Two days after disgraced former state representative Tony Cornish visited Tuesday morning's House Taxes Committee hearing where a bill sponsored by Apple Valley Democrat Erin Maye Quade was being heard, House DFLers moved to suspend the House Rules to take up HF3030, a bill that would set up a task force to deal with sexual harassment claims at the Capitol.
The motion failed on a 69-48 roll call vote.
KARE 11's John Croman reports in Sexual harassment issue flares up at State Capitol:
The issue of sexual harassment flared up again at the Minnesota State Capitol, days after a lawmaker who resigned under pressure last year made a return visit that some found unnerving.
In the aftermath of the harassment scandal, which led two legislators to resign, House leadership created the Subcommittee on Workplace Safety and Respect and brought in legal and human resources experts to testify.
DFL lawmakers said they had lost patience with the Republican majority because no legislation had come forward yet from that committee, and during Thursday's House session they moved to suspend rules and force a vote on a bill that would put the matter in the hand of independent experts.
"We've admired the problem of sexual harassment. That's not enough," Rep. Erin Maye Quade of Apple Valley, told her colleagues, noting that rules haven't changed.
"We've created token subcommittee that is yet to hold a single vote. That's not enough!"
Rep. Maye Quade, a Democrat, was one of several female politicians and staff members who accused former Sen. Danny Schoen of harassment before he resigned. Maye Quade also revealed inappropriate text messages from former Rep. Tony Cornish.
Cornish, a Republican, defended the text messages but eventually resigned after a Capitol lobbyist, Sarah Walker, accused him of harassment that had gone on for years.
[Tuesday], as Maye Quade took a selfie with others in a House hearing room, she also captured the image of Cornish in the background. DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin posted the snapshot on Facebook, and accused Cornish of going there intentionally to intimidate Maye Quade.
Martin's post demanded action by Republican and DFL leaders to protect people. Cornish's appearance was referenced in Thursday's floor debate.
"People do not feel safe here, and we've seen that here this week," Rep. Jennifer Schultz, a Duluth Democrat remarked.
Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn, of Roseville added, "This isn't about one any one individual or one incident. This is about making this building safe!" . . .
Here's the debate:
Maye Quade notes the days since the task was proposed, a theme picked up by a March 15 editorial in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, 100 days of wheel-spinning on harassment at the Capitol:
A legislator’s tweet last week pointed out that it’s been more than 100 days since the call for an independent task force to address sexual harassment at the state Capitol.
Policing itself is how the Legislature got where it is now, Rep. Erin Maye Quade said. So, “When those who have been affected offer solutions, listen.”
Maye Quade, a Democrat from Apple Valley, was among women at the Capitol whose allegations of sexual harassment had a role in the resignation of two lawmakers late last year.
We supported the urgent, well-reasoned call for legislative leaders to form the task force when the proposal was made public in mid-November. We still do.
Lack of progress since then has prompted another approach, with the filing of bills calling for appointment by legislative leaders of an eight-member task force of outside experts from such areas as human resources and employment law. . .
City Pages' Mike Mullen had more about Cornish's visit in Disgraced sexual harasser Tony Cornish reappears at the Minnesota House:
How soon should you return to the place you serially sexually harassed women, leading to a very public fall from grace and resignation from elected office?
A. Never
B. Never
C. Seriously, this might be the dumbest question of all time. The answer is obviously "Never."
D. "Oh, I don't know. A few months, maybe. What time is it now?"
Those first three answers will look pretty good to most of us. Tony Cornish is not like most of us. For reasons that remain unclear, the former Republican lawmaker resurfaced at Minnesota's State Office Building on Tuesday. . . .
Cornish stepped down in November, following accusations from first-term legislator Rep. Erin Maye Quade (DFL-Apple Valley), who produced inappropriate text messages she'd received from Cornish, and Sarah Walker, a prominent lobbyist who frequently advocates on social and criminal justice issues. . . .
. . . Rep. Erin Maye Quade (DFL-Apple Valley) wrote City Pages to say one of her bills was on the agenda during Tuesday morning's House Taxes Committee hearing -- the same one Cornish just so happened to show up to watch. Maye Quade had wanted to post a selfie depicting her and two legislative fellows as she prepared to present the bill. She says she decided against it when she realized the blurry figure "just looming in the background" was her harasser.
Photo: Democrats stand to support Maye Quade during Tgursday's debate.
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