If one listens now to suburban lawmaker Joyce Peppin (R-Rogers), the newly-minted Minnesota House Majority Leader-elect, you'd think that she's been Greater Minnesota's best friend forever.
In Forum Communications political reporter Don Davis's dispatch in the Fargo Forum, New GOP leaders put priority on greater Minnesota, we catch Peppin saying:
“Our goal is to represent all of the people of Minnesota,” state Rep. Joyce Peppin, R-Rogers, said Friday shortly after being elected House majority leader. “We’re not going to leave greater Minnesota behind as has been done the last couple of years.”
But in 2009, Peppin wasn't so sensitive to those representing rural Minnesota.
The Uptake reported in Late Night Standup Comedy In MN House, Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) amended one of Peppin's amendments on the floor:
It all began with a proposal to not pay lawmakers expenses (per diem) during any special session. The idea being that would be an incentive to finish all the work during the regular session which is scheduled to finish next month.
Instead of voting down the proposal, Rep Rod Hamilton (R) Mountain Lake moved to amend it to require Twin Cities metro areas legislators to provide housing, food, laundry and entertainment for non-metro area legislators.
The amendment touched off a round of comedy and eventually led to original proposal being withdrawn. In other words, the proposal to eliminate special session per diem pay made by Rep. Joyce Peppin (R) of Rogers was literally laughed off the House floor.
While the ribbing is good natured, Hamilton was pointing out the metro-centric bias of Peppin's proposal, which would have cost rural legislators far more than those living in the Cities and its suburban.
Here's the clip:
Photo: Joyce Peppin, via ECM Publishers.
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