The Minnesota Senate on Monday approved a supplemental Jobs finance bill under a cloud of controversy, with the tiebreaking vote cast by Democrat Senator Nicole Mitchell who is currently charged with felony first degree burglary as well as the subject of a forthcoming ethics investigation. The decisive vote cast a shadow over the legislative process and raised questions about the legitimacy of the bill’s passage.  

State Senator Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake), the Republican lead of the Senate’s Jobs and Economic Development Committee, expressed deep concerns about the integrity of the vote. “The bill itself is mediocre, but the controversy surrounding the vote cannot be overlooked. Allowing a Senator charged with a felony to cast the tiebreaking vote undermines the trust in our legislative process and brings into question the legitimacy of our work.”   

Senate Republicans lodged several objections to Sen. Mitchell voting: 

• They first offered a motion to prohibit a Senator from voting who has been charged with a crime of violence until the conclusion of the investigation and submission of findings. Democrats rejected that motion on party lines, with Sen. Mitchell casting the 34th vote against the motion on a procedural move. 

• Second, they offered an amendment to prohibiting the Secretary of the Senate from registering and recording the vote of any Senate member who has been charged with a crime of violence until the conclusion of the investigation and submission of findings. Democrats rejected the motion on party lines and Sen. Mitchell again cast the 34th vote to reject that motion on a procedural move.

• Following the passage of the bill, Republicans lodged a formal protest with the President of the Senate. The protest notes, “We protest and dissent against the vote on SF 5289 which was adopted by the Senate with a deciding vote being cast by someone clearly unfit for office. We believe it is an abuse of power by both Sen. Mitchell, the Senate Majority Caucus, and its members.” It was signed by all 33 members of the Republican Caucus.

Senate Republicans voted to allow some non-controversial bills to pass with bipartisan support, including the renaming the Highway 212 in Granite Falls for the city’s former Mayor Dave Smiglewski, who recently passed away from ALS. 

However, once the supplemental Jobs finance bill came to the floor, Senate Republicans were determined to drive the point home that Democrats’ votes to allow Sen. Mitchell to participate as a fully-fledged member of the Senate was solely to advance a partisan agenda.