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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Sondra Erickson (R)

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RELEASE: Kresha and Erickson Condemn Violent Rhetoric from Future Legislator

Monday, August 24, 2020

ST. PAUL - GOP Representatives Ron Kresha, R-Little Falls, and Sondra Erickson, R-Princeton, condemned the violent and threatening rhetoric used by a future St. Paul Representative recently, calling for civil discourse and leading by example for all Minnesotans.

“Being chosen to serve a district as an elected member of the House of Representatives carries a responsibility to civility, respect, and adherence to an ethical code of conduct," said Kresha. "The recent comments of future Representative John Thompson in a residential neighborhood in Hugo were incredibly harmful, and had he been a member of the Legislature at the time, would have been grounds for an ethics complaint. Hatred and threats should never be prerequisites for serving the people in St. Paul.”

Erickson said that even during a campaign a candidate sets the stage for how he will respond to his responsibilities as a member.

“I have served on the Ethics Committee as chair or as a member for over ten years and have never observed this kind of treatment toward citizens," said Erickson. "I find this kind of behavior to be in conflict of the Code of Ethics to which a member pledges as a member of the House of Representatives and I hope he will never again use this type of threatening and inflammatory rhetoric. The outrageous and despicable actions of Mr. Thompson toward citizens of the state demeans the office to which he wants to be elected.”

As GOP leads on the Education Finance and Policy committees, Kresha and Erickson believe our actions in the legislature also serve as educational models for our next generation of leaders; candidate John Thompson’s actions show a lack of judgment to that end.

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