Bluestem Prairie found ourselves laughing at this passage in Gov. Dayton stands firm on water quality law, Stribber J. Patrick Coolican's coverage of Governor Mark Dayton's Town Hall Water Summit at the University of Minnesota--Morris:
In response to Dayton’s remarks Friday, Rep. Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, said: “It’s easy to grandstand.”
Backer, who represents the Morris area and attended the water summit, said he expects ongoing negotiations to improve a law he called flawed: “On this issue we have to look at the people on the ground — the landowners, the farmers — because they are good stewards of their land. This is their production, and they want to protect their investment,” said Backer, a cosponsor of the repeal measure in the House.
It's Backer's own nature to grandstand. Having voted not once, but twice for buffers in 2015 and 2016--while crediting Minneapolis Democrat Jean Wagenius with the legislation she not only didn't author but voted against--he's signed on to a repeal of his own votes.
We're not sure how adept Backer will be. Already, he sent out a legislative update on January 20 that included this statement:
Water Summit:
I attended the Governor’s Water Summit today at the University of Minnesota, Morris. I enjoyed hearing from experts regarding Minnesota’s water quality and quantity. I will continue to be an advocate for clean and plentiful water, as well as be a voice for our farmers and local agricultural economy. I have no doubt that farmers are excellent stewards of the land.
Later, he blamed the help for that one:
From: <[email protected].
state.mn.us>
Date: Mon, Jan 23, 2017 at 11:02 AM
Subject: Governor's Water Summit
To: Announcements From Representative Jeff Backer
Friends,In my last email update there was some confusion on when the Governor’s Water Summit will be taking place. I am sorry for the miscommunication between my media writer and me. The Summit will be THIS Friday, January 27th from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM at the University of Minnesota, Morris (600 E. 4th St., Student Center-Edson Auditorium).
Click here for more details.
I hope to see you there!
We saw Rep. Backer standing in the lobby and flouncing down the aisle to take a seat as the morning program began but didn't get a chance to speak to him.
One of our friends, a former resident of Morris and one-time Backer constituent, thought he saw Backer (man in blue jacket) in a quiet moment while the after-lunch panel of farmers and local public water staffers spoke:
Our friend said that the gentleman in the picture appeared to be Backer and appeared to be sleeping, but wasn't certain that it was Jeff, who has a twin brother. The sport coat is the same color as the one we saw Rep. Backer wearing earlier, but we were seated elsewhere in the auditorium and cannot attest to the veracity of our friend's identification of the napper as our state representative.
Since Representative Wagenius was at the summit, perhaps Backer can blame her inducing an afternoon nap. We certainly hope he lingered to listen to the farmer panel as he dreamed about the buffer law's repeal.
Photos: Jeff Backer (top); Could this be Backer dreaming about a buffer law repeal? (bottom).
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