DFL Sweeps District 46 Seats

Incumbents Latz, Winkler and Simon all won their re-election races.

DFL Sweeps District 46 Seats

Incumbents Latz, Winkler and Simon all won their re-election races.

District 46 incumbents will hold on to their seats for another term. Sen. Ron Latz and Reps. Ryan Winkler and Steve Simon, who are all members of the DFL, easily toppled their Republican challengers in Tuesday’s election. Latz defeated Paul Scofield 67 percent to 33 percent. Winkler beat John Swanson in the House District 46A race 66 percent to 34 percent. In the District 46B race, Simon took 70 percent of the vote compared to David Arvidson's 30 percent. Said Latz: “I’m very excited to be able to go back to the Senate and continue working on the issues and community values." The results were not a surprise. The Senate district leans toward the DFL by a whopping 32 points, according to MinnPost. Democrats have an even larger 36-point …

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AUDIO: District 46 Candidates Discuss Education (Part III)

The candidates discuss intelligent design, school boundary changes and why they deserve your vote.

On Monday, candidates who represent districts within Hopkins Public Schools boundaries gathered for a forum hosted by the school district’s Legislative Action Coalition. Those present included candidates for District 46, which covers the Patch towns of Hopkins, Golden Valley and St. Louis Park. The event offered in-depth discussion on education issues—as well as the candidates’ individual philosophies on governance. Patch is publishing segments of the forum so voters have the information they need on the candidates. Listen to the audio above then check back to hear the candidate’s thoughts on the following issues: Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

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AUDIO: District 46 Candidates Discuss Education (Part II)

The candidates discuss early childhood education, special education, the achievement gap and retiree volunteers.

On Monday, candidates who represent districts within Hopkins Public Schools boundaries gathered for a forum hosted by the school district’s Legislative Action Coalition. Those present included candidates for District 46, which covers the Patch towns of Hopkins, Golden Valley and St. Louis Park. The event offered in-depth discussion on education issues—as well as the candidates’ individual philosophies on governance. Over the next few days, Patch will publish segments of the forum so voters have the information they need on the candidates. Listen to the audio above then check back to hear the candidate’s thoughts on the following issues: Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

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AUDIO: District 46 Candidates Discuss Education (Part I)

Listen to remarks from a candidate forum on school issues that took place Monday.

On Monday, candidates who represent districts within Hopkins Public Schools boundaries gathered for a forum hosted by the school district’s Legislative Action Coalition. Those present included candidates for District 46, which covers the Patch towns of Hopkins, Golden Valley and St. Louis Park. The event offered in-depth discussion on education issues—as well as the candidates’ individual philosophies on governance. Over the next few days, Patch will publish segments of the forum so voters have the information they need on the candidates. Listen to the audio above then check back to hear the candidate’s thoughts on the following issues: Tuesday Wednesday Thursday   Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free daily …

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VIDEO: Winkler Discusses Southwest LRT

The District 46A legislator appeared on the Minnesota Senate’s Capitol Report to talk about the governor’s decision to award the project $2 million.

Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-District 46A) was among the harshest critics of the Department of Employment and Economic Development’s decision to score the Southwest Light Rail Transit project poorly in a competition for $47.5 million. “DEED rankings are absurd--shows no knowledge of economics or total disregard of it,” he tweeted after the scores were announced. The Metropolitan Council’s request for $14 million for the project tied for the lowest score among the 37 projects that made it past initial screening. Despite that score, Gov. Mark Dayton awarded the project $2 million to keep the plan moving forward. Winkler applauded light rail and detailed his thoughts on the process in an interview with the Minnesota Senate’s Capitol Report posted …

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GOP Puts Up Four Challengers to Unseat District 46 Legislators

The state Senate seat and two House seats are all contested.

All Senate District 46 seats will be contested this year, according to filings with the Secretary of State’s Office. The district’s senate seat is the most contested race, with two Republicans vying to unseat four-term DFL legislator Sen. Ron Latz. Golden Valley resident Paul Scofield, who ran against Latz in 2010, is once again seeking the position. Roger Champagne, of St. Louis Park, has put his name in the hat, as well. Both District 46 House races are two-man contests. In 46A, which includes Golden Valley and St. Louis Park, Plymouth Republican John Swanson challenged DFL Rep. Ryan Winkler. Swanson is an information technology director who has a master’s degree in economics. His website encourages people to support voter ID and the …

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District 46 Legislators Reschedule Two Town Hall Events

Residents will be able to meet with their legislators to discuss issues of concern and how this year's legislative session went.

Legislators from Senate District 46 (formerly District 44) have rescheduled a trio of town hall wrap-up sessions because of room availability. Residents will now be able to meet with the state legislators at the following town hall events: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 13 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday, June 18 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, June 25

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District 44 Legislators Schedule End-of-Session Town Halls

Latz, Simon and Winkler will meet with residents at three town halls in June.

With this year’s legislative session nearing a close, District 44 legislators have scheduled a trio of town hall wrap-up sessions. Residents can meet with the state legislators at the following town hall events: 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, June 9 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 13 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 26

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(OPINION) Simon, Winkler: Voter ID Will Dismantle Election System

The Minnesota House passed the Voter ID conference committee report shortly after midnight.

  (The following news release comes from House DFL staff.)   Shortly after midnight, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the conference committee report on HF 2738, the Voter ID constitutional amendment. The conference committee report is the most extreme version of the constitutional amendment to date. The conference committee added the word “identity” to the following language: “All voters, including those not voting in person, must be subject to substantially equivalent identity and eligibility verification prior to a ballot being cast or counted.” According to the Secretary of State’s office, this could effectively eliminate absentee voting by mail, and voting by overseas military members. Rep. Steve Simon (DFL – St. Louis …

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