Local lawmakers sign civility pledge, but one decides against it

MANKATO – About a dozen lawmakers and citizens walked up to the podium to sign a pledge to promote civility and reject violence in politics.

The pledge signing Tuesday was the first in a series organized by the nonprofit Majority in the Middle in response to the June shootings of state legislators Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman. Similar signings will take place across Minnesota throughout September.

Missing at the podium was state Rep. Erica Schwartz, a Republican who was expected to sign the pledge. Organizers said they received an email the morning of the event saying she could not attend because of a schedule change.

In emails Wednesday, Schwartz said she would not sign the pledge “at this time.” She said her commitment to nonviolence and democratic principles is reflected in her record and work with constituents.

“Meaningful change comes not from symbolic gestures, but from sustained action, thoughtful legislation, and honest dialogue,” Schwartz said in the email, which also called for a bill providing school safety improvements.

Rep. Luke Frederick, who signed the pledge and attended the ceremony, said that the death of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, affects him and other lawmakers deeply.

“What I went through this summer — having a friend and colleague be assassinated — I don’t care where someone falls on the political spectrum, no one should be exposed to that,” Frederick said. “Signing this today is just an act to show that I’m committed to that.”

In an ideal world, political elites across the spectrum would take responsibility to condemn political violence when it happens, said Nathan Stock, a Minnesota-based political violence expert who spoke at the ceremony.

“Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, everyone should be able to agree if a political figure is murdered, we should all agree that’s bad, and we should all call it out,” said Stock, who has written on politics in the Middle East and worked in Afghanistan.

Organizers of the event said they created the pledge to give people a way to participate in lowering the temperature of political rhetoric.

The pledge itself was designed to be easy for anyone to agree with, said Shannon Watson, executive director of Majority in the Middle.

The pledge says signers agree to:

Frederick, who represents the city of Mankato and parts of Blue Earth County, asked if a civility pledge could be used to provide cover for insincere politicians who, after signing, would continue to stoke political division.

Watson replied that this is a “risk worth taking” if it means restoring civility to Minnesota politics. “Can it work? Maybe,” Watson said. “If we don’t try, the answer is definitely no.”

If some politicians or figures are spreading inflammatory rhetoric, Watson said, “accountability needs to be behind the scenes.”

In the aftermath of the Hortman shooting, she noted that social media outrage did not convince Utah Sen. Mike Lee to delete an inflammatory post about the incident, but private conversations with Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith did.

“Shame and blame very, very rarely get people to change or take down the post,” she said.

Frentz, a member of the Blue Dog Coalition of political centrists, said voters in his closely divided district want bipartisanship and civility in politics.

“We have a responsibility in our own parties to try to keep the temperature down,” Frentz said. “It works both ways, and we’re up for it.”