Three Worthington-area Republican legislators met with constituents over the weekend — "a robust audience" of constituents, reports the Worthington Globe.
A line from new District 22 Sen. Bill Weber: "I was sworn in on Jan. 8 and sworn at on Jan. 9," he joked.
Other legislators on hand to report on the early going in St. Paul were District 22B state Rep. Rod Hamilton and District 22A state Rep. Joe Schomacker.
Hamilton, who's on the Transportation Finance Committee, said: "I want to make sure they finish these road projects."
And he said: "We want fair and equitable funding. It’s not about Republicans versus Democrats, but about rural versus metro. Some legislators came out here to discuss issues with us some time back, and they ran out of gas because they didn’t realize the distance between towns here."
Schomacker who was named an assistant minority leader in his second term, said: "It’s an honor to get that respect from my caucus, and I can tell you from my internal interactions with the Republicans, there are disagreements within the party. It’s not always as friendly as you would think. No one is in lock-step up there."
The trio got questions about principal and teacher evaluations, teacher tenure, health care costs, better financing for nursing homes, LGA and Gov. Dayton's budget.
Weber said he worried that insurance agents are being squeezed out in the health care exchange process: "If I had the choice to get rid of Obamacare, I would do it."