A former state official wrote that she became accustomed to enduring tough legislative hearings as part of the job. She had also received physical threats by phone and email. But she was very shaken by a handwritten death threat that was mailed to her home. It mentioned her family.
“Granting public servants the sanctity of their homes does not stop the current (to use your words) ‘vicious cycle plaguing our politics.’ But it is a piece,” she wrote.
One man wrote that he is worried the Hortman assassination won’t be an inflection point. He said the praise — in some corners — of the UnitedHealth Group CEO’s alleged killer and the Jan. 6 rioters makes it hard to build trust. There’s not a shared understanding of what these events mean and how they affect the community, he wrote.
He has nonetheless decided to run for his suburban school board because, amid the school district’s financial difficulties, some board members refuse to believe information being presented by the district administration.
Some feel left out of the current partisan environment.
One man said he used to be an outspoken Republican, active in local causes and conventions. In the 1990s, people at these events told him he was in the wrong party. He began volunteering at DFL events to help a family member, which generated complaints because of his more right-leaning views. So he stopped going. He no longer attends city council meetings or church functions.