Category: SD33

Election endorsement: House District 33B: Kelly Morrison; House District 39B: Shelly Christensen

Two Republican House members, Cindy Pugh of Chanhassen and Kathy Lohmer of Stillwater, discredited themselves earlier this year when they shared a Facebook post alleging that Muslims were trying to “infiltrate” Republican precinct caucuses.

Both Pugh and Lohmer told an editorial writer that their intention was to encourage caucus participation, and that they were not the original authors of the item they shared. “In no way did I endorse what was written,” Pugh said. Lohmer said she takes offense “by any accusations of racism based on a single Facebook post.”

In Pugh’s case, the January 2018 post was an echo of her 2012 post of a photo comparing Islamic women dressed in burqas to garbage bags. This year, Pugh praised her own precinct caucus for approving a resolution calling on the GOP to “minimize and eliminate the influence of Islam” within the party.

View the complete October 30 editorial on the Star Tribune website here.

https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2018/08/hillary-12-vs-donald-7-meet-districts-may-decide-control-minnesota-house

The following article by Peter Callaghan was posted on the MinnPost website August 24, 2018:

House Speaker Kurt Daudt in front of Republican House candidates on the filing deadline. Credit: Peter Callaghan, MinnPost

Insiders call them “borrowed ground” or even “rented districts.”

They are the dozen or so Minnesota state House districts carried by Hillary Clinton two years ago but narrowly won by Republicans lawmakers in the same election. Now they are the focus of both parties’ attempts to control the body.

With an open governor’s seat and the state Senate likely to remain in a one-seat GOP majority, the 134 House seats on the November ballot will either give the Republicans complete control of the state Legislature — or ensure that Democrats have a share of power.

View the complete article here.

Legislature failed because of political tricks

As the DFL candidate for the Minnesota House of Representatives for District 33A, I would like to respond to my opponent’s opinions that were printed in the June 28, 2018, Lakeshore Weekly News.

The 2018 session of the Minnesota Legislature was a failure. We paid our representatives well in salary, stipends, pensions and/or benefits, and they failed us. It is time for a change.

Why did the Legislature fail? Because of closed-door meetings, back-room deals and legislation bundled together (against state law) and presented with less than adequate time for public review. In fact, our elected officials did not have time to read the proposed legislation before they could vote. This is not democracy. This is elected officials pandering to their donors. As a result, the needs of most Minnesotans were neglected in specific ways: Continue reading “Legislature failed because of political tricks”

Candidates for House Districts 33A and 33B get DFL nod

The following article by Lara Bockenstedt was posted on the Lakeshore Weekly News website April 3, 2018:

Norrie Thomas

Candidates Norrie Thomas and Kelly Morrison, running for House Districts 33A and 33B respectively, were endorsed at the DFL convention on March 17.

The DFL endorsed Thomas for District 33A in the House of Representatives. 33A encompasses Corcoran, Greenfield, Independence, Long Lake, Loretto, Maple Plain, Medina, Minnetrista, part of Orono, St. Bonifacious and Wayzata. The current representative for 33A is Rep. Jerry Hertaus, who is in his third term in office. Thomas and Hertaus each ran for the 33A seat in 2016.

“As an entrepreneur and leader I know what it takes to get things done,” Thomas said. “I work hard and smart, and motivate people to work together.” Continue reading “Candidates for House Districts 33A and 33B get DFL nod”

Shorewood resident calls for new leadership

To the editor:

I read with dismay State Rep. Cindy Pugh’s Facebook posting of a plot to mobilize Muslims to infiltrate our caucuses. Not only did she post this false narrative to her Facebook page, where it attracted national scorn, she encouraged others to spread this fake news as well. This type of hate and hysterical nativism is not what the good citizens of Minnesota 33B need or want from our elected leaders. We are an educated, moderate community and we deserve better.

I attended the Democratic caucus and was thrilled to find a packed house with no parking in the parking lot and standing room only inside. It is clear that citizens in our district want change and are willing to participate in the process in order to achieve it. Continue reading “Shorewood resident calls for new leadership”

Zinke reprimanded park head after climate tweets

The following article by Timothy Cama was posted on the Hill website December 15, 2017:

© Getty Images

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke brought the leader of a California park to his office last month to reprimand him for climate change-related tweets the park had sent via Twitter, two sources close to the situation said.

Zinke did not take any formal disciplinary action against David Smith, superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park. And the tweets at issue weren’t deleted, because they didn’t violate National Park Service or Interior Department policies. Continue reading “Zinke reprimanded park head after climate tweets”

On Osmek’s response to Southwest Light Rail

To The Editor:

State Senator David Osmek’s recent attacks on the Southwest Light Rail Transit project and a reported “crude” email about it, sent from his government email server in February to a St. Louis Park resident, has perked my curiosity.

I live in Eden Prairie but have friends and family who are represented by Sen. Osmek. I have been questioning and participating in the planning process of Southwest Light Rail for nearly 16 years and find some of Sen. Osmek’s comments misleading and offensive. Continue reading “On Osmek’s response to Southwest Light Rail”

Osmek’s comments on Southwest Light Rail

To the Editor:

Sen. Dave Osmek, Mound, was crass and cavalier in his response to a constituent’s concern about light rail, as reported in the StarTribune. Osmek called it “a liberal wet dream.” I thereafter emailed him, criticizing his response and questioning his ability to represent his constituents. (I said he is unfit.)

He immediately, to his credit, responded, but accusing me of being from St. Louis Park (outside his district), and therefore had no right to give him my opinion. This was even though I had given him my full home Tonka Bay address, clearly in his district.

His complete email: “Just to correct you, the email was from St Louis Park. Last time I checked, that isn’t in SD33.”

He made no argument in favor of his position, no response other than a Trump-like knee jerk attack on my legitimacy to give my representative my opinion, rather than a discussion of the issues. As I then wrote back to him, “Some representative. Still unfit.”

Gary A. Thompson
Tonka BaySun Papers, March 16, 2017