State Legislatures

This year is an election year for the Minnesota State Legislature. With the spectacle and glamour of the federal government, people tend to forget that the state governments have a lot of power - state legislatures hold the keys to the civil rights of America’s citizens. The United States Congress isn’t taking major action on guns, on abortion, or on minimum wage - all of that is being taken on by state legislatures. Also, in many states, state legislatures draw new US congressional maps every 10 years after the Census.

But a number of these races are left uncontested, which is unfortunate as laws are passed more frequently at the state and local levels than they are at the federal level. That means state legislatures do a huge amount of work while no one is looking, and they don’t have anybody to challenge them to make certain that they keep in touch with their constituents. If you want action on laws in regards to abortion, marijuana, public safety, or anything else, then you need to pay attention to your state legislatures. Remember that one vote can swing an election - don’t leave us in the fuck barrel.

The Candidates - District 46A

State Senator

Ron Latz (Incumbent) - Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Bryan P. Björnson - Republican

State Representative

Ryan Winkler (Incumbent) - Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Anne Taylor - Republican

The Candidates - District 49A

State Senator

Melisa López Franzen (Incumbent) - Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Julie Dupré - Republican

State Representative

Heather Edelson - Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Uncontested Race

District 46

Minnesota Senate

Senator Ron Latz is District 46’s incumbent senator, and was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives before becoming a senator. He is a member of the Commerce and Consumer Protection Finance and Policy Committee and the ranking minority member of the Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy committee. His website has a handy link to voting information, discusses his community service roles, and clearly lays out what his priorities are. His ratings and endorsements as charted by VoteSmart look steady, and his endorsements and awards as listed on his website look good.

I had to do a little bit of digging to find out anything about Bryan P. Björnson. VoteSmart says that he’s a lifelong NRA member. Ballotpedia says that he unsuccessfully ran for the state house in 2014 & 2016. BallotReady says that he has customer service experience. His Facebook shows him to be staunchly anti-Democrat, and also says “Less Republican, Less Democrat, More Constitution”. On his own website, he says that he is a “viking”; it is also apparent that he has a weak understanding of taxes and actually has very little to platform on. He once said that the preservation of civil liberties is more important than public safety.

My vote is going to Senator Latz. Honestly, I think people voting along party lines is the reason behind Bryan P. Björnson getting as many votes as he has in previous elections.

Minnesota House

Representative Ryan Winkler is District 46A’s incumbent Representative, and was elected to serve as House Majority Leader in November 2018. He’s the chair of the Rules and Legislative Administration Committee and the vice chair of the Select Committee on Minnesota’s Pandemic Response and Rebuilding; his platform issues seem to be focused on healthcare, protecting natural resources, raising the minimum wage, and gun legislation. We can see a list of his legislative views, but he seems to have few endorsements (unless they are listed elsewhere).

Anne Taylor ran for the house in 46A in 2016. She is a licensed real estate associate, and is passionate about education - though she states that she is not for raising taxes and that the Metropolitan Council’s influence needs to be lessened. Her Facebook indicates that she is against public safety amid COVID-19 and is against Drag Queen Story Hour; her website lacks platform information, only stating that she “helped pass a law protecting student data”. She has as few endorsements as Ryan Winkler, except her endorsements are frightening ones.

My vote is going to Representative Winkler. Aside from the Republican stance of being accepting of KKK and Nazi support, Taylor seems to support dangerous and hurtful positions, and I cannot support that. Winkler has been supporting making life better for all Minnesotans, not just for a certain segment of the population.

District 49

Minnesota Senate

Senator Melisa López Franzen is District 49’s incumbent Senator, and serves on the Finance, Health and Human Services Finance and Policy, and the Transportation and Public Safety Finance Committees. She has sponsored a bill to have health plans cover contraceptive methods, a Senate Resolution that expresses the cultural and historical significance of Juneteenth, and other important bills. She is the first woman and the first Democrat to win that particular senate seat; her endorsements are solid (her Facebook says that Barack Obama endorses her as well); and I agree with her priorities (including the ones listed on BallotReady).

Julie Dupré is out to shake up government bureaucracy. Her community involvement includes being a Trump Victory Neighborhood Team Leader and a caucus delegate and precinct chair. “Reopening Minnesota” and public safety are her key issues, as well as being pro-life and pro-American. She does have a link to how to get your absentee ballot on her site, which is good, but her policies are either shells with nothing inside or are misinformed (like her stance on the Green New Deal).

My support goes to Representative Franzen. From what I can find, she’s been very active, she has excellent platform issues, and her endorsements are fantastic.

Minnesota House

Representative Heather Edelson is running unopposed. Even if she weren’t, I’d likely still vote for her - she has a background as a mental health therapist, has experienced poverty, has solid platform issues, and even asks you to tell her what issues are important to you. Though I would prefer healthy debate for elections, I am glad that she is keeping her seat in the Minnesota House.

I write these posts in an effort to help people find out about political candidates and become more informed about who they are choosing to represent them. I would appreciate it if you would share these posts to aid others in learning about their candidates. Together, we can build a better tomorrow.

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