Rick Nolan

Rick Nolan

Template:TOCnestleft Richard (Rick) Nolan is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 8th district of Minnesota.

Nolan defeated incumbent Chip Cravaack (R) in the November 2012 election.

Returning to Congress in 2013 after more than 32 years Nolan represents Minnesota’s sprawling 8th District – 18 counties that run from the top of the state’s Duluth/Lake Superior Arrowhead region, through some of the nation’s richest mining, timber, lakes and tourist country, to the fast-growing northern suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Background

Rick Nolan grew up in Brainerd, Minnesota on the Cuyuna Range in the heart of the state’s lake country. His father, Hank, was a postal worker. His mother, Mary, was a homemaker who supplemented the family income in the area resort industry.

A father of 4 and grandfather of 10, Rick has been married to Mary Nolan for 28 years.

Nolan worked his way through the University of Minnesota as a proud Local 638 UPS Teamster, and later taught high school social studies in Royalton, Minnesota. He directed the North Central Minnesota 19-unit Head Start program and was curriculum coordinator for the Little Falls Adult Education program. He did post-graduate work at St. Cloud State University, Central Lakes College and the University of Maryland.

Public service

He began his public service in 1968, representing Morrison County in the Minnesota House of Representatives for 2 terms. At 24, he was one of the youngest people ever to serve in the Minnesota Legislature.

Rick Nolan was elected to Congress from Minnesota’s 6th District, which then encompassed 22 central and southwestern counties, in 1974, arriving in Washington as part of a record number of new Members at the onset of the post-Watergate era.

During his 3 terms from 1975-1981, he was recognized nationwide for his battles on behalf of working families, farmers, small businesses and rural communities. Rick Nolan was honored during those years to be named a “Most Respected Member of Congress” by syndicated columnist Jack Anderson in his widely read column, “Congress Watch.”

Return to the Private sector

Rick decided to leave Congress in 1980 to spend more time with his young family and pursue private business. In the ensuing years, he devoted much of his professional energy to generating Minnesota jobs through exports and trade. Establishing his own business, U.S. Export Corporation, he worked with then Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich to build and operate the Minnesota World Trade Center in downtown St. Paul. He later served as president of the Minnesota World Trade Center Corporation and chaired the International Association of World Trade Centers’ Trade and Policy Committee, the world’s largest private sector international trade group.

Rick is also the former owner of Emily Wood Products, a small sawmill and pallet factory in the northern Minnesota community of Emily. He successfully built the business and generated good jobs in the area.

Continuing his public service, Rick became chairman of his local Mission Township Planning Committee, and chairman of the Central Lakes College Foundation, raising money for disadvantaged students of all ages.

The Chile letter

On August 1 1979 Thirty-five U.S. Congressmen signed a letterto President Jimmy Carter demanding that private bank loans to Chile be barred unless the Chilean government chose to extradite three military officials, including the former director of the Chilean intelligence service. The three had been indicted for complicity in the assassination of marxist Unidad Popular government member and KGB agent Orlando Letelier and the killing of Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) staffer Ronni Moffitt in 1976.

In May 1978 the Chief Justice of the Chilean Supreme Court rejected the U.S. request for extradition.

Chief sponsor of the letter was Rep. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who was joined by Congressmen John Burton (D-CA), John Conyers (D-MI), Robert Kastenmeier (D-WI), Ron Dellums (D-CA), Berkley Bedell (D-IA), Richard Ottinger (D-NY), Fred Richmond (D-NY), Robert Drinan (D-MA), Leon Panetta (D-CA), Don Edwards (D-CA); Norman Mineta (D-CA), Pete Stark (D-CA}, Anthony Beileson (D-CA) George Brown (D-CA), Toby Moffett (D-CT), Dale Kildee (D-MI), Eugene Atkinson (D-PA), Michael Barnes (D-MD), David Bonior (D-MI), Adam Benjamin (D-IN), William Brodhead (D-MI), Robert Carr (D-MI), Tom Daschle (D-SD), Tom Downey (D-NY), Harold Hollenbeck (R-NJ), Pete Kostmayer (D-PA), Stewart McKinney (R-CT), Edward Markey (D-MA), Andrew Maguire (D-NJ) Richard Nolan (DFL-MN), Gerry Studds (D-MA), Bruce Vento (DFL-MN) and Howard Wolpe (D-MI).

The Harkin letter characterized the Chilean government as "an enemy of the American people" and urged the President to "take strong action against this terrorist government." The letter was released (9 A.M. on August 1 1979) at the same time a press statement from the Washington, DC, Chile Legislative Center of the National Coordinating Center in Solidarity with Chile, staffed by veterans of the Venceremos Brigade and the Communist Party USA, supported the Congressional letter and urged pressure so that the State Department does not accept a military trial of the three Chileans in Chile as a substitute for extradition and trial in the US.

Fishing with Castro?

In 1977, Nolan and New York Rep. Frederick Richmond traveled to Cuba to secure the release of American prisoners. Nolan personally lobbied Fidel Castro and the two bonded over a shared love of fishing. After agreeing to release the prisoners, Castro invited Nolan to return to Cuba for a fishing trip.

Rep Nolan praised Fidel Castro for the “great progress” in Cuban life, calling it nothing short of “dramatic.”

Nolan struck up such a great friendship that Castro even invited him back to Cuba for a deep-sea fishing excursion. Nolan later bragged, “We were told that Castro doesn’t extend these invitations unless he really means it.”

December 7, 1977, the New York Times printed this ​photo of Rick Nolan's trip to Cuba to negotiate with Fidel Castro for the release of five American political prisoners ​on the front page.

For the last 30 years, a number of us have been calling for a resumption of U.S. diplomatic and trade relations with Cuba. Last week’s announcement that the U.S. will finally and fully re-engage with that island nation - just ninety miles from our shores - held special significance for many of us. I first traveled there as Member of Congress in 1977 to negotiate with Fidel Castro for the release of the last five American political prisoners still languishing for 17 years in a Cuban prison since the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961.

During that trip in 1977, we were also able to negotiate a goodwill exchange program between the University of Minnesota and Havana schools of agriculture. It was viewed in many circles as an important step toward reconciliation between our two nations, thus moving us towards a normal diplomatic relations.

Yet during the negotiation session that lasted through the night and into the next morning, after agreeing to the prisoner release, Castro predicted it would take another thirty years for the U.S. and Cuba to resume normal diplomatic relations. I thought him overly pessimistic at the time, but he proved to be correct.

Next year, I hope to return to Cuba to meet again with top officials in Havana to discuss new trade opportunities that will lead to more good-paying jobs for Minnesota and for our region. Of course I will keep you posted on our plans. .

Union support

Several northeastern Minnesota labor leaders, including presidents of three major union organizations, called a press conference Thursday to announce that they are uniting behind one candidate seeking the DFL endorsement for 8th district congress: Rick Nolan An early endorsement from key labor leaders is rare in an 8th district race. Yet Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body President Dan O’Neill, Carlton County Labor Body President Mike Kuitu, and Iron Range Labor Assembly President Tom Cvar called on all labor to join them in lining up behind the former 6th district congressman, referring to Nolan as a “champion for working people” who is the one candidate who can defeat Rep. Chip Cravaack and the Tea Party.

O’Neill spoke to Nolan’s past experience as a three-term congressman, citing his staunch support of organized labor as well as his reputation as an effective leader.

Joining O’Neil, Kuiti and Cvar in encouraging others to join them in their early support of Nolan were several other labor leaders including former Central Labor Body President George Sundstrom, Duluth Central Labor Body Vice-President Al Netland and Erik Peterson, director of the Wellstone Action labor training program. Peterson explained his support:

Nolan is running because he really cares about regular folks and will fight for jobs. I’m here because we need champions like Rick Nolan

21st Century Democrats support

21st Century Democrats is a Political Action Committee that has stood for Progressive causes for over 20 years. Founded in 1986 by Institute for Policy Studies affiliate, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, Democratic Socialists of America affiliates, former Texas Agriculture Secretary Jim Hightower, and former Illinois Congressman Lane Evans. Its three main goals are to help elect progressive candidates, train young people about grassroots organizing, and lastly, to continue to support our elected officials after Election Day "through our comprehensive progressive network".

Carol Moseley Braun, a former US Senator from Illinois, and long time Communist Party USA affiliate, serves on the organization's Advisory Board. Long time Board chair was Democratic Socialists of America member Jim Scheibel, a former Mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The mission of 21st Century Democrats is to build a "farm team" of progressive populists who will be the future leaders of the Democratic Party.

In each election cycle, we endorse a diverse array of candidates who exemplify our values and show unusual promise to advance our progressive goals. We invest in some of the most competitive races as well as in some of the most challenging – those in which the candidates are outstanding but the traditional Democratic supporters are most reticent. We back candidates in primaries as well as general election races, and we focus the bulk of our resources on electing challengers and protecting vulnerable incumbents.

Nolan was one of 12 key progressives endorsed by 21st Century Democrats in the 2012 election cycle.

2012 CLW House victories

2012 Council for a Livable World House Victories were;

Ron Barber (D-AZ), Ami Bera (D-CA), Tim Bishop (D-NY) Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Bruce Braley (D-IA), Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Lois Capps (D-CA), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Lois Frankel (D-FL), John Garamendi (D-CA), Joe Garcia (D-FL), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI), Denny Heck (D-WA), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), Dave Loebsack (D-IA), Patrick Murphy (D-FL), Rick Nolan (D-MN), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Brad Schneider(D-IL), Carol Shea-Porter(D–NH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ),Mark Takano(D-CA) and John Tierney(D-MA)..

The Council said of Nolan;

Rick Nolan represented Minnesota in Congress for eight years in the 1970s. Running on a platform of opposition to the Vietnam War, he was first elected in 1974, one of a wave of Democratic freshman seeking to reform the political system in the wake of the Watergate scandal. In Congress, Nolan was a passionate advocate of reforming U.S. foreign and defense policies. He worked to decrease the U.S. military footprint abroad, opposed aid to Nicaragua under the brutal Somoza regime and opposed clandestine efforts by the C.I.A. to prop up corrupt dictators in the name of opposing communism.

Nolan retired from Congress in 1980 to pursue a successful career in the private sector. Disturbed by the divisive rhetoric of the Tea Party and other right wing conservatives, he has decided to reenter public service and is running for Congress in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District.

Congressional Progressive Caucus

In January 2013, Rick Nolan was listed as a new member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

PDA contact

In 2013 Progressive Democrats of America assigned activists to deliver their material to almost every US Congressman and several Senators. Ellen Sandbeck, was assigned as contact for Rep. Nolan.

Lifting travel ban on Cuba

A May 03, 2013 Press release from the radical controlled and Institute for Policy Studies affiliated Latin America Working Group's Cuba Team stated:

Due to your action/emails/phone calls we have 59 signatures from House representatives urging President Obama to support travel to Cuba by granting general licenses for ALL current categories of travel.

By eliminating the laborious license application process, especially for people-to-people groups, that is managed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the majority of the bureaucratic red tape that holds up licensable travel to Cuba would disappear and actually facilitate what the President wanted to see in 2011, liberalized travel regulations.

Signatories included Rep. Rick Nolan .

Peace Action support

In the 2014 mid terms, six of the eight pro-peace candidates in battlegrounds that Peace Action prioritized won election: Senators Jeff Merkley (OR), Al Franken (MN), Gary Peters (MI), Jeanne Shaheen (NH) and House members Mike Honda (CA) and Rick Nolan (MN). [The two who lost Bruce Braley (IA) and Carol Shea-Porter (NH).]

Cuba changes

Minnesota congressman Rick Nolan, who has long advocated for changes to the United States' Cuba policy says a decision to normalize relations with the island country is a "monumental step" in the right direction.

Nolan praised President Obama's announcement that the U.S. would re-establish diplomatic ties to Cuba. Nolan traveled to Cuba in 1977 during his first stint in Congress and was involved in a past deal to release U.S. prisoners held there.

Nolan says he hopes to travel to Cuba in 2015 to meet with officials there.

External links

• Campaign Website

References

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