Sunday Liquor Sales and other Beer/Liquor Legislation

[VAStationDude]

I'll take a shill for small local businesses and organized labor over a shill for "beer activists" and big box retailers.

I can't believe how worked up Sunday sales supporters get. I'm against Sunday sales because small liquor stores are already fighting an up hill battle against large liquor retailers. Spreading the same sales over another day is far easier for total wine and Costco to weather.

Minimum wage increases also hurt mom and pop stores far more than big box retailers...

Which is why state law allows small employers to pay a lower minimum wage.

[David Greene]

Good thing I never called him a piece of shit, then, David?

I didn't say you did.

[twincitizen]

I did. I was at the meeting. His comments were really snotty. Like other Matt said, no matter his other qualifications, personal story, policy positions, etc. - his position on this issue is with special interests and not with the public. The public wants this - overwhelmingly - and it doesn't hurt anyone.

Small liquor stores are not going out of business over Sunday sales. If Total Wine and the like are going to put them out of business, they'll do it whether stores are open 6 or 7 days a week. Sunday is a huge shopping day. 2nd busiest I believe. If they want to maximize profit and minimize loss they should open on Sunday and close on Wednesdays. This is resistance to change - against all logic - plain and simple.

[David Greene]

I did. I was at the meeting. His comments were really snotty. Like other Matt said, no matter his other qualifications, personal story, policy positions, etc. - his position on this issue is with special interests and not with the public. The public wants this - overwhelmingly - and it doesn't hurt anyone.

I totally agree with you on the issue. My beef is with calling a legislator a "piece of shit" over one issue when that legislator has an excellent track record of working for community benefits, both in the legislature and before becoming an elected official. AND when that legislator has a singularly unique (in the legislature) perspective on some very timely and extremely important issues.

I'm not going to tell his story because it's not mine to tell. But I really, really encourage all of you to get to know Rep. Dehn. I think you'll find he agrees with a lot of positions expressed on this board, though certainly not all.

[FISHMANPET]

I have literally no thoughts on this guy, but if the only way he seems reasonable is if you have a deep personal relationship with him, then, yeah.

He's a public official. If his "story" is relevant to his role as a public official then it's not private. If it's not relevant then stop bringing it up.

It's not really reasonable for 10+ people to just drop everything and make a new friend, and it's totally unreasonable to expect this guy to just give up a week of his time while everyone lines up to be his friend.

[David Greene]

I have literally no thoughts on this guy, but if the only way he seems reasonable is if you have a deep personal relationship with him, then, yeah.

No you don't need a deep personal relationship to evaluate him but you should at least be informed about what he's done. He previously co-founded and chaired the Northside Transportation Network for example. That's the group that really got Northside neighborhoods involved in Bottineau planning and the project is much better for it.

It's not really reasonable for 10+ people to just drop everything and make a new friend, and it's totally unreasonable to expect this guy to just give up a week of his time while everyone lines up to be his friend.

It's not reasonable for people to have one meeting with a legislator? If that's true we'll never make any progress on policy and budgets. Legislators clear space for one-on-one meetings all the time. You might have to wait a month or so but it'll happen.

It is very much NOT about "being friends."

[FISHMANPET]

Yes I think it's totally unreasonable for a bunch of people, many of whom are not in his district, to schedule a 1-1 meeting with him, up to a month in advance, just so he can share his "story."

This is 2015, books, newspapers, the internet all exist. Write it down or it doesn't exist. Western culture left oral traditions back a few thousand years ago.

[twincitizen]

Ok, getting back to actual issue, the Senate is discussing this right now: http://theuptake.org/live-channel/mn-senate-channel/ (AUDIO ONLY )

Senator Susan Kent of Woodbury offered the amendment for full repeal, including a prohibition on Sunday alcohol deliveries to keep the teamsters happy.

Lots of good arguments in favor of repeal, all the usual terrible straw man arguments opposed to repeal.

[twincitizen]

Sunday Sales does not pass the Senate.
28 Aye, 35 Nay, 4 not voting

[xandrex]

Disappointed in my senator (Dziedzic)

[twincitizen]

I count 3 Minneapolis DFLers in the Nay column. Despicable.

I can forgive people who represent areas with municipal liquor sales. That doesn't apply to anyone representing Minneapolis or St. Paul. With their votes alone we could have taken care of this issue once and for all. This is going to come up every year until Sunday Sales is finally passed. There is no escaping that fact. This is IF, not WHEN. That alone should be cause for opponents to just drop it already.

[QuietBlue]

Disapppointed in mine too (Carlson). Eagan and Burnsville don't have municipal liquor stores, so he doesn't have that as an excuse.

[FISHMANPET]

Not familiair with her since I just moved to the district, but it looks like my senator, Patricia Torres Ray of 63, is also in the Nay. Boooooo.

[mattaudio]

She represents part Richfield, which has munis. But yeah, a sellout.

[grant1simons2]

Bakk is a DFLer?! What?!

[twincitizen]

24 Democrats and 11 Republicans voted against.

I cannot believe the DFL Party is allowing the Republicans to beat them on such a simple common sense issue that the overwhelming majority of Minnesotans support. It might not be important public policy like education, healthcare, etc. But people are paying attention.

[twinkess]

Sen Champion represents my district and voted yes, yay.

[twincitizen]

Champion and Dibble need to lean on the other 3 Mpls DFLers who voted against. (Dziedzic, Torres Ray, and Hayden)

This thing fell 4 votes short today, and they were 3 of them. Add Cohen of St. Paul or Latz of St. Louis Park or Wiklund of Bloomington and you've got your 4 votes.

There's no way of telling how the 4 absent/non-voting Senators would have voted, but ignoring them for a second, just FOUR GOD DAMN VOTES were needed to flip this thing.

[twinkess]

Champion and Dibble need to lean on the other 3 Mpls DFLers who voted against. (Dziedzic, Torres Ray, and Hayden)

This thing fell 4 votes short today, and they were 3 of them. Add Cohen of St. Paul or Latz of St. Louis Park or Wiklund of Bloomington and you've got your 4 votes.

There's no way of telling how the 4 absent/non-voting Senators would have voted, but ignoring them for a second, just FOUR GOD DAMN VOTES were needed to flip this thing.

Champion actually sent out a survey to his mailing list about this issue a few months ago.

[seanrichardryan]

Clearly there are now 35 people we should be calling despicable pieces of shit?