Mar 03 Kalin Retiring; Is This Why?

Yesterday, Jeremy Kalin announced that he was retiring from the Minnesota Legislature after getting the HD-17B endorsement. Could this post have played a role in that decision?

First the news about Kalin's announcement:

Rep. Jeremy Kalin (DFL-North Branch) announced March 2 that he will not seek re-election for a third term in District 17B this November. Kalin said in a press release that he wants to focus more on family, than state politics.

"My wife and I were married during my first year in office. For two and a half years, we've managed the very hectic life of a State Representative from Chisago County and an ob-gyn physician delivering babies 45 miles away in Minneapolis," he said. "We've decided to take a break from campaigns and elected office and enjoy our lives together while we can still call ourselves 'newlyweds.'"

I don't doubt the sincerity of Rep. Kalin's statement. Still, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Kalin's environmental policies were wearing thin in the district. I'd heard that Wyoming Mayor Sheldon Anderson was likely to defeat him this election this cycle anyway, especially with this being a strong GOP cycle already.

I suspect that Rep. Kalin's environmental policies were wearing thin, especially with the Climategate scandal breaking. The NY Times post likely didn't help, either:

To meet the Obama administration's targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, some researchers say, Americans may have to experience a sobering reality: gas at $7 a gallon.

To reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector 14 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, the cost of driving must simply increase, according to a forthcoming report by researchers at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. The 14 percent target was set in the Environmental Protection Agency's budget for fiscal 2010.

Each drip of that type of information would've hurt Kalin. His policies simply wouldn't have been defensible. Coupling that with his voting for the DFL's tax increases, it would've been an uphill fight for Rep. Kalin.

Considering President Obama's waning popularity, this information wouldn't have helped either:

During his run in office Kalin was active in environmental issues. In 2009, Kalin was selected by the White House to chair CLEAN, the national Coalition of Legislators for Energy Action Now. He attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark last December.

While that information wouldn't have been enough to defeat Rep. Kalin, it's just the drip, drip, drip of negative press that Rep. Kalin wouldn't need in a difficult election cycle.

Comments welcome at LFR.