Stoneage Ramblings

By John R. Stone

When it comes down to characteristics that most matter to me when voting for someone for elective office personal integrity is the top attribute I am looking for.

Personal integrity is more important than whether a person is a Republican or Democrat because most often a person with good personal integrity is going to make a decision for what is best for the organization as a whole, be it a city commission, county board, state legislature or Congress.

Democrats and Republicans in the Minnesota Senate had to wrestle with two cases of potentially illegal action by members representing their political party this past year.

Democrats had the first experience when Senator Nicole Mitchell of Woodbury was charged with breaking into her mother-in-law’s house in Detroit Lakes. This happened back on April 22, 2024.

She was apparently in a disagreement with her mother-in-law over who should have some of the possessions of her late father. So she apparently dressed in black and tried to break into the house that night. She was caught and arrested by Detroit Lakes police and later charged with burglary and some time after that with the additional charge of possession of burglary tools.

Her actions had some serious political considerations since the Senate was tied 33-33 after the 2024 elections.

She declined the resignation suggestion and served much to the chagrin of Republicans in the Senate. She was to have a hearing in January of this year but a state law that basically excuses a legislator from having to appear in court during a legislative session pushed action on her legal case off to this summer.

Some Democrats, including then state DFL Chair Ken Martin said she should resign. Others supported her with the excuse that her residents needed to be represented during the session.

Republicans did not escape the character flaw issue when Senator Justin Eichorn was arrested recently for attempting to solicit a minor for prostitution.

Needless to say this is far more serious a charge than burglary. Republicans couldn’t cut ties with Eichorn quickly enough, he resigned before the end of the week he was arrested, his wife filed for divorce days later and he remains in custody in a half way house near Dultuh.

There you have it, two people with two different instances of flaws in character that allowed them to see some kind of justification in performing illegal acts.

Most of us have things in our background that would be embarrassing or were things we could have handled better. That happens as we grow up and mature. But that is the key, did we learn from what happened and become better citizens afterward? Not everybody does.

I’m sure there are a lot of people who will use the examples of Mitchell and Eichorn to brand either of their political parties one way or another. One can use the “they’re not guilty until convicted in a court of law” to defend them.

Each case has some legal wiggle room. Did Mitchell have some legal right to certain items of her father’s property? Was it something that could have been resolved in small claims court? In Eichorn’s case he didn’t actually have relations with a teenager, he was caught in a law enforcement sting for soliciting sex from a minor.

While that legal wiggle room may meet the requirement of some people, I think we are fair in holding our elected officials to a higher standard. Just because they aren’t in jail doesn’t make them a good person.

Eichorn is gone and Mitchell should go too. An elected official should set a good example of ethical behavior all the time. These two failed that test. Character matters.