An ethics panel Tuesday delayed action for yet another day on the question of whether Sen. Glenn Gruenhagen violated the norms of the state Senate by sending to his 66 colleagues a link to a video about gender-affirming surgery.
Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, filed the complaint against the Glencoe Republican in April 2023, but the Senate’s ethics subcommittee didn’t take it up until now. The four-person panel agreed to think about it and come back at 3 p.m. Wednesday to decide what, if anything, should be done.
The timing of the meeting was a concern for the two Republicans on the committee, who noted that the hearing occurred only after a complaint was recently filed against Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, over her alleged attempted first-degree burglary of the Detroit Lakes home of her father’s widow.
“The perception is the only reason we have this complaint in front of us now is because the other complaint was filed,” Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, said. Sen. Andrew Mathews, R-Princeton, expressed similar concerns.
For more than two hours, the committee heard from and questioned Maye Quade and Gruenhagen before agreeing on a motion by Sen. Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton, to think about it overnight.
Mathews initially moved for a finding of no probable cause for wrongdoing. But the motion failed on a tie with the two Republicans voting for it and Kunesh and Chair Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, against it.
Maye Quade argued that by sending a link of gender-affirming surgery to all senators last year, Gruenhagen violated the Senate norms and should be sent to sensitivity training on LGBTQIA+ matters. She said Gruenhagen labeled the contents “extremely graphic and disturbing” and “sent it anyway.”
She said the email was gratuitous and not related to pending legislation. “We can and should express our opinions and educate each other about topics,” she said, but added that Gruenhagen’s email “demonstrated a deep lack of understanding about LGBTQIA+ people.”
