State legislative scorecard ranks heroes — and zeros

The report also details the issues behind the votes. The federation said the scorecard can be a tool in evaluating whom to support in the Nov. 2 elections.

House Heroes
In the House, the Minnesota AFL-CIO scored lawmakers on 17 key votes. A total of 35 House members statewide received a perfect score of 100 percent, including 12 members in the Minneapolis area. The 12, all DFLers, included: Lyndon Carlson (45B), Debra Hilstrom (46B), Frank Hornstein (60B), Melissa Hortman (47B), Phyliss Kahn (59B), Carolyn Laine (50A), Margaret Anderson Kelliher (60A), Michael Nelson (46A), Jerry Newton (49B), Steve Simon (44A), Paul Thissen (63A), and Tom Tilberry (51B).

House Zeros
Statewide, 11 Republican House members earned a score of zero — opposing the AFL-CIO position on each of the 17 votes tracked. Five of these legislators are from the Minneapolis area: Bruce Anderson (19A), Mark Buesgens (35B), Tom Emmer (19B), Tom Hackbarth (48A), and Paul Kohls (34A).

Senate Heroes
In the Senate, 32 of the 63 members supported the AFL-CIO position on each of the 11 votes tracked, earning a score of 100 percent. All were DFLers. This group included 11 from the Minneapolis area: Linda Berglin (61), Don Betzold (51), Scott Dibble (60), Leo Foley (47), Linda Higgins (58), Ken Kelash (63), Ron Latz (44), Larry Pogemiller (59), Ann Rest (45), Linda Scheid (46) and Patricia Torres Ray (62).

Senate Zeros
Two Senate Republicans earned a score of zero, including Ham Lake’s Debbie Johnson (49).

For a copy of the report, visit the Minnesota AFL-CIO\’s website. The report is a PDF file posted under "At the Capitol" in the right sidebar.

Reprinted from the Minneapolis Labor Review.

Comments are closed.