Senator Eric Lucero made a motion this week in the Minnesota Senate requesting an immediate ethics investigation into DFL Senator Nicole Mitchell of Woodbury. Mitchell was recently arrested and charged with felony first-degree burglary at the home of her stepmother in Detroit Lakes.
Senator Lucero, a Republican from St. Michael said that the public trust had been violated by the incident, and said senators must be held to the highest standard of ethical conduct. Lucero said consideration into expelling Mitchell should begin.
The motion however, failed on a tie vote of 33 to 33. The failure of the vote is likely to mean that there will be no change in the balance of the control of the Minnesota Senate for the remainder of this session. Normal Senate rules indicate that up to 30 days can be taken to consider an expulsion. That would likely mean that the action would be delayed until after the legislative session, which must, by state law, end by May 20th.
