Good morning and welcome to Tuesday.
The 2021 municipal elections are over, and already some candidates are announcing they're running in 2022. There's a complication though -- because of the once-every-10-year process of redistricting, many of those candidates don't know yet exactly what area they will represent if they win. And some may not even live in the district they hope to represent. Tim Pugmire has the story for MPR. The same uncertainty applies to incumbents who want to run for reelection. All 201 legislative seats will be on the ballot, 134 in the House and 67 in the Senate. They could all have new boundaries. And the law says Minnesota legislators have to live in the districts they represent. Rep. Dan Wolgamott, DFL- St. Cloud, who is heading up the candidate recruitment efforts for House Democrats this cycle, said he knows some candidates are waiting to see the new maps before announcing their plans, but others are ready now. His advice? "If you know you want to run, go ahead and run,” Wolgamott said. “Go ahead and start raising funds, start knocking on doors, start doing community town halls and connecting with people." Wolgamott is not waiting. He plans to announce his own campaign plans in a couple of weeks. "I can't control the lines, but I can control how hard I'm working to throw down for St. Cloud at the Capitol," Wolgamott said. The Legislature has until mid-February to approve new maps or a court-appointed panel of judges will do the job.
State regulators have identified several more Minnesota lakes and a river contaminated with substances sometimes called “forever chemicals” after finding elevated levels in the tissue of fish. Kirsti Marohn has the story for MPR News : The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is proposing to add 305 water bodies to its list of impaired lakes, rivers and streams that fail to meet state water quality standards. That includes 15 lakes and stretches of river impaired due to PFOS, or perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, a member of the family of human-made chemicals known as PFAS. It’s the first time that lakes outside of the Twin Cities metro area have been labeled as impaired because of PFAS. They include Lake Winona in Alexandria, Minn., and Wild Rice Lake and Fish Lake just north of Duluth, Minn. The other water bodies added because of PFOS in fish tissue are the St. Croix River from Taylors Falls Dam through Lake St. Croix, and several lakes in the Twin Cities metro area, including Lake Phalen, Lake McCarrons and the main bay of Keller Lake, all in Ramsey County.
Via press release: Former state Rep. Carly Melin is leaving a position in Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office to be the new chief of staff for the DFL Senate minority. “Carly brings significant legislative and leadership experience having served three terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives, including as Assistant Majority Leader,” said Senate DFL Leader Melisa López Franzen. “She is a dedicated public servant who brings her extensive experience in building relationships with members and staff in both bodies of the state legislature, the executive branch, and state agencies, as well as experience leading and executing strategy to our work of advancing and expanding policy priorities aimed at improving the lives of all Minnesotans.” Former Revenue Commissioner Cynthia Bauerly will continue in her role as Interim Chief of Staff until November 29, López Franzen said.
Former George W. Bush administration ethics lawyer Richard Painter is considering an independent run for governor, Peter Callaghan reports in MinnPost . Painter, who got a lot of publicity during the Trump era, lost a DFL primary against Sen. Tina Smith in 2018. His main issue would be to oppose copper nickel mining in northeastern Minnesota. “The campaign for me is worth it if we have some serious discussions about clean water, clean politics,” Painter told Callaghan. “I don’t want to get in there just to make a lot of noise, get my name out there.” Painter, who teaches at the University of Minnesota Law School said he wouldn’t run as a Democrat in 2022 and that he is no longer a Republican. “The only thing Richard Painter’s possible independent candidacy for governor would accomplish is helping to elect a Republican who will roll back Gov. Walz’s clean cars rule, undo the reforms Gov. Walz made to improve police transparency, and set back the policy priorities Painter says he believes in,” DFL Party Chair Ken Martin told Callaghan. “I understand and appreciate his desire to facilitate a conversation around important issues, but there are more productive ways to do that.”
The Star Tribune reports Richfield City Council Member Simon Trautmann is running for Hennepin County Attorney. Trautmann said that George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody on May 25, 2020, and losing his mother to COVID-19 just days before that were factors in his decision to run. And Saraswati Singh, an Assistant County Attorney in the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, said she is running. Singh described herself as a Democrat and a daughter of immigrants. She already has Ramsey County Attorney John Choi’s endorsement. Former Hennepin County Chief Public Defender Mary Moriarty and Minnesota House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler are already in the race. | 