OUR VIEW: Why didn't we all know sooner?

We’re pleased Governor Tim Walz picked our state senator, Sen. Tony Lourey, to head Human Services. Lourey, who came into politics with no political experience except that which rubbed off from his mother’s political legacy, proved himself as a valuable resource in the Legislature, representing the Carlton and Pine Counties area, as well as being a thorough voice in health care policy.

So we need to elect a new State Senator, and quickly — because the Legislature convened Tuesday, Jan. 8, we won’t have a voice in the Minnesota Senate until the new senator is elected.

The election is set for Feb. 5, with a primary set for the DFL Party on Jan. 22. The deadline for filing to run for this office was this past Tuesday, Jan. 8.

That’s right — there was less than a week between Tony Lourey’s appointment and the filing deadline to fill his seat. Michelle Lee, a retired TV anchor, and Stu Lourey, Tony’s son, filed for the DFL. Four people originally filed for the Republicans, but Esko’s Justin Krych, along with Carl O. Pederson and Matthias Shir of Pine County withdrew after Jason Rarick, the current state representative for District 11B, won the most votes at the Republican endorsement convention Tuesday night, so there will be no Republican primary. John Birrenbach is also running as the Legal Marijuana Now party candidate.

Rumors had swirled that Walz planned to tap Tony Lourey as DHS Commissioner for weeks. Surely, Tony Lourey knew he was being vetted for the job. But he made no public comments on his appointment until after the governor announced his pick.

We find that acceptable except for one troubling fact: Tony Lourey’s son, Stu Lourey, obviously had an inside advantage and used the timing to prepare his campaign for the race. He was the first to announce his candidacy, and if he wins, he will be the third Lourey to hold the seat, consecutively.

While we don’t think that Stu Lourey’s inside advantage is much of a benefit (his resume since graduating from college less than 3 years ago is quite impressive), with less than a full month for interested candidates to organize their campaigns, find supporters, and run, any inside knowledge could be helpful.

Frankly, we’re more disturbed about the appearance of underhandedness at the state level. In the future, we encourage the governor to do everything he can to present a level playing field for all candidates. And if Stu Lourey becomes the next state senator representing Carlton County, we hope he realizes that trust is huge in politics, and even a stellar candidate can lose the trust of voters with even one questionable act.

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