IREB held a town hall in Burnsville on Jan.24, 2018, which was the third such event where a DFL member of Congress from an adjoining district filled in for a missing Rep. Jason Lewis (R-MN02).
This time, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN05) took the podium, assisted by Minnesota State Senator Jim Carlson (SD51). In addition to being the first Muslim elected to Congress, Ellison is also Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee. That association led to the only thorny questions from the audience of activists.
Mark Frascone, one of the founders of IREB, told the crowd that Lewis had been invited to appear but declined the invitation, like he has with every other invitation by an activist group since being elected last year.
The room full of community members were thrilled to talk issues with a member of Congress. Ellison took notes about their concerns throughout the evening to share with others in the Minnesota delegation.