Rep. Tom Pugh retires

DFL House member Tom Pugh, from South Saint Paul, is resigning to take a position at the Public Utilities Commission. He is from South Saint Paul and was Minority Leader from 1999-2002.

It's not very surprising when a legislator takes a position like this. Getting a permanent job for good pay beats campaigning to be rehired every two years, and many legislators don't hesitate to take these opportunities when they arrive. Given that candidate filing ends soon, though, the question is now who will run for his seat. I believe that the seat will stay in the DFL column with a good candidate, but as always, we will have to wait and see.