Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page [ [link removed] ].






Andy Smith Banner




Dear neighbors, 

The Minnesota Supreme Court [ [link removed] ] has ruled that House Republicans violated our state constitution. Over the past couple of weeks, the GOP caucus has been playing house in St. Paul, including electing a fake Speaker, appointing fake committees, and allocating public money to their own pockets. [ [link removed] ] All of it was unlawful and illegitimate: an afront to the voters of Minnesota.  

This is the heart of this conflict - who is in control of the power in Minnesota, the people or politicians? I believe it is the people, and it’s tragic that house Republicans don’t agree. 

In November, Minnesotans, in a free and fair election, elected an equal number of Democrats and Republicans to represent them in the House. Now, it’s time for the GOP to start working together with Democrats to develop a fair power sharing agreement so we can return to the Capitol to govern as Minnesotans intended. 

Shockingly, rather than the responsible and prudent course, Republicans are doubling down on their anti-democratic actions. They have repeatedly said they intend to not seat one member of our caucus, Rep. Brad Tabke [ [link removed] ], which would disenfranchise 22,000 voters in Shokapee. Why are they trying to take power that wasn’t given to them by the people? To empower them to advance their extreme agenda, including taking away reproductive freedoms, eliminating paid family leave, rolling back progress to address climate change, and ending free school meals for kids. Minnesotans didn’t vote for this harmful agenda, which is why the Republicans have to resort to a legislative coup to advance it.  

My colleagues and I will not allow Republicans to overturn an election. Rep. Tabke won on election night, won in a recount, and won in court. We will continue to fight, and win, to protect Minnesotan democracy. 

But DFLers are able to multitask. While Republicans try to subvert democracy, House Democrats continue to work directly with our constituents and in our communities. Over the last week, I welcomed some of my Metro area colleagues to tour affordable housing developments in Rochester, attended a webinar today by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture about how they’re helping to keep us safe through H5N1 surveillance in milk, and met with Faith in Minnesota to talk about preventing Healthcare consolidation, expanding healthcare accessibility in our state, protect our neighbors, and make Minnesota a welcoming place.  

Smith

Currently, Republicans have a temporary one-seat advantage – But they want to change the rules to give them a permanent two-year advantage, even when we’re once again in a tie. Forgive the hockey analogy, but its like the Blackhawks trying to turn a 1st period power play into the Wild playing the entire game a man down. Our proposal is simple: Republicans can run the House while they have an advantage, but when the House returns to a 67-67 tie, we must return to a fair, co-governing model. 

Minnesota voters sent a clear message on Election Night – they expect us to govern together. It’s time for Republicans to return to the negotiating table so we can move forward. 

________________________________________________________________________



Stay Connected!

*Unfortunately, due to technological constraints, replies to this newsletter won’t reach my email account. *To share your input or ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance, please feel free to reach out at [email protected] or 651-296-9249, and I will be happy to help.

If you were forwarded this email and you’d like to subscribe, click here [ [link removed] ]. If you have a friend or neighbor who would be interested in receiving these, please forward this and encourage them to subscribe!

Warmly, 

Andy Smith,
State Representative

________________________________________________________________________







Representative Andy Smith

5th Floor, Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar St.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155

Phone: 651-296-9249
Email: [email protected] "(replies to this newsletter are not monitored)"
Website: [link removed]
Legislative Assistant: Max Gudmunsen, 651-297-8205







To unsubscribe, visit the Subscriber Preferences Page [ [link removed] ]. If you have questions or experience technical difficulties with this subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com [ [link removed] ].

________________________________________________________________________

This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Minnesota House DFL · 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. · Saint Paul, MN 55155 GovDelivery logo [ [link removed] ]