Letter: Howe pays for legislative update

To the Editor:

Teresa Maples’ letter was long on hysterics but short on facts (RE, Aug. 4). Here’s the truth: Not one penny of taxpayer money went into the distribution of Sen. John Howe’s legislative update.

Such updates are produced every year by DFLers and Republicans alike and are authorized by the rules of the Senate. Most of the time, they are “fluff” pieces written by Senate staffers, designed to present their bosses in the best possible light.

Instead of taking that path, Howe simply reprinted a news article written about him. It was a fair, balanced piece of reporting by a journalist from MinnPost, a left-leaning news organization. There was nothing in the report written by a Senate staff member and, because it wasn’t a campaign piece, it didn’t require a disclaimer.

To distribute the article, Howe paid – out of his own pocket – to have it inserted in the newspaper so that his constituents could see what an objective third party thought of his work in St. Paul.

Sadly, lies and distortions are what we can expect to see from the DFL between now and November since they have no credible way to attack Howe. In his first term, he developed a well-earned reputation as such a reasonable, effective, bipartisan legislator that his re-election has already been endorsed by labor, environmental and business groups.

Teresa Whitson

Red Wing

Teresa Whitson is the Goodhue County Republican Party chair.

Tags: opinion, letters