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*April 25, 2024*






Friends and Neighbors,

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As you may have heard, legislative business has largely come to a halt after Senator Nicole Mitchell was arrested on suspicion of first-degree burglary [ [link removed] ]. The charging documents and police report indicate that Senator Mitchell left her district of Woodbury at approximately 1:00 in the morning and drove to her stepmother's house in Detroit Lakes while wearing all black and carrying a flashlight modified to reduce the amount of light output.

Once there, she allegedly broke into the house through a basement window while her stepmother was asleep upstairs. The 911 transcript [ [link removed] ] that was just released last night adds even more bizarre details to the story - it seems that Senator Mitchell was lying on the floor next to her sleeping stepmother before she woke up, tripped over her, and called the police while the senator fled to the basement. Senator Mitchell even said to police, after being Mirandized, that "I know I did something bad" and "clearly I'm not good at this."

Senator Mitchell was then arrested with her stepmother's laptop in her bag. She spent the night in jail, had a restraining order filed against her by her stepmother, and was released on a $40,000 bond.

While this sounds too far-fetched to be true, I assure you that it is.

This situation clearly complicates the end of the legislative session with Senator Mitchell being the deciding vote in a one-seat majority in the Senate. As of today Senator Mitchell has not yet returned to the Capitol and she did not vote during Wednesday's Senate Floor session where a motion to expedite an ethics committee hearing into Senator Mitchell's conduct failed on a party-line vote [ [link removed] ], 33-33.

The Senate Republican Minority Leader Mark Johnson issued a statement calling on Senator Mitchell to resign.* I support those calls, and agree that her conduct has clearly breached Senate rules* which stipulate that ?Members shall adhere to the highest standard of ethical conduct?? Senate rules go on to state that ?improper conduct includes conduct that [?] betrays the public trust, or that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor or disrepute.?

*Simply put, I'm of the opinion that it will not be acceptable to allow Senator Mitchell to participate in Senate business while she is facing felony charges, especially as the deciding vote on major legislation in the final weeks of session.*

Internally, the Democrats and Republican members have had hours-long private caucuses to discuss the path forward.? There is consensus that if the Senate allows Senator Mitchell to remain a voting member these last few weeks of session, things will grind to a halt.? Discussions are ongoing about simply passing legislation that is bi-partisan, including a bonding bill, and adjourning on time and without the drama this situation has created.? As a reminder, this is the second year of the session and all the major budget and policy bills were already passed last year.

This story is developing and I will keep you updated as new details emerge. For now, we have a deadlocked Senate and the people of Woodbury have no representation in the Senate Chamber.






Please Contact Me

Please continue to reach out if I can be of any assistance to you. You can reach me by phone at 651-296-3018 or by email at [email protected].

Have a great weekend!?

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Patti











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387 State Office Building
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Saint Paul, MN 55155
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