By Alliance President Terry Gips
Every once in a long while one gets to witness and know a leader who has the capacity to bridge the great divides amongst us with humor, kindness and strategic determination. MN House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman exemplified that and was a brilliant model for all of us.
I feel blessed to have known her in legislative, DFL and Jewish community contexts. She deeply listened and cared while being so open, honest and positive. At the same time, she was an ardent advocate for her well-thought out perspectives.
Yet, she always sought the highest common ground, fully respecting every person. These unique qualities allowed her to develop deep friendships across the aisle and keep her wide-ranging, progressive to Blue Dog DFL Party together, even when they only had a one vote margin. And when the Legislature was evenly split, she was able to work with Republicans to reach compromises that avoided a government shutdown.
So it is with the greatest sadness that all of us at the Alliance mourn the horrific and heartbreaking targeted killings of MN Rep. Melissa Hortman and her equally amazing husband Mark, and the brutal attack on MN Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.
Representative Hortman dedicated her life to public service, the pursuit of justice and the protection of the environment and people. She was an extraordinary climate champion who went to the UN Climate Conferences and helped to pass some of the country’s most ambitious state clean energy policy.
Her Final and “Worst Vote” Was Needed to Keep Minnesota Functioning
It’s sad that her final vote had to be the critical compromise to keep the government functioning. The Republicans were going to shut down the government if she didn’t agree to go along with a compromise in which healthcare would be given to undocumented children but not their parents.
She cried as she cast what she sadly said was the “worst vote” of her life. But that’s what great leaders sometimes have to do for the greater good. Her leadership was sure to be challenged over that single vote, despite her years of achieving some of the greatest, most impactful legislation in the history of Minnesota.
Rebecca Solnit on Melissa Hortman’s Amazing Accomplishments
“I believe she was murdered for her work on women’s rights, but all her work matters,” wrote Rebecca Solnit. Solnit included the following highlights of Representative Hortman’s work: free school breakfast and lunch, paid leave, restoring voting rights for felons, a celebration of Clean Energy Business Day in Minnesota, passage of a new solar energy standard and carbon-free electricity by 2040.
Solnit adds, Representative Hortman also did this in 2020: “In late July, Minnesota passed a police reform law, negotiated by Hortman, that limits the use of neck restraints and chokeholds, prohibits departments from offering controversial warrior-style training, and creates an independent state unit to investigate when a police officer kills someone or is accused of sexual misconduct.”
“The law also strengthens citizen input and data collection at the state’s police licensing and disciplinary board and reforms the arbitration process that governs officer discipline. After signing the bill into law, Governor Tim Walz credited Hortman with keeping lawmakers from her Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party and Republicans working at the negotiation table until they reached a significant result.”
May Melissa Hortman Be a Light for All Leaders
We’ll always remember Melissa and hope that her light will be an inspiration for all of us committed to creating a world of sustainability, health, equity and kindness.