Former DFL House minority leader named district judge

Thomas Pugh, a DFLer from South St. Paul and former House Minority Leader, has been named by Gov. Mark Dayton as a district court judge in Minnesota's first judicial district. Pugh replaces Judge Thomas Poch, who retired earlier this year. The first judicial district covers Carver, Dakota, Goodhue, Le Sueur, McLeod, Scott and Sibley Counties. An attorney with Rogosheske, Sieben, Atkins and Pugh, Pugh had also served as commissioner of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Pugh served as House Minority Leader while Gov. Jesse Ventura was governor and Rep. Steve Sviggum, a Republican, served as House Speaker.