John Thompson | |
---|---|
Member of the MinnesotaHouseofRepresentatives from the 67A district | |
In office January 5, 2021 –January 9, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Tim Mahoney |
Succeeded by | Liz Lee |
Personal details | |
Born | Chicago,Illinois,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Other political affiliations | Independent (2021–2022) [a] [b] |
John Thompson is an American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for the 67A district from 2021 to 2023. Elected in November 2020,he assumed office on January 5,2021. Prior to seeking elected office,Thompson was an activist supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and directed a local social justice organization. [3] [4]
Thompson was born in Chicago,Illinois. [5] He attended Central State University in Wilberforce,Ohio. [6]
Thompson began his career as a machinist. He later worked in the Saint Paul Public Schools for 11 years. [6]
Thompson was a friend of Philando Castile,a black man killed during a traffic stop by a Saint Anthony police officer in 2016,and became involved in activism with the Black Lives Matter movement during the aftermath of Castile's death. [7] He participated in several protests over issues of racial injustice. Thompson was also the director of Fight For Justice LLC,an advocacy organization in Minnesota. [4]
On August 15,2020,Thompson led a controversial protest outside the home of Bob Kroll,the head of the Minneapolis police officer's union,and Liz Collin,a local television journalist,in Hugo,Minnesota. Protestors beat pinatas in the likenesses of Kroll and Collin. During his speech at the protest,Thompson said "You think we give a [expletive] about burning Hugo down?" and "[Expletive] Hugo." Days later,after Thompson's behavior drew widespread criticism,Thompson released a statement which included an apology. [8] [9] [10]
Thompson was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in November 2020 and assumed office on January 5,2021. He represented the 67A district that encompasses northwest Saint Paul and portions of Maplewood in the Lake Phalen area. [4]
Thompson was an outspoken member of the legislature for police reform measures during the 92nd Minnesota Legislature. [11] He proposed a $457 million bill with the aim of "ending system racism" in Minnesota by substantially increasing state spending for education,health care,and social service programs. [12] At the end of the legislative session in June 2020,he criticized a compromise proposal by Republican lawmakers and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz,and said that the governor should "show testicular fortitude" and not agree to what he considered a less-comprehensive change to policing and judicial systems. [11]
The DFL caucus expelled Thompson on September 14,2021. [13] Despite remaining in the Minnesota state legislature,this decision resulted in Thompson being denied access to DFL party resources and the privilege of participating in DFL party meetings. [13] A statement released by the Minnesota DFL party following the DFL caucus decision described "credible reports of abuse and misconduct,and his failure to take responsibility" as the reason for Thompson's expulsion from the caucus. [13]
In 2022,Liz Lee,a Hmong-American resident of Saint Paul,challenged Thompson for the DFL nomination to the Minnesota House of Representatives' District 67A. Lee secured the DFL party endorsement at its March convention and defeated Thompson in the August primary with 89 percent of the vote to Thompson's 11 percent. [14]
Thompson is married and has three children. He developed a friendship with Philando Castile in 2005 when they worked together at local schools. [6]
In 2009,Thompson was accused of indecently exposing himself to a woman and to two children,though no charges were filed. [15] On July 21,2021,a Hennepin County jury convicted Thompson for misdemeanor obstruction pertaining to a 2019 disturbance incident at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale,Minnesota. [16] He was given a 30-day stayed sentence to avoid jail time if he did not commit another offense and was also ordered to pay a $200 fine and $78 fee. [17] On 13 October 2021,during a virtual court appearance,Thompson agreed to pay a $100 fine after the state of Minnesota agreed to suspend prosecuting his case for one year. [18] If he abides by the law,the case will be dismissed. [18]
In July 2021,a Saint Paul Police Department sergeant conducted a traffic stop of Thompson's vehicle for the lack of a front license plate. [19] After presenting a Wisconsin state identification card,he was also cited for driving with a suspended license. [20] Thompson later stated that he was racially profiled and "got a ticket for driving while black". [21] [22] Prior to the traffic stop,Thompson had said that he had resided in Saint Paul,Minnesota,for 18 years. [23] On 22 July 2021,the St Paul Police Department announced that following a brief conversation with Thompson,Thompson had apologized to the police sergeant he accused of racially profiling him. [24]
In the aftermath of the traffic stop incident,news media reported that three different police departments had investigated a total of five domestic assault cases from 2003 to 2011 allegedly committed by Thompson. [25] Several state officials subsequently called on Thompson to resign from the legislature,including Governor Walz,Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan,House Speaker Melissa Hortman,House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler,and Democratic-Famer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin. Thompson denied he had committed assault and said he did not intend to resign. [10]
Erin Murphy is an American politician serving as Majority Leader of the Minnesota Senate since 2024. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represents District 64, which includes the Highland Park, Macalester-Groveland, Merriam Park, Summit Hill, and St. Anthony Park, neighborhoods of the city of Saint Paul in Ramsey County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. She is a former Majority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives, executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association, and is also a registered nurse.
Paul E. Gazelka is an American politician and small business owner from Minnesota. A Republican, Gazelka was a member of the Minnesota Senate and was previously a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. In the state senate, Gazelka served as majority leader from 2017 to 2021.
The Ninety-first Minnesota Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota from January 8, 2019 to January 4, 2021. It is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives, based on the results of the 2016 Senate election and 2018 House election. It first convened and held its regular session in Saint Paul from January 8 to May 20, 2019, and from February 11 to May 18, 2020. A special session was held from May 24 to 25, 2019, to pass bills enacting the state budget following an agreement between the governor and legislative leaders during the final weekend of the regular session in 2019.
The 2018 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 6, to elect the 41st Governor of Minnesota as incumbent Democratic (DFL) Governor Mark Dayton chose not to run for re-election for a third term. The Democratic nominee was U.S. Representative Tim Walz from Minnesota's 1st congressional district while the Republican Party nominated Hennepin County commissioner Jeff Johnson for a second consecutive time. The Independence Party of Minnesota did not field a candidate for the first time since 1994. Going into the election polls showed Walz ahead; the race was characterized as lean or likely DFL.
On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile, a 32-year-old African American man, was fatally shot during a traffic stop by police officer Jeronimo Yanez of the St. Anthony police department in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.
Fue Lee is a Hmong-American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2016. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Lee represents district 59A, which includes parts of northern Minneapolis in Hennepin County.
Jamie Becker-Finn is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2017. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Becker-Finn represents District 42B in the northeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Roseville and Shoreview and parts of Ramsey County, Minnesota.
Daniel Kirk Wolgamott is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Wolgamott represents District 14B in central Minnesota, which includes the city of St. Cloud and parts of Benton, Sherburne, and Stearns Counties.
Jamie Long is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Long represents District 61B, which includes parts of southern Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
Hodan Hassan is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Hassan represents District 62B, which includes parts of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Hassan served as an assistant majority leader of the House DFL caucus from 2019 to 2020. She announced that she will not seek reelection in 2024.
The 2022 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Minnesota. Incumbent Democratic (DFL) Governor Tim Walz defeated the Republican nominee, former state senator Scott Jensen, winning a second term.
Sydney Jordan is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2020. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Jordan represents District 60A, which includes parts of Minneapolis in Hennepin County.
A mayoral election was held on November 2, 2021, to elect the mayor of the U.S. city of Minneapolis. Incumbent DFL mayor Jacob Frey won reelection to a second term, becoming the first Minneapolis mayor to win a second term since R. T. Rybak in 2005. Minneapolis mayoral elections use instant-runoff voting, also known as ranked-choice voting. All candidates appear on the same ballot and there is no primary election, nor is there a runoff. Minneapolis's twin city, Saint Paul, also held a mayoral election on the same day, using the same system.
Athena Hollins is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2021. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Hollins represents District 66B, which includes parts of Saint Paul in Ramsey County, Minnesota.
The Ninety-second Minnesota Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota from January 5, 2021, to January 3, 2023. It is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives, based on the results of the 2020 Senate election and 2020 House election.
Protests and civil disorder occurred in reaction to the killing of Daunte Wright on April 11, 2021. Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by police officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, United States. Protests that first began in Brooklyn Center spread to other locations in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area and then to other cities in the United States. Several nights of civil disorder in Brooklyn Center and adjacent cities resulted in sporadic looting and damage to a few hundred properties, including four businesses that were set on fire.
The 2022 Minnesota House of Representatives election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 8, 2022, to elect members to the House of Representatives of the 93rd Minnesota Legislature. A primary election was held in several districts on August 9, 2022. The election coincided with the election of the other chamber of the Legislature, the Senate.
Kaozouapa Elizabeth "Liz" Lee is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Lee represents District 67A in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, including parts of Saint Paul in Ramsey County.
In the early 2020s, the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in U.S. state of Minnesota experienced a wave of civil unrest, comprising peaceful demonstrations and riots, against systemic racism toward black Americans, notably in the form of police violence. A number of events occurred, beginning soon after the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020. National Public Radio characterized the events as cultural reckoning on topics of racial injustice.