Peter Hutchinson
Encyclopedia
Peter Hutchinson is an American politician
, businessman
and philanthropy executive
from the U.S. state
of Minnesota
. He ran as the Independence Party of Minnesota
candidate for Governor of Minnesota
in 2006.
Hutchinson was born in Faribault, Minnesota
, but moved to Rochester, New York
with his family at a young age. He attended Dartmouth College
, where he received a bachelor's degree
in government
and urban studies, then attended Princeton University
, where he received a master's degree
in public affairs
and urban planning
.
In 1975, he returned to Minnesota and, in 1977, he was elected Deputy Mayor
of Minneapolis
in the administration of Mayor Albert Hofstede, serving in that post until 1979. After leaving office, he was hired by the Dayton Hudson Corporation
, for which he was Vice President of External Affairs and Chairman of the Dayton Hudson Foundation. As Chairman of the Foundation, he oversaw the distribution of $110 million nationwide for use in community improvement projects.
In 1989, DFL
Governor Rudy Perpich
appointed Hutchinson the state's Commissioner
of Finance
. That year, a budget
deficit seemed likely, but Hutchinson managed to help balance the budget by cutting wasteful and inefficient spending. After Perpich was succeeded by Republican
Governor Arne Carlson
, Hutchinson tendered his resignation
. The next year, he joined two partners. Babak Armajani and James James, in forming the Public Strategies Group, a consulting
firm that works mainly with public sector
customers. During the mid 90s, PSG had a contract to run the Minneapolis public schools and he served as the superintendent
of the Minneapolis Public Schools
. In 2004, he and colleague David Osborne authored The Price of Government: Getting the Results We Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis.
On January 25, 2006, he announced that he was running for Governor of Minnesota as an Independent, although he would seek the Independence Party's endorsement. In his campaign, his slogan was "Open Up Minnesota," and he promised to restore competency
to a state government that he claims is gridlock
ed by partisanship
. He promised not to campaign on what he calls "the 5 G's" -- guns
, gay
s, God
, gambling
, and gynecology
-- which he claims are political straw men
.
On June 15, he unveiled "Team Minnesota," a group of professionals, politicians, and public servants that he has recruited to run for various statewide offices on the Independence ticket. His lieutenant governor running mate was Dr. Maureen Reed
, a former chairman of the University of Minnesota
board of regents
.
Other members of "Team Minnesota" included Lucy Gerold, Minneapolis' Deputy Chief of Police
, for State Auditor; former state Commissioner of Revenue
John James for Attorney General
; and Brooklyn Park
Economic and Redevelopment Director Joel Spoonheim for Secretary of State
. Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura
endorsed Hutchinson in a series of commercials.
The Independence Party's nominating convention was held June 24 at Midway Stadium
in St. Paul. Hutchinson and his "team" were endorsed on the first ballot, with Hutchinson receiving 90% of the vote and his team running unopposed. Hutchinson defeated former Jesse Ventura
aide Pam Ellison in the September primary
, garnering 66% of the vote. He faced incumbent Republican
Tim Pawlenty
and Democrat
Mike Hatch
in the general election, in which he was defeated by Pawlenty, earning 141,735 votes for 6.4% of the total.http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/20061107/ElecRslts.asp?M=S&Races=0331
St. Paul's Pioneer Press, Winona's Daily News, and the University of Minnesota's The Minnesota Daily endorsed Hutchinson for governor.
In late 2007, Hutchinson joined the (Archibald) Bush Foundation
, Saint Paul, MN as its President. Under his leadership, in July 2008, the Foundation announced its Goals for a Decade, which seek in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota to (1) develop courageous leaders and engage entire communities in solving problems, (2) support the self-determination of Native nations and (3)increase educational achievement.
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
, businessman
Businessperson
A businessperson is someone involved in a particular undertaking of activities for the purpose of generating revenue from a combination of human, financial, or physical capital. An entrepreneur is an example of a business person...
and philanthropy executive
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
from the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. He ran as the Independence Party of Minnesota
Independence Party of Minnesota
The Independence Party of Minnesota , formerly the Reform Party of Minnesota, is the third largest political party in Minnesota, behind the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and Republican Party . It is the political party of former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura , and endorsed former U.S...
candidate for Governor of Minnesota
Governor of Minnesota
The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...
in 2006.
Hutchinson was born in Faribault, Minnesota
Faribault, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,818 people, 7,472 households, and 4,946 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,644.8 people per square mile . There were 7,668 housing units at an average density of 605.8 per square mile...
, but moved to Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
with his family at a young age. He attended Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, where he received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and urban studies, then attended Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, where he received a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in public affairs
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
and urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
.
In 1975, he returned to Minnesota and, in 1977, he was elected Deputy Mayor
Deputy Mayor
Deputy mayor is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official in many local governments. Many elected deputy mayors are members of the city council who are given the title and serve as acting mayor in the mayor's absence...
of Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
in the administration of Mayor Albert Hofstede, serving in that post until 1979. After leaving office, he was hired by the Dayton Hudson Corporation
Dayton's
Minneapolis-based Dayton's was among the leading department stores in the United States for nearly a century after its founding in 1902 by George Draper Dayton. In 1969, the Detroit-based J.L. Hudson Company merged with the Dayton Corporation to form the Dayton-Hudson Corporation, adding 21...
, for which he was Vice President of External Affairs and Chairman of the Dayton Hudson Foundation. As Chairman of the Foundation, he oversaw the distribution of $110 million nationwide for use in community improvement projects.
In 1989, DFL
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
Governor Rudy Perpich
Rudy Perpich
Rudolph George "Rudy" Perpich, Sr. was an American politician and the longest-serving governor of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he served as the 34th and 36th Governor of Minnesota from December 29, 1976 to January 4, 1979, and from January 3, 1983, to January 7, 1991...
appointed Hutchinson the state's Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
of Finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
. That year, a budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
deficit seemed likely, but Hutchinson managed to help balance the budget by cutting wasteful and inefficient spending. After Perpich was succeeded by Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Governor Arne Carlson
Arne Carlson
Arne Helge Carlson, Sr. is an American politician and the 37th Governor of the state of Minnesota.-Early years, education and family:...
, Hutchinson tendered his resignation
Resignation
A resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. It can also refer to the act of admitting defeat in a game like chess, indicated by the resigning player declaring "I resign", turning his king on its side, extending his hand, or stopping the chess clock...
. The next year, he joined two partners. Babak Armajani and James James, in forming the Public Strategies Group, a consulting
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
firm that works mainly with public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
customers. During the mid 90s, PSG had a contract to run the Minneapolis public schools and he served as the superintendent
Superintendent (education)
In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
of the Minneapolis Public Schools
Minneapolis Public Schools
Minneapolis Public Schools or Special School District Number 1 is a school district that covers all of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minneapolis Public Schools enroll 36,370 students in public primary and secondary schools...
. In 2004, he and colleague David Osborne authored The Price of Government: Getting the Results We Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis.
On January 25, 2006, he announced that he was running for Governor of Minnesota as an Independent, although he would seek the Independence Party's endorsement. In his campaign, his slogan was "Open Up Minnesota," and he promised to restore competency
Competence (human resources)
Competence is the ability of an individual to perform a job properly. A competency is a set of defined behaviors that provide a structured guide enabling the identification, evaluation and development of the behaviors in individual employees. As defined, the term "competence" first appeared in...
to a state government that he claims is gridlock
Gridlock
The term gridlock is defined as "A state of severe road congestion arising when continuous queues of vehicles block an entire network of intersecting streets, bringing traffic in all directions to a complete standstill; a traffic jam of this kind." The term originates from a situation possible in...
ed by partisanship
Partisan (political)
In politics, a partisan is a committed member of a political party. In multi-party systems, the term is widely understood to carry a negative connotation - referring to those who wholly support their party's policies and are perhaps even reluctant to acknowledge correctness on the part of their...
. He promised not to campaign on what he calls "the 5 G's" -- guns
Gun politics
Gun politics addresses safety issues and ideologies related to firearms through criminal and noncriminal use. Gun politics deals with rules, regulations, and restrictions on the use, ownership, and distribution of firearms.-National sovereignty:...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
s, God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, and gynecology
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
-- which he claims are political straw men
Straw man
A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position, twisting his words or by means of [false] assumptions...
.
On June 15, he unveiled "Team Minnesota," a group of professionals, politicians, and public servants that he has recruited to run for various statewide offices on the Independence ticket. His lieutenant governor running mate was Dr. Maureen Reed
Maureen Reed
Maureen Reed is a medical doctor who announced that she would run as a Democrat in the sixth congressional district of Minnesota, USA, but withdrew...
, a former chairman of the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
board of regents
Board of governors
Board of governors is a term sometimes applied to the board of directors of a public entity or non-profit organization.Many public institutions, such as public universities, are government-owned corporations. The British Broadcasting Corporation was managed by a board of governors, though this role...
.
Other members of "Team Minnesota" included Lucy Gerold, Minneapolis' Deputy Chief of Police
Chief of police
A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...
, for State Auditor; former state Commissioner of Revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
John James for Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
; and Brooklyn Park
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
According to the 2010 census, there were 75,781 people residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 52% White, 24% African American, 1% Native American, 15% Asian, 42 residents identifying themselves as Pacific Islander, 4% from other races, and 4% from two or more races...
Economic and Redevelopment Director Joel Spoonheim for Secretary of State
Secretary of State (U.S. state government)
Secretary of State is an official in the state governments of 47 of the 50 states of the United States, as well as Puerto Rico and other U.S. possessions. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, this official is called the Secretary of the Commonwealth...
. Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
endorsed Hutchinson in a series of commercials.
The Independence Party's nominating convention was held June 24 at Midway Stadium
Midway Stadium
Midway Stadium is the name of two different minor league baseball parks in Saint Paul, Minnesota, one now demolished and the other still in active use. The name derives from the location of the stadium in St. Paul's Midway area, so named because it's roughly halfway between the downtowns of...
in St. Paul. Hutchinson and his "team" were endorsed on the first ballot, with Hutchinson receiving 90% of the vote and his team running unopposed. Hutchinson defeated former Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
aide Pam Ellison in the September primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, garnering 66% of the vote. He faced incumbent Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Tim Pawlenty
Tim Pawlenty
Timothy James "Tim" Pawlenty , also known affectionately among supporters as T-Paw, is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota . He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011...
and Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Mike Hatch
Mike Hatch
Michael Allen Hatch is an American politician, and was Attorney General of Minnesota from 1999 to 2007. In 2006, he was the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nominee for governor of Minnesota...
in the general election, in which he was defeated by Pawlenty, earning 141,735 votes for 6.4% of the total.http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/20061107/ElecRslts.asp?M=S&Races=0331
St. Paul's Pioneer Press, Winona's Daily News, and the University of Minnesota's The Minnesota Daily endorsed Hutchinson for governor.
In late 2007, Hutchinson joined the (Archibald) Bush Foundation
Bush Foundation
The Bush Foundation was created in 1953 by Archibald Granville Bush an American businessman primarily involved with 3M and his wife, Edyth Bassler Bush. The organization awards $40 million a year to philanthropic organizations, primarily located in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest....
, Saint Paul, MN as its President. Under his leadership, in July 2008, the Foundation announced its Goals for a Decade, which seek in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota to (1) develop courageous leaders and engage entire communities in solving problems, (2) support the self-determination of Native nations and (3)increase educational achievement.