Letter: Writer calls out Kotyza-Witthuhn’s ‘false claims’

Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn, who purports to be a paragon of virtue, is attempting to win reelection by spreading baseless accusations about her political opponent. Let’s examine the three points from her campaign postcard, received in homes on Oct. 24, which brazenly asserts that “Republicans … would”:

• “Defund public schools.” What a ridiculous claim! Everyone wants excellent schools, and everyone knows that costs money. The moderate Republican, Wendi Russo, has questioned the benefit of the 60-plus mandates forced on local school districts by Kotyza-Witthuhn. Russo has warned that many of these top-down DFL meddlings are unfunded and will cause painful budget shortfalls. Russo pledges to restore local control and a safe environment to Minnesota’s schools, and to emphasize subjects and skills that will actually prepare students to succeed in managing their lives without perennial subsidies from taxpayers.
• “Ban abortion.” Fearmongering in the highest degree! Minnesota’s Constitution already guarantees the right to terminate a pregnancy in its early stages. The state Supreme Court said so in 1995 (Doe v. Gomez), and no legislature or governor can change that. What is “extremist” is Kotyza-Witthuhn’s sponsorship of a 2023 law that makes abortion legal through the ninth month with no restrictions (HF 1, 1/31/23).  Seventy-eight percent of Americans think that’s going too far (Gallup poll, 6/14/23). Ten percent of the people alive today started out as preemies.
• “Undermine … our right to vote.” The right to vote belongs to citizens only. Yet Kotyza-Witthuhn decided to give driver’s licenses to people who are here illegally (HF 4, 1/30/23), and then automatically added to the voting rolls everyone who gets a driver’s license (HF 3, 4/13/23) and simply asserts they are a citizen. This undermines the rights of legitimate citizens.

In Eden Prairie and Minnesota, we pride ourselves on being honest and fair. Kotyza-Witthuhn’s accusations are not honest or fair. I conclude she’s not a leader. She’s a misleader — an unethical partisan. We deserve better. We will have better representation in St. Paul with someone who puts “People Over Politics.” That someone is Wendi Russo.

Bill Satterness, Eden Prairie