Mike Nelson Archives – Checks & Balances

Tight Majorities and a Vast Amount Retirements Do Young Committee Chairs Make

Nov 19, 2022

Minnesota Report We received the new legislative committee names and selected chairs for both the House and Senate late yesterday afternoon, and noticed some interesting realities. In the House, incoming third term member Rep Aisha Gomez (DFL-62A, Minneapolis) is the...

It’s Plausible for Ranked Choice Voting to be Banned in Minnesota

May 7, 2021

Minnesota Report Anyone who has read Checks & Balances for the last decade knows our Publisher Shawn Towle is a staunch opponent of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) and he will be testifying before the State Government Finance Conference Committee on HF1952. The Senate...

Speaker Hortman’s Announcement of 2021-22 House Committee Chairs

Dec 1, 2020

Minnesota Report Yesterday, the DFL House Caucus announced it list of committee chairs for the forthcoming legislative session. There are a number of 2nd term members who have received a gavel, and a notable placement of a woman of color, Rep Rena Moran...

The Different Faces of RCV

Mar 14, 2018

This week has become an interesting one in the history of Ranked Choice Voting in Minnesota. For those of you unfamiliar or who have not experienced an election under this process, it is one where each voter is able to cast a series of votes for more than one...

Stalemate Continues

Apr 28, 2011

Rep Peggy Scott (R-49A, Andover) has waded into a political quagmire and is proving herself to not be a friend of organized labor. She is the Chief Author of HF 1469 a bill to change the current structure for determining prevailing wages and changes in the definition...