MN lege: Loving these DFL pickup opportunities, Part 2
(Part 1, in which I explain my methodology, such as it is, here.)
– SD25: Our candidate is Sara Flick.
Sara has spent her career primarily in nonprofits, where she has advanced job opportunities for individuals with disabilities, as well as members of other underserved communities.
If you don’t already know about Sen. David Senjem, this is from a while back, but summarizes things nicely in any case, right to the present day:
First, Dave is famous for inviting people inside his head to wander around with him while he tries to figure out what to do. Second, Dave certainly wants to be on record that he is not a homophobe — at least he doesn’t seem like one to himself — just as Tony Cornish did a few days earlier in the House. It is called trying to have your cake and eat it, too.
Certainly, Dave wants to put some rhetorical — and historical — real estate between himself and Senate goombahs like Warren Limmer, Dan Hall (who said in the Senate chamber not so long ago that some of his best friends were “minority”), and Torrey Westrom. But, regrettably for Dave, they all had the same color button.
(Left.mn)
– HD25A: Our candidate is Kim Hicks.
I have been working with people and children with disabilities since 1999 as a direct support worker, teacher, nonprofit, and policy.
My work with people with disabilities showed me a system that is not working for everyone.
The Party of Trump (very much so) incumbent is Rep. Duane Quam. From early 2017:
In fact, at the moment, there is precisely one: Rep. Duane Quam, R-Byron, introduced a bill in the Minnesota House on Thursday that has no co-authors, and no Senate companion bill. This means this is a proposal that Duane Quam supports and, so far, not one of the other 200 legislators thinks is a good idea.
Let’s find out why.
Quam’s bill calls for the creation of an “urban bicycle lane use permit,” essentially creating an official, state-run system of certifying and regulating the use of a bicycle — the skinny little thing Mark Twain pedaled around on a century ago — like how we treat cars, the one- or more-ton complex machines that leave upward of 30,000 Americans dead per year.
(City Pages)
I recall that Rep. Quam introduced a bill to apportion electoral votes by congressional district, rather than the entire state. It was all the rage, for a time, among GOPers, to try to do that – but only in states that aren‘t safely red. Talk about pitiful, cowardly, anti-democratic crap.
– SD26: Dr. Aleta Borrud is the DFL nominee.
Sen. Carla Nelson makes some “moderate” noise, now and then, but never comes through when it matters.
– HD26B: People around Rochester should recognize Randy Brock, who was a long-time TV meteorologist there.
Like so many of his GOP legislative colleagues Rep. Nels Pierson has frankly been politically pretty much an unaccomplished drone. He has been on the right-wing Walz-bashing bandwagon re: COVID-19.
– HD27A: Thomas Martinez is our candidate.
The incumbent is Rep. Peggy Bennett. Again, a Walz-bashing unaccomplished drone, like I referenced just previously.
– SD28: Sarah Kruger is our challenger in this one.
After graduating from college, I moved to Barcelona, Spain, where I completed a Master of Research in Political Science at Pomeu Fabra University. I had the privilege of teaching at the Barcelona Institute of International Studies, greatly enjoying my connection with students as an educator. From Spain, I moved to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where I started a small business as a marketing and public relations consultant, working primarily with medical professionals. I know first-hand the challenges small businesses face. These businesses ensure strong and vibrant communities throughout our corner of the state, and we need to make sure our Main Streets have the business environment they need to succeed.
Sen. Jeremy Miller (not to be confused with Rep. Jeremy Munson) has consistently eschewed the extremist talk and behavior of so much of his caucus. But he’s still a Party of Trump guy.
– HD28B: Our candidate is Jordan Fontenello.
It would be sweet indeed to see Rep. Greg Davids gone from the lege.
Davids is manifestly incorrect — some might even say lying — when he contends that an estate tax is double taxation, because it almost never is. There is, however, another word for allowing unrealized capital gains to pass from one generation to the next, and the next: feudalism.
(Left.mn)
Comment from Steve Timmer: Thank you for using my description of Dave Senjem. I’ve always been fond of those words.
Carla Nelson is really a vicious ideologue in an Aunt Bea suit.
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