Tag: Kurt Daudt

DFL Party Responds to GOP Contract on Minnesota

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA  – On Monday, the Minnesota DFL Party slammed the plan released by Minnesota Republicans to disregard the COVID-19 pandemic and allow for a total reopening of the state of Minnesota. 

In releasing their “Contract to Open Minnesota”, Republicans doubled down on their reckless disregard for the pandemic that has killed over 223,000 Americans and 2,200 Minnesotans by proposing to permit restaurants, bars, and other venues to completely reopen with no capacity, social distancing, or masking requirements.

DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement:

“Make no mistake, the Minnesota Republican Party’s plan to entirely ignore COVID-19 is going to get people killed. Republican leaders like Donald Trump, Paul Gazelka, Kurt Daudt, and Jennifer Carnahan have already exposed Minnesotans to COVID-19 through their reckless campaigning and this plan will only make things worse.

Continue reading “DFL Party Responds to GOP Contract on Minnesota”

Minnesota legislators Paul Gazelka, Kurt Daudt join Republican push to reverse Big Ten decision

Two from Minnesota join 8 others in GOP effort to open fall sports season. 

Two Minnesota legislators have joined other lawmakers from states with Big Ten universities, asking the conference to overturn its decision to cancel fall sports.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa, and House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, were two of 10 legislators signing a letter written by Michigan House of Representatives speaker Lee Chatfield. All are Republicans from six states — including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Wisconsin.

The letter went to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren as well as all of the institutions’ presidents and chancellors. Continue reading.

Kurt Daudt Found Attacking Bonding Projects “Just for One Little Community”

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, Minnesota House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt was already expressing disdain for the bonding projects requested by Minnesota’s local elected officials and community leaders.

In an interview from the start of 2020, Daudt attacks the needs of municipalities across Minnesota, saying that if certain bonding proposals are “the things that we would consider not regionally important, they’re just for one little community, we don’t really, frankly, want to have those sorts of things in a bonding bill.”

Daudt’s dismissal of the importance of local infrastructure investments pre-date the COVID-19 outbreak and expose the fact that House Republicans are not willing to set aside their far-right ideology in the face of a stalled national economy and the need to create jobs in Minnesota.

DFL Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement:

“Representative Daudt’s comments make it clear that Minnesota Republicans are still putting their extreme ideology ahead of the needs of Minnesotans everywhere. Instead of investing in Minnesota at a time when our national economy is struggling, Republicans continue to dismiss the need to create jobs and support the ‘little communities’ that Kurt Daudt dismissed.

“Daudt and House Republicans may not care about putting Minnesotans back to work by taking on projects like rebuilding the city hall that burned down in Ellsworth or helping with flood mitigation in Albert Lea, but DFLers do. Our party is committed to boosting Minnesota’s economy and improving Minnesotans’ safety and quality of life by passing a robust bonding bill.”

DFL Party Responds to Daudt’s Promise to Block Bonding Bill

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, Republican House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt declared his intention to block a bonding bill, leaving thousands of Minnesotans out of work, until the state of emergency ends in Minnesota.

Daudt’s declaration comes despite the fact that 76% of the American people support a continuation of the Stay at Home Orders that top medical experts say have saved countless lives nationwide. It also comes despite the fact that over one million Americans have contracted COVID-19 and almost 70,000 have lost their lives in the span of a few short months.

Ken Martin, Chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party released the following statement in response to Minority Leader Kurt Daudt’s promise to block a bonding bill: Continue reading “DFL Party Responds to Daudt’s Promise to Block Bonding Bill”

Rep. Kurt Daudt joins lobbying-linked firm, will still serve as lawmaker

He is the Minority Leader in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Minnesota’s House Minority Leader, Rep. Kurt Daudt, has been appointed the Director of Public Affairs for a firm that connects clients to government lobbyists, but says he will continue to serve as a lawmaker.

Daudt, the former House Speaker and the Republican representative for House District 31A, has joined Virginia-based Stateside Associates, which seeks to coordinate advocacy and influence policy on behalf of its clients at the state and local government level across the U.S.

The announcement on Friday says that Daudt’s role “does not involve lobbying,” and it’s a part-time position that allows him to continue to serve in the Minnesota Legislature.

View the complete November 22 article by Adam Uren on the Bring Me the News website here.

MInnesota House Democrats to Disable Capitol ‘Mute” Button Installed by GOP

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — It is no secret that the Minnesota lawmakers sometimes hold raucous legislative sessions. But there’s something even many lawmakers didn’t know.

House GOP leaders installed a “mute button” to cut off their microphones if things got rowdy!

“When we found out about it, we were outraged,” said incoming Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman.

View the complete January 9 article by Pat Kessler on the WCCO TV website here.

MN Supreme Court says Mark Dayton’s veto of legislative budget was constitutional

The following article by Rachel E. Stassen-Berger was posted on the Pioneer Press website September 8, 2017:

Credit: Steve Mullis, MPR

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Friday decided that Gov. Mark Dayton’s veto of the House and Senate budgets earlier this year was constitutional.

“We hold that the governor’s exercise of his line item veto authority … was constitutional,” Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote. “This conclusion, however, does not end the matter.”

The justice wrote that the court does not believe it has the authority to order the Legislature funded, as did a previous district court, while the dispute goes on. Therefore it ordered Dayton, a Democrat, and the Republican Legislature back into talks with a mediator. Continue reading “MN Supreme Court says Mark Dayton’s veto of legislative budget was constitutional”

DFL Chair Ken Martin on Donald Trump’s Hold on Minnesota’s Republican Party

“On Thursday morning, Speaker Kurt Daudt said that Donald Trump is great for the Minnesota Republican Party. I am constantly astounded by the Party’s acceptance and support of a candidate whose campaign is built on bigotry and discrimination.

“On the heels of Trump’s racist comments about a federal judge, and the prejudicial statements made by Rep. Tony Cornish and candidate Ali Jimenez-Hopper, the Party’s embrace of this toxic rhetoric is a troubling trend that has no place in Minnesota.

“These tone-deaf statements minimize the very real issues that many Minnesotans face. It’s time for Speaker Daudt and Minnesota’s Republicans to stop blindly following Donald Trump’s divisive lead and prioritize the needs of Minnesotans they are running to represent.”