Pol’s fundraiser won’t be typical DFL bean feed

01/07/2006

The meat is being removed from politics—at least in a legislative district in St. Paul.

Doug Grow, Star Tribune

The meat is being removed from politics—at least in a legislative district in St. Paul.

Next month, Jesse Mortensen, a Green Party member, will kick off his campaign for state representative with a vegan fundraising banquet. That’s right, not just vegetarian, but vegan, meaning food free of even eggs or dairy products.

Mortensen, 22, is a Macalester College grad who is running to fill the St. Paul seat being vacated by DFLer Matt Entenza. His campaign will be serving up an East Indian menu of chickpea and potato appetizer; a yellow lentil curry, rice, coconut spinach curry and puri, a bread used for dipping into curry.

Mortensen, who nibbles meat on occasion, gladly will accept contributions from eaters of all tastes.

“But I always hear people asking, ‘Is there a vegan option?’ “ he said of life in his neighborhood. But many Minnesota politicians, who see food as a way to connect with a large cross-section of constituents, choke on the concept of vegan fare.

Few have eaten so many plates of the DFL fundraising staple, beans and franks, as former Vice President Walter Mondale.

“I still like a plate of beans,” Mondale said, “though, how can I say this gracefully, I can’t like them as much as I used to.” The bean feed is perfect politics.

“The food is cheap and, sometimes, good,” Mondale said. “And the symbolism resonates with people. For years, we’d have a bean feed and have a big speaker, like John Kennedy. We’d charge a buck for the beans and franks and attract thousands of people. The Republicans would try to trump us with a big dinner at the Minneapolis Club.”

Most Republicans admit that DFLers have bested them when it comes to images associated with food. In recent years, the party has toned things down.

“We’ve gone from the country club to Cub,” is how Sarah Janecek, a GOP activist, puts it. “But we’ve never had that signature food like the DFL has.”

No pol ever fought so hard to protect bean feeds and other forms of potluck dinners as Rep. Al Juhnke. In 1999, he arrived at a DFL fundraiser at his hometown VFW in Willmar, carrying a Crock-Pot full of baked beans. He was told to take them back to his car; state health officials were not allowing the homemade food to be served at a public event.

Juhnke was stunned. No beans?

In 2000, Juhnke pushed his “hot-dish law” through the legislature. Church basement potlucks and political bean feeds gained the force of law.

“I was on Canadian radio, British Broadcasting and CNN International,” recalled Juhnke, who frequently serves as a judge at DFL bean and chili feeds. “I never had a bill that took off like that.” He was told about the fundraiser that will feature a vegan menu.

“I don’t think that would work so well around here,” Juhnke said, laughing. “Sometimes we end up with some vegetarian beans or chili, but that’s only because somebody forgot to buy the meat.

Where’d you say this candidate was from?”

“St. Paul,” I said.

“Figures,” Juhnke said.