Letter: Setting the Record Straight for Ted Lillie

I am writing in support of Sen. Ted Lillie to bring to light some of the falsehoods and untruths being told by letter writers and others who oppose his policies and candidacy. 

I am voting for Ted because he not only has an understanding of how the economy works, but because he is a man of excellent character. Having worked with him, I know that he listens to both sides, and if he disagrees, he will find a non-combative way to express it respectfully. 

This is a rare quality among politicians today. His colleagues in the Senate recognized this—he was made an assistant majority leader and majority whip.

One of the biggest untruths being spread is that our Republican senators are somehow financially responsible for the scandal and lawsuit involving Michael Brodkorb (a former Senate staffer). The truth is that Brodkorb was an employee of the state Legislature, therefore the cost of defending against his lawsuit is at the expense of his employer: the state. It wouldn’t be expected that either party, Democrat or Republican, to privately fund the legal defense. 

To try to lay this at Sen. Lillie’s feet is neither fair nor correct.

Further misinformation is being spread about the state government shutdown. Sen. Lillie did not take a salary, out of consideration for employees who were laid off during that time. It was the governor who vetoed the compromise—a bipartisan-passed budget. Legislators sat at the capital on the final day of session waiting for the governor to propose a compromise. He never did, because he wanted the shutdown.

The governor vetoed the school payback. The shifting payments to schools method of budgeting was put in place by a bipartisan Senate and House in the late ’90s and is not something Ted or the Republicans invented.

In fact, it was Sen. Lillie who proposed “lights on” legislation so government employees wouldn’t lose their jobs or be hurt if there were impasses or shutdowns. Lillie has proven that he cares about all the people of his district by working tirelessly to make Minnesota financially stable.

Finally, Ted Lillie didn’t leave his district. The district left him (due to redistricting). Ted has been serving Woodbury for the past two years. His wife has worked at Woodwinds Hospital for over five years, so moving to Woodbury—where his family has over a decade of connections and public involvement—was the right thing to do. They received much encouragement to do so, I might add.

I hope this gives you a truer picture of who Sen. Lillie really is. Please don’t fall for the exaggerations and untruths being dumped on our incumbent senator. 

Vote for Ted Lillie on Nov. 6! I’m proud to say that I am going to do so!

—Betty Marquardt, Woodbury

Like Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Sign up for our free newsletter