Petition Would Rename State Office Building After Late Rep. Hortman
A petition is underway to create a lasting tribute to the late state Rep. Melissa Hortman.
The House speaker emerita and her husband, Mark Hortman, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home on June 14 by an alleged assassin’s plot targeting lawmakers.
The petition on Change.org seeks to rename the Minnesota State Office Building after Hortman. According to the petition, it would be called the Hortman State Office Building.
“Her bipartisan approach to forge bridges for compromise and common sense laws shines as a model for what lawmakers and public officials should strive to emulate,” read the petition started by Jodi Anderson-Wolhaupter, a teacher in the Anoka-Hennepin School District.
As of this publication Monday, the petition had already generated about 500 signatures.
“Since Melissa was a believer in the Wellstonian maxim ‘We all do better when we all do better,’ the Hortman name on a House building could symbolize this collective hope for a more unified, compassionate state for all people,” the petition read.
The State Office Building is currently undergoing an extensive renovation.
City of Brooklyn Park Considers Hortman Memorial
The city of Brooklyn Park is also considering ways to honor the Hortmans.
Ideas range from planting trees to renaming a park and a football field after them.
Another idea is renaming the Community Activity Center after them.
“I just believe that’s one of the most visible locations in our city. And I believe that’s the space that should bear that name,” said Brooklyn Park City Council Member Tony McGarvey at the July 28 meeting.
Brooklyn Park is just in the exploratory phase for a memorial.
City officials say they plan to involve members of the Hortman family before any decision is made.
