Benton County Board of Commissioners Issues Resolution Publicly Dressing Down Democratic Representatives for Boycotting the Legislative Session

(KNSI) — The Benton County Board of Commissioners used time at its recent meeting to publicly dress down Democratic Representative Dan Wolgamott of St. Cloud for boycotting the beginning of the legislative session.

In a unanimous vote, the board issued a resolution calling on Wolgamott and his Democratic colleagues to show up at the Capitol and fulfill their responsibilities.

The DFL is boycotting the session due to a temporary one-seat majority in the House for the Republicans. The session was to start with a tie, but one Democratic representative was found not to live in his district and was stripped of his victory, giving the GOP the temporary majority.

Commissioner Pam Benoit used her time to express her frustrations as the representatives are still being paid while absent, saying she doesn’t care what side it is, “ultimately it’s taxpayer dollars paying their wages. If they’re not going to show up for work, that’s a disgrace.”

A portion of the resolution reads,

“…the absence of any elected representative during the first week of session is a dereliction of their duties and deprives Benton County residents of their voice in critical early legislative deliberations…

“…the Benton County Board of Commissioners calls upon these representatives to uphold their responsibilities by ensuring they are present and actively engaged in future legislative sessions; and…

“…BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Benton County Board of Commissioners affirms its commitment to holding all elected officials accountable to the constituents they serve.”

Republicans showed up to start the session on January 14th, but the Democrats refused to show up, denying the GOP a quorum so they couldn’t conduct any business, which the Democrats are calling an illegitimate power grab and an attempted coup.

A special election for the empty seat in District 40B, which could restore a tie in the house, has not yet been set. Governor Tim Walz issued a writ of special election for January 28th, but the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled against him, saying it was too soon according to the State Constitution. No new writ has been issued.

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