Duluth Lawmakers' View: Our actions are in protest to the GOP's power grab

Serving Duluth as members of the Minnesota House of Representatives is an incredible honor, one neither of us takes lightly. Our constituents deserve to know what we’ve been doing since the start of the 2025 legislative session and why.

We understand that how we’re representing our communities right now looks a little different than expected, and the situation is frustrating. Make no mistake, our actions these last few weeks are deeply rooted in ensuring we’re able to successfully serve our communities, our state, and the will of Minnesota’s voters. It’s a stand we have to take now, because the alternative is a Minnesota House where elections don’t matter and it’s far more difficult for us to fight for Duluth.

In November, the voters delivered a tied Minnesota House of Representatives. While either party would certainly rather be in the majority, we joined our DFL colleagues in honoring the will of the voters and got to work structuring a Minnesota House where the DFL and GOP could effectively work together.

Democrats and Republicans had nearly finalized a power-sharing agreement, but after a judge ruled that the winner of an election in Roseville did not meet residency requirements, the GOP moved to turn a temporary advantage into control over the Minnesota House for the next two years. However, it takes 68 votes to pass a bill, and Republicans only have 67 members. We need to work together on a bipartisan basis to get things done.

House Republicans are not only refusing to agree that we should share power in the likely event that a Roseville special election returns us to a tie, they are suggesting removing a duly elected DFL state representative from Shakopee, who won his election, which was confirmed in a recount and in court .

Whether you’re from Shakopee or Duluth, to disregard the will of the voters of any single House district should be incredibly alarming to all Minnesotans. Our absence from the state Capitol right now is part of an effort to deny legitimacy to this power grab.

In defiance of the state Constitution, Republicans attempted to operate an illegitimate House of Representatives. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled against that power grab . We will respect the court’s ruling, and we hope Republicans will, too.

While we are working in Duluth and across the state, we are connecting with constituents, meeting with local leaders and organizations, and preparing legislation to advance Duluth’s priorities so that when the House is constitutionally organized, we can hit the ground running for our city and Minnesota. Representing you means listening to you, learning about our community, and working with you to make our communities better.

We understand there are people who are frustrated, and we hope this update provides greater context. We encourage you to reach out to us to share your questions, perspectives, or concerns on the issues that impact our community. In short, we believe that free and fair elections are worth fighting for.

The News Tribune was right when it editorialized to say there’s a budget to be passed and critical needs to be addressed. While our work in the community is a great start on addressing those needs, we’re also eager to get to St. Paul to start passing bills.

All we ask is for Republicans to honor the will of Shakopee voters and agree to govern under shared power if we return to a 67-67 tie.

Despite the turbulence in St. Paul, our focus is — and always will be — serving our Duluth community.

Liish Kozlowski is the DFL representative of Minnesota House District 8B in eastern Duluth. Pete Johnson is the DFL representative of Minnesota House District 8A in western Duluth.