a lack of disputed facts from Entenza's lawyers. The panel determined that the only issue separating Otto and Entenza was "confusion over the term 'voter ID.'"[3]
Campaign media
Primary
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Campaign themes
2014
Pensions
| “ |
Wall Street has no business managing pensions. When I was growing up in Worthington, I saw firsthand how family members and neighbors depended on their hard earned retirement savings to pay the bills and put food on the table. Too often these days, we hear stories about how folks who worked hard and played by the rules their whole lives have their retirement at risk by poorly managed pension funds and Wall Street middle-men that charge exorbitant fees. Privatization of pensions is unacceptable. Minnesotans' pensions should not be privatized and that Wall-Street middle men have no business near our pension plans. That’s why I believe the Auditor’s office can do much more to make sure that our public pensions are strong and well-managed. As auditor, I will make protecting pensions a top priority by taking a hard look at our state’s pension investments to insure that pensions are not being privatized and that wall-street interests are not fleecing retirement fund. I will be a watchdog over our pensions funds by shedding light on potential abuses so our seniors and future retirees can have confidence that the retirement they earned is their when we need it. |
” |
| —Matt Entenza's campaign website, (2014) | ||
Corporate giveaways
| “ |
Wasteful Corporate Subsidies Take Money Away From Communities' Core Services. Minnesotans count on their hard-earned tax dollars to be spent efficiently and effectively. It doesn’t matter if you live in Wawina or Warroad, Orr or Outing; the ability of local governments to provide basic core services is the key to preserving the quality of life in all Minnesota towns. That’s why I have serious concerns about the so-called "economic development tools" used by cities and counties. Often cities and municipalities create these districts to promote development and public works projects. In many cases they are successful. Too often though, these districts are nothing more than wasteful corporate subsidies that fail to achieve their goals and taxpayers are left footing the bills. In Minnesota, there are approximately 2,100 of these districts and I am concerned that many of these districts do nothing more than siphon valuable taxpayer dollars away from core municipal services like policy, fire, education road maintenance and snow removal. As Auditor, I will crack down on these corporate subsidies by taking a hard look at these districts to guard against waste, fraud and abuse so tax payer dollars are spent more effectively to protect core services and the jobs they support. |
” |
| —Matt Entenza's campaign website, (2014) | ||
Schools
| “ |
Every kid in Minnesota deserves to go to a great school. Minnesotans can take great pride in the gains made by our education system over the past few years. The recent National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that Minnesota’s 4th graders tested #1 in the nation in math and 10th best in reading. Our 8th graders ranked 11th best in the nation in reading and 5th best in math. Unfortunately, too many school districts are plagued by widening funding gaps. I believe the Auditor’s office can and should be doing much more to improve educational outcomes in underperforming schools; many of which are found in rural communities, communities of color and lower-income regions of the state. Specifically, I think the data the auditor’s office already has on how our school districts spend their money can be scrutinized and shared with policy professionals to shed a light on discrepancies within our education system in an effort to improve outcomes for all kids. Further, I have serious concerns about a recent attempts by Republicans in the legislature to take funding from poor, struggling public school districts in Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and Duluth and funnel additional money to suburban schools. Every dollar counts when it comes to providing kids a great education. As Auditor, I will take a hard look at school district budgets to see why rural school districts and schools in less-affluent areas don’t receive their fare share of funding because every kid deserves to go to a great school. During my time as a DFL leader in the legislature, I heard many stories about charter schools and how many charter schools don’t have to comply with the same accounting and reporting requirements as their public school counterparts. Unfortunately, we still hear these same stories today. I believe charter schools should be required to play by the same rules as public schools. That’s why as Auditor, I will take a hard look at the funds directed towards charter schools, to make sure that taxpayer dollars go towards policies that support our educators and community schools. |
” |
| —Matt Entenza's campaign website, (2014) | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Matt + Entenza + Minnesota + Auditor"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "2014 State General Election Candidate Filings," accessed July 29, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Matt Entenza for State Auditor, "About," accessed July 29, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ The Modesto Bee, "Entenza complaint against state auditor dismissed," July 25, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Matt Entenza for State Auditor, "Pensions," accessed July 29, 2014
- ↑ Matt Entenza for State Auditor, "Corporate Giveaways," accessed July 29, 2014
- ↑ Matt Entenza for State Auditor, "Schools," accessed July 29, 2014
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