It was a difficult weekend for former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman's family, friends and colleagues.
Sunday marked one year since her political assassination. Her seatmate, Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis, joined Cathy Wurzer on MPR News the day after her death. Jordan spoke with Wurzer again on Monday to talk about what the last year has been like sitting next to Hortman’s empty chair.
The following transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Knowing you two were close, how did you mark a year after Speaker Hortman’s death this weekend?
Well, I spent a lot of time outside, which is something that Melissa loved to do, and something that I love to do. And I spent some time at a DFL convention, and I also spent some time remembering Melissa with colleagues at a private event.
All session long, you sat next to a vase filled with roses, a photo and a gavel on the former speaker's desk — a stark reminder of what happened. What was that like for you?
It was very hard. I think, understandably, people referenced Melissa, and every time there was something going on, I would think about those roses and look at them. But it was also nice to always have roses next to your desk that were really beautiful. I think one thing that was really a beautiful tribute, but was also really meaningful, was somebody put a happy Mother's Day card in the flowers around Mother's Day, and that really made me think about how Melissa loved her family so much, and how much her children, and how much Mark and everyone else meant to her. It would be a different kind of feeling every day, but always hard.
Do you know if the memorial will still be there next session?
I don't know. It'll be a new Legislature. We will have different members; we will have different staff. I don't know if it'll still be there, but I do know that there will be memorials to Melissa and Mark Hortman around the Capitol. If you see any trees that appear to have been planted recently, those are all Melissa's doing. So, I think in a lot of ways those living tree memorials will be a good remembrance of Melissa for everyone who visits.
Lawmakers have faced a growing number of threats over the years. How are you thinking about your personal safety in the wake of Speaker Hortman's death?
I deal with it in a lot of different ways, but it is very difficult. I think about it very differently. I think about it differently when I'm at public events and publicizing events I will be at. I think about it in terms of people, my constituents, my community that comes to events and is around me. I think about it in my home, but I also think about it in my office. I think about all my other colleagues.
I was glad that there were some safety measures put in place at the Capitol. I think we can do more to keep everyone safe there, but it's going to be a process. I'm not unique. I’ve received the same threats that other legislators receive. They haven't gone away, unfortunately, and it's a real consideration as part of the job. It's something I talk to my family members about: being safe when they come and stay with me in my home. My partner thinks about it. And it's very difficult, but it's a real part of life.
Did you pause when you thought about running for reelection?
It was something I talked about with my family members: Do we feel like this is a safe enough job for me to do? But I wanted to run for reelection. My constituents wanted me to run for reelection. There's a lot more that needs to be done that I feel called to do, especially in the areas of the environment and protecting our public schools, and that really outweighed any kind of personal safety considerations.
The assassin pleaded guilty last week to the killings. Do you need to know why he did what he did in order to move forward?
For me, there was value in not having a trial. I think that would have really been difficult to live through, and I'm only speaking for myself here. I think avoiding more violent rhetoric in public is something that's a good thing. For me personally, I think it's obvious why he did what he did, and hearing him say something doesn't really change the fact that Mark and Melissa are no longer with us, that Sen. John Hoffman and his wife have had a horrific year of recovery, and that it really plunged our state into a different kind of terror around political action. And so for me that's less important than making sure it doesn't happen again.
Do you think there’s been justice for the speaker and Mark Hortman?
Speaking for myself, I do think that. I'm opposed to the death penalty in all forms. I was really personally relieved when that was taken off the table. I feel safer knowing that he will never be able to walk around and plot something again, but I'm also relieved that there's not further cruelty being done.
