Editorial: Moving up in the ranks

• Rep. Rod Hamilton

Rep. Rod Hamilton R-Mountain Lake

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It’s funny what a difference a year makes.

This time a year ago, District 22B Rep. Rod Hamilton was persona non grata among several members of his own party. As one of the “Override Six” — House Republicans who voted with House Democrats to override Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s transportation bill veto — Hamilton lost authority positions on committees as a result.

That was when the House Minority Leader was Marty Seifert, who recently left the post to run for governor. Now, there’s a new man in charge — Kurt Zellers — and on Monday, Hamilton was elevated to the post of Assistant Minority Leader.

A couple of points about Hamilton’s appointment deserve to be raised:

• Hamilton has demonstrated an ability to work with others across the aisle and has indicated through his record that while he may be Republican, he won’t vote as one 100 percent of the time. This could be seen as a message that Republicans leaders are willing to work with Democrats, rather than engage in pure partisanship.

• With Zellers from suburban Maple Grove and Hamilton from rural Mountain Lake, the Republican House is nicely balanced at the top. We hope this is indicative of work toward fair and equitable legislation for all Minnesotans — with Greater Minnesota not lagging behind the metro, as it has in the past.

• Hamilton’s promotion is well-deserved and a result of his hard work and dedication. Congratulations are in order.

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