As a voter in Minnesota’s Third Congressional District, I take some issue with the Star Tribune’s description of Rep. Keith Ellison’s town hall in Rep. Erik Paulsen’s district. Jon Tevlin, in his June 7 column “Health care debate is ‘legacy’ of the times,” describes the audience as a “clearly partisan crowd.” I disagree. There were Republicans, Democrats and independents present. It was a publicly posted and advertised meeting, and all were welcome to attend. The “partisanship” we felt was frustration at Paulsen, who refuses to engage in public discussions, and our combined desire to finally hear from someone in Washington about what is happening — someone willing to take unscripted questions and give us sincere answers of what he believes, whether we agree with him or not.
Paulsen was specifically invited but chose not to attend. He did, however, send one of his lesser-known and recognizable district staff members to sit near the back and listen in. I can only hope that he heard what happened and decides that perhaps hosting a real town hall meeting with Minnesota Nice voters is not as scary as he thinks it is. Rep. Tom Emmer did it. From all accounts, there were disagreements, but the Emmer town hall remained civil and orderly. Why is Paulsen so afraid of his own constituents? Could it be that he knows his votes and position statements are indefensible?
Gretchen Haynes, Eden Prairie
Star Tribune, June 8, 2017
NOTE: This event was organized by Indivisible MN03, a group not part of the Minnesota DFL. We report on their efforts along with other organizations’ on our Activist Alerts page.