Congratulations to Bria Schmoyer from STMA Middle School West for winning this year's 'SD30 My District My Minnesota' Art Competition !! | Sen. Lucero speaking at a rally last Saturday at the MN Capitol in the battle for truth and protecting our God-given liberties !! | Fun time with a fantastic community Sunday morning at the Albertville Lions Pancake Breakfast !! | Dear Friends and Neighbors, In recent years we've seen Democrat lawmakers constantly make excuses for criminals and alter our laws to their benefit. In just the last year and a half, Democrats have passed laws reducing the amount of time criminals spend in prison, made more inmates eligible for early release, given felons the right to vote before completing their sentence, attack law abiding gun owners, and restrict law enforcement's ability to fight crime. However, last week, the Democrat support for crime within their own ranks made some shocking headlines. Sen. Mitchell Last Wednesday, the legislature was back in session following Passover break. Following the news of Sen. Mitchell's arrest, the Democrat majority removed all bills from the Senate Floor schedule knowing that without Sen. Mitchell being at the Capitol to vote, they would be unable to pass anything. Instead, Wednesday was set to be a short procedural floor session. With the updates released by law enforcement regarding Sen. Mitchell's arrest, it was clear that her continued membership in the Senate potentially presents serious danger to the integrity of the Senate. With Democrats having a one vote majority, a tie breaking vote from an alleged criminal would undermine everything passed through the legislature. In response to these concerns, several of my colleagues and I filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Mitchell. This isn't my first rodeo working for accountability, integrity, and a high bar expected of public officials. In 2021, I filed an ethics complaint against then State Representative John Thompson, a disgraced former Democrat legislator and alleged domestic abuser from St. Paul who was known for his violent rhetoric when he called for burning the suburbs down when protesting outside the home of a police union leader in 2020. The complaint I filed stemmed from Rep. Thompson shouting "I know you're a racist" interrupting me when I was speaking during a House Floor session. While extremely unprofessional and unacceptable, this incident resulted in Rep. Thompson apologizing and the complaint being dismissed. The current complaint against Sen. Mitchell is far more consequential, and is the most serious complaint I have seen against a Minnesota lawmaker in my ten years in office. My complaint asks for the consideration of expelling Sen. Mitchell from the Senate. The text of the complaint is below. | During the floor session Wednesday last week, I made a motion for the Senate to compel the Ethics Subcommittee to immediately consider the complaint. Senate rules require action to be taken within 30 days, but with the number of bills the majority would like to take action on in the last month of the legislative session, it's vital this complaint be heard immediately so the legislature has the facts needed to determine if Sen. Mitchell should be allowed to remain a member and cast her deciding vote on several large pieces of legislation. Democrats deflected their responsibility to uphold the integrity of the institution and the State of Minnesota by justifying their opposition to my motion vaguely citing due process as the reason why, and falsely suggesting that the vote would result in her expulsion rather than an investigation which may lead to her expulsion. The reality is recognizing the urgency and sensitivity of this complaint does not infringe on Sen. Mitchell's right to due process in any way. The motion was ultimately defeated in a vote of 33-33 with 1 member, Sen. Mitchell, absent. Listen to my comments here. "Senators must be held to the highest standard of ethical conduct and the public trust has been violated. It is the duty and responsibility of the Senate to immediately begin due process proceedings under the ethics complaint, in accordance with Senate rules and procedures, to consider expelling Sen. Mitchell. A swift examination of the serious felony charge is required to ensure the integrity of the Senate and state of Minnesota is upheld. The allegations against Sen. Mitchell cast a shadow over the integrity of the entire Minnesota Senate and any legislation the body votes on until the matter is addressed. According to the criminal complaint, after being read her Miranda warning, Sen. Mitchell confessed, “I know I did something bad.” The Senate must address this breach of trust in the swiftest and most decisive manner possible.” | If Sen. Mitchell is allowed to continue voting in the 2024 legislative session, she will likely be the deciding vote on gun control, along with several other controversial bills making their way through the legislature. Following the complaint, Sen. Mitchell released a public statement doubling down on a different version of events that completely contradict the sworn testimony of law-enforcement, and stating that she does not intend to resign. We are yet to see Sen. Mitchell accept responsibility for her actions as she has only provided far-fetched justifications ranging from collecting possessions that once belonged to her deceased father to performing a welfare check on her mother in law. Her bizarre responses have only raised more questions as to why she was found in her mother in law's basement with an open window at 4:45am 3 hours away from home dressed in all black with a flashlight covered with a sock and a laptop belonging to the victim, but it seems clear she is not willing to provide those answers. | Senate Democrats decided they didn't want accountability for their members to get in the way of their 2024 agenda. Democrats brought Sen. Mitchell back onto the Senate floor today to allow her to cast the deciding vote on multiple items. Senate Republicans attempted to prevent her votes from being counted until her ethical and legal issues are resolved through multiple motions, however, Senate Democrats decided to defend their colleague under investigation and defeated the motions. | The allegations against Sen. Mitchell cast a shadow over the integrity of the entire Minnesota Senate and any legislation the body votes on until the matter is addressed. If this were anybody else in any other profession, that person would immediately be placed on paid leave and prohibited from participating in work until the conclusion of an investigation. As of this writing, no Democrat has explicitly called on Mitchell to resign!The trend of Democrats setting aside ethics for political expediency goes to show that the primary goal of the Democrat trifecta is to ram as many far-left policies into law as they can while they still have total control, rather than working to the benefit of all Minnesotans. Judd Hoff Earlier this month, Douglas County Democrats endorsed a violent felon who is a self described communist to run against Republican Rep. Mary Franson. The endorsed Democrat, Judd Hoff, not only has a history with police due to his violent felony conviction, but also a history of stalking and harassing Rep. Franson for over a decade. | The local Democrat party admitted they knew of Judd Hoff's criminal history, and still proceeded to endorse him. Despite press coverage bringing pressure to the party unit to rescind the endorsement, local Democrat leadership decided last week to affirm their decision to endorse a violent stalker to continue his harassment of Rep. Franson with official Democrat Party support. | Staying In Touch Each and every day I’m continuously humbled at the opportunity to represent and fight for the values and priorities of our great community! Please contact me to share any issues, concerns, or feedback you have to assist me best represent you. The best way to reach me is by email at [email protected] or by phone at 651-296-5655. Sincerely, Eric Lucero State Senator District 30 Rockford Township, Hanover, Saint Michael, Albertville, Otsego, Elk River, Nowthen, Western Oak Grove | Capitol Address 95 University Avenue W.
Minnesota Senate Bldg. 2413
St. Paul, MN 55155 651-296-5655 | |
