No former Democratic Party office-holder ever goes hungry. Democrats are great at finding jobs for politicians that don’t quite work out. A case in point is Minnesota’s Melisa López Franzen.
Franzen was briefly the Democratic Leader of the Minnesota State Senate. Alpha News describes the end of her political career charitably:
López Franzen spent a decade representing the Edina area in the Minnesota Senate, culminating in her election as the leader of the DFL caucus, before announcing in February 2022 that she would not seek reelection due to redistricting.
Actually, Franzen did not seek re-election because she was embroiled in a scandal. We wrote about it in a post titled Political Corruption In Minnesota:
Last August, two Democratic state officials were involved in a rollover accident as they were leaving Farm Fest, an annual ag industry show in southern Minnesota. Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha was driving her SUV and Senate Minority Leader Melisa López Franzen was her passenger. They were on their way to a Democratic fundraiser or party. Blaha apparently was negligent in pulling out from the Farm Fest parking lot, causing her vehicle to be struck by a semi. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. This was Blaha’s vehicle:
Blaha, the State Auditor, was not intoxicated, but the passenger, Franzen, apparently popped a White Claw as they were leaving Farm Fest. An open, cold, nearly full can of White Claw was found in the car. This is a clear open bottle violation under Minnesota law, and would normally be charged as such. The driver also can be criminally charged for allowing an open alcohol container in his or her vehicle.
But not to worry–these people are Democrats! They used political juice to get off scot-free:
Apparently the first thing Blaha and Franzen did after the accident was to call Ken Martin, the Chairman of the DFL Party. He was on the scene in a matter of minutes, driving an official brightly-colored DFL van. He is captured on body cam video making sure the officers at the scene know they are dealing with high-ranking politicians.
Senator Franzen lied about the White Claw to investigating officers.
What mere highway patrolman would dare to buck the Democratic Party machine? Franzen got away with her lie. Details at the link.
Blaha got off with a minor traffic citation and Franzen, who had been illegally drinking the White Claw, was not charged at all. The Democrats’ transparent lies became the official story of the accident, which gained a lot of publicity at the time. No newspaper or other media outlet chose to look into the accident until the Alpha News story that appeared today.
Having used political influence to dodge criminal prosecution, Franzen has landed on her feet, to the tune of $250,000 a year:
A former high-ranking Minnesota Democrat who left office just seven months ago will make $250,000 annually in her new role as the University of Minnesota’s top lobbyist, Alpha News has learned.
Melisa López Franzen was named executive director of government and community relations last week by interim university president Jeff Ettinger, who just a year ago was a DFL congressional candidate.
See how that works? Former DFL congressional candidate appoints former DFL senator as top lobbyist for the University of Minnesota, an institution that is wholly in the grip of Democrats. It pays to be part of a political machine. And Ms. Franzen will be welcomed with open arms when she lobbies her former DFL colleagues in Minnesota’s legislature. What’s a crime and a cover-up between friends?
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.