As the Minnesota DFL put the finishing touches on its platform during the final day of its state convention in Duluth on Sunday, delegates chose to omit one prominent plank.
They set aside a resolution that threatened to pit supporters of copper-nickel mining against delegates who fear the environmental complications that could accompany such activity.
Former Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Rick Stafford moved to postpone indefinitely any debate on a proposed resolution that said the party would “support the creation of jobs through responsible mining in Minnesota.” He said neither proponents nor opponents of non-ferrous mining had the 60 percent support necessary to prevail in a debate over the issue.
“We’re a large party. We have diverse opinions. We don’t always agree, but our objective coming out of here today and this weekend is to make sure that we return a Democratic majority to the Minnesota Legislature, that we return Mark Dayton and we return Al Franken. And this debate will not help that happen, so I urge you to support my motion,” he said.
State Rep. Jason Metsa, DFL-Virginia, lent his support to delaying discussion on the issue, saying: “We are not here to walk out divided today. The Iron Range has been part of a DFL majority every time we’ve had one in this state. This has been a controversial topic, and I see it best for this party to walk out the door not 60 percent united but 100.”
Stafford’s motion to table the resolution indefinitely passed overwhelmingly and without debate on a quick voice vote at the convention.
Afterward, DFL Party Chair Ken Martin acknowledged the action was a result of members’ self-orchestrated efforts to maintain party unity. “There has been a lot of thoughtful discussion on this issue about what’s in the best interests of our party,” he said.
Bob Tammen, a delegate from Soudan, gave the party high marks for its handling of the controversial matter.
“As someone who worked in the mines and who believes in clean water, I think this is the best outcome we could have had,” he said.
Mark Glazier, a delegate from Backus, supported the decision not to wade into a divisive discussion on the merits and risks of copper-nickel mining on the Iron Range.
Even though he is a retired business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 31, which has advocated for the development of a new form of mining in Minnesota, Glazier said: “I think it’s important we stay together as a party…. I think we’re respecting each other by not bringing this issue up today.”
Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Minnesota has said it stands fully in support of copper mining.
“Republicans say yes to mining, yes to quality jobs, and yes to thriving communities,” the party’s website states.
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