Rep. Ruth Johnson won't run again

DFL Representative Ruth Johnson of St. Peter has announced that she is retiring and won't run for re-election next year. This is her third non-consecutive term in the House. She was first elected in 1996, left in 1998 to be Mike Freeman's Lieutenant Governor pick, came back in 2000, was redistricted into a district with another incumbent, Republican Howard Swenson, whom she lost to in 2002, and then finally came back in 2004 beating Swenson in the rematch.

Why is she quitting? Her reason of "in a Democracy, we take turns" probably has some truth to it. If you don't have the passion for the job, being a legislator isn't a whole lot of fun, and Johnson seems to have lost a bit of her passion for the job. It happens, especially when you are in the minority and you discover that there are other ways to make a difference in people's lives outside of the legislature. She was a tireless advocate for education, and she will undoubtedly find a way to continue that.

So far, there are no Republicans running for the seat. The chair of the St. Peter school board, Terry Morrow, is expected to run as a Democrat in 2006.