Myth meets reality

Myth-Kory's experience as a teacher gives him a unique insight into what our schools and kids really need, and he uses that knowledge at the legislature without any conflict of interest.

Reality-Kath isn't just a teacher, and he isn't just a member of the union, he is a local rep for Education Minnesota.  That's right, Kath is a representative of the largest lobbying group in Minnesota, one that regularly spends hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying at the capital.

And the other myth is that Education Minnesota is one of the leading advocates for schoolkids in Minnesota.  You have seen the commercials, where president Tom Dooher brags about how his fellow teachers are pulling together despite budget cuts, and putting the education of our youth ahead of their own personal needs.  But Education Minnesota is a union, and unions exist for one reason only-to negotiate higher pay and benefits for its members.

So how far in the pocket of the education union is Kory Kath?  How much influence does the president of the union have over one of his members?  Apparently enough to get a seat at the table, literally-

This is a meeting of the education committee at the state capital in April, and the topic of discussion was the federal Race to the Top program.  The man circled in red is Tom Dooher, who is actually sitting at the committee table, in clear violation of house protocol regarding lobbyists.  No one but a legislator is allowed to sit at the conference table.  There are seperate areas for guests, and other areas for people to testify about a bill.  But neither guests nor witnesses are ever allowed to sit at the committee table with legislators.

So in answer to the question of how deep in the union's pocket Kath is, just look across the table from Dooher.  That is Kath on the right, sitting next to his real boss, Education Minnesota.

Kory Kath, as a member and local representative of Education Minnesota, has a huge and undeniable conflict of interest in taking votes on education issues.  He has never once recused himself from a vote, or even explained to his constituents that he is a union rep.

For the record, Education Minnesota has given so far this year (through Sep 14th)-
$105,900 to the DFL house caucus
$110,000 to the DFL senate caucus
$60,000 to the DFL state party
$500,000 to the 2010 fund (currently running attack ads against conservative candidates)