Another DFLer enters SD25 race. GOP calls on Ritchie to sit out special election
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Montgomery Mayor Mick McGuire announced he's running for the seat being vacated by GOP Sen. Tom Neuville (see bottom of entry for his news release). Neuville was appointed to a judgeship so a special election has been called for January 3rd. McGuire's entry means there will be a DFL Primary since Anne Bomstad Miller also announced her candidacy. Former Rep. Ray Cox is seeking the GOP endorsement.
GOP Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem and two other GOP senators are also calling for Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to temporarily step aside until an investigation by the Legislative Auditor is complete:
"It's going to be very difficult for the current Secretary until this is resolved to come forward and render any sort of viewed upon impartial opinions relative to an election result or any other activity that he may have in an election."
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The Legislative Auditor announced earlier this week that he would require Ritchie to testify under oath after Ritchie revised an earlier explanation about using a state mailing list for political purposes. A spokesman for Ritchie says that Ritchie will administer all aspects of the office that he has been elected to do. DFL Party Chair Brian Melendez said the Republican request is a desperate maneuver:
"There would be a dangerous precedent set. If you could disqualify an elected constitutional officer by just saying that you don't like them or saying that your party's uncomfortable with them we would have disqualified Mary Kiffmyer every single time. We didn't trust her and I think she was dishonest but we didn't resort to these desperate maneuvers to disqualify her."
I think today's actions mean both parties will heavily participate in this special election. Here's the McGuire release as promised:
Montgomery Mayor Joins Senate District 25 Race
MONTGOMERY --- Mick McGuire, the popular four-term mayor of Montgomery, Minnesota announced this morning his intention to seek the DFL endorsement for the Senate District 25 seat being vacated by Tom Neuville.
Seeking to reclaim the seat once held by his father, McGuire’s respect for the important role of public service was instilled in him at a young age. With more than a decade of local government experience, he has a wealth of firsthand experience in the complexities of how the state interacts with its cities and people, as well as a number of ideas as to how this relationship can be strengthened and improved.
In addition to streamlining state government to make it more responsive to the people, McGuire describes education and transportation as the basic building block issues that deserve the majority of the state’s focus. As a small business owner, he recognizes how these three issues work in concert to help and/or hinder the economic growth of the state.
“If we want to continue growing our state’s economy, we are going to need to invest in the simple building blocks that are education and transportation,” McGuire said today. “I don’t support reckless tax increases to pay for these things, but speaking as an elected official, I recognize an ounce of prevention often equals a pound of cure, whether the subject is our broken Heath care system or our broken roads.”
A lifelong resident of District 25, McGuire graduated from Montgomery-Lonsdale High School and then the University of Minnesota, graduating with a degree in Agriculture. He served on the Montgomery City Council from 1993 until 2000, when he was elected Mayor.
