Duluth Deserves Better

Duluthians value clean water and a livable climate. We expect our State Senator to support our values, yet the current State Senator from Duluth, Erik Simonson, regularly votes with Republicans and polluters. Duluth deserves better. 

Simonson says he cares for the environment -- even brags about his influence as a member of the Senate Energy Committee -- but his record shows he votes for fossil fuel companies and polluters. 

Here's just one example, on Feb 13, 2020, Republicans on the Senate Energy Committee pushed a “Fossil Fuels Forever” bill, SF1456, and called it “Clean Energy First.”  It was an Orwellian name for a bill filled with gifts to the fossil fuel industry.  Senate Democrats offered four amendments to improve the bill, but Simonson voted with the Republicans and against his Democratic colleagues every time.   

This pattern continued over three days of hearings on a terrible bill.  Simonson voted with the Republicans on every contested vote.  That is what Simonson does with his “influential” position, which is why every environmental organization has endorsed his opponent.   

This is not unusual for Simonson. Polluters know they can rely on him to side with Republicans to oppose higher environmental standards and gut enforcement of environmental laws:

  • On May 16, 2020 Simonson voted to give industrial polluters an additional 16 years to comply with any stronger environmental standards . Amendment to SF 4499 26-41 (page 7148)). Most Democrats voted for an amendment to remove this language. But Simonson voted with Republicans.
  • On April 29, 2019 Simonson voted against including a planning strategy for a sustainable energy future. Amendment to HF 2208 28-38 (pg. 3999).
  • On April 23, 2019, Simonson voted with Republicans to prevent the Pollution Control Agency from adopting stronger rules to protect clean air and water unless they got a resolution in support “adopted by the board of county commissioners of every county in Minnesota.” Amendment to SF 2314 29-38 (pg. 3164) Imagine that. If there was a rule needed to protect residents of Duluth from some environmental poison and that rule was supported by 86 out of 87 counties, it still couldn’t happen. One county could prevent action across the whole state, just as the Republicans intended.

Four years ago, the Sierra Club endorsed Simonson because we believed his promises to protect our air, water, and communities. Instead Simsonson spent his years in power voting with the Republicans and supporting polluters.

Now, with Jen McEwen running, we have the chance to bring in a new leader who will protect our water, climate, and build the sustainable future we deserve. 

Vote Jen McEwen by August 11th. 

Sources: House File 2208, 4/29/19; Senate File 1456, 2/13/20, 2/20/20 and 2/27/20; Senate File 2314, 4/23/19; Senate File 4499, 5/16/20

This is an independent expenditure prepared and paid for by Sierra Club Minnesota Political Action Committee, 2300 Myrtle Avenue Suite 260, St. Paul MN 55114. It is not coordinated with or approved by any candidate nor is any candidate responsible for it.