LETTER to the Editor

This is what the state legislators truly think

To the Cottage Grove Journal, Since it has been a month and no news from state representative Keith Franke on redistricting, I plan to announce a group of current state legislators who unofficially have endorsed Democratic state representative Rick Hansen. They include Steve Drazkowski, Rod Hamilton, Jim Abeler, Mary Franson, Glen Gruenhagen, Mary Kiffmeyer, Paul Gazelka, Jeremy Miller, Roger Chamberlain, Bob Anderson, David Senjem, Carla Nelson, Julie Rosen, Gregory Davids, Bob Dettmer, Pat Garofalo, Kurt Daudt, and Warren Limmer. But wait. They are all Republicans. Shouldn’t they be endorsing Keith Franke? According to their votes on the 2011 redistricting bill, all of these legislators insisted that the almost entirety of the new 53B should be represented by liberal Democratic members. This includes Saint Paul Park (where Franke lives) who they believed that the best legislators for the area would be State Senator Sandy Pappas and State Representative Sheldon Johnson (That would be Jay Xiong today). Additionally, the area has not changed that much in eleven years. Also, they would have to admit why they voted for this and it was essentially to help then State Representative John Kriesel (to whom Republicans extensively financed his 2010 campaign) win re-election who also voted for this bill.

Therefore, I accept their unofficial support for Hansen in the upcoming election over Franke and hope to see them on the campaign trail for Hansen. Because if you believe in their 2011 votes like I do, that is what these state legislators truly think. William Cory Labovitch South Saint Paul, Minnesota