Thissen Beaten Down, Caving In

A faithful reader points out that Rep. Paul Thissen (63A) has repeatedly stated he would not support the new Twins stadium in the past, but now it appears he is caving in under the pressure. An article on the MPR website has him commenting about how much the stadium issue weighs on all other issues at the capital. It also states that he will fight to make sure the Hennepin County sales tax increase goes before the voters, but he stopped short by stating that he will support a Twins Stadium bill even if it allows the county to bypass the referendum that is required by current law.

"This issue sucks all of the oxygen away from all of the other legislative proposals that come before it," says Rep. Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis. "It just takes up so much time. I think that's a factor. ... we've had this issue in front of the state for a decade now." Thissen says he'll support efforts to include a referendum on the sales tax, but will vote for the stadium even if those attempts fail.

I urge all of my readers to contact Paul and tell him to vote against this bill.

Paul Thissen (DFL) 63A 301 State Office Building 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155(651) 296-5375 E-mail: rep.paul.thissen@house.mn