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MDE EXCLUSIVE: MOMS PAINT DISTURBING PICTURE OF BONOFF’S HANDLING OF SENSITIVE LEGISLATION #3

By Michael B. Brodkorb | April 1, 2008

This is the third installment of a three-part post about an interview I did with Elizabeth Lavang and Sandy Maclean about State Senator Terri Bonoff’s handling of the Grieving Parents Act in the Minnesota Senate. Click on the links to read the first and second post.

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Levang and Maclean are frustrated that Bonoff didn’t call them sooner to inform them that she could no longer author the Grieving Parents Act. If Bonoff called to let them know about her hesitancy with authoring the bill, Levang said “we would have said ‘fine…happy to know that – thank you.’” It took Maclean’s phone call to confirm rumors that Bonoff wouldn’t be authoring Grieving Parents Act as promised. Bonoff didn’t have the decency to call Levang or Maclean.

Bonoff also claimed that NARAL and Planned Parenthood had concerns about the language changes in the legislation. Records from Minnesota Senate show the language of legislation hasn’t changed since the it was introduced last year. Maclean also spoke with representatives of Planned Parenthood and was informed their organization had a neutral position on the legislation. (I’ll have more on this tomorrow)

Levang believes Bonoff’s mismanagement of the Grieving Parents Act in the Minnesota Senate and how she treated both her and Maclean proves she’s not ready to represent Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“One big point is if she could not have the strength of character to have let us know that she couldn’t carry it, that she was too busy…then what is she going to do when she goes to Washington? How can you tell the people of Minnesota ‘I’m be your advocate, I’m going to be your voice in Washington’ when she was suppose to be our voice…and she couldn’t carry through for us.”

“If you’re sitting there in the Senate, it shouldn’t matter that you also running a campaign. To us that’s not a rationale, ‘oh I’m too busy.’ “But even if it was, she had every obligation to notify us that she couldn’t do it.”

Levang added that Bonoff’s failure to carry the legislation in 2008 after promising to do so, “felt like a sucker-punch.”

As the blogger who broke the news that Congressman Jim Ramstad was not running for re-election, I have been closely monitoring the race. For the last six months, I had heard rumors from Democrats that certain pro-choice groups had concerns about a specific piece of legislation authored by Bonoff. Democrats told me that this legislation could effect Bonoff’s ability to get key endorsements for her congressional campaign. After interviewing LeVang and Maclean, I have since confirmed that the legislation I kept hearing about from Democrats was the Grieving Parents Act.

I asked Maclean about Ciresi’s claim that Bonoff could work across party lines. Maclean wasn’t buying Ciresi’s spin. “This was a perfect piece of legislation to show her commitment to work across party line and she blew it” said Maclean.

Please check back to Minnesota Democrats Exposed for more information on this developing story.

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