Hoffman apologizes

Sen. Gretchen Hoffman, R-Vargas, has written an apology to Sen. Barb Goodwin, DFL-Columbia Heights, for micharacterizing comments Goodwin made on the Senate floor. An ethics complaint was filed against Hoffman because she wrote on her Twitter feed that Goodwin was referring to people with mental health problems as "idiots and imbeciles." Goodwin was discussing the history of mental health coverage in Minnesota.

Here's what Hoffman wrote to Goodwin:

This letter is intended to be the written apology from me to you indicated by the Minnesota Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct in its resolution of June 13, 2011.

I am certainly sorry for my own misunderstanding of what you said and how I subsequently handled it.

I am sure you share my unhappiness that this matter was not resolved between us on the floor on May 18, 2011, when the underlying incident occurred.

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Hoffman also deleted the tweet in question. It appears Hoffman deleted her entire Twitter account, set up a new one and then directed her new Twitter followers to read the Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct's report on the incident.

Hoffman has now fulfilled her obligations put forward by the Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee said it would drop the complaint once Hoffman wrote an apology, deleted the tweet in question and directed followers to the report.

Here's Hoffman's letter to Goodwin:

Hoffman Letter

Note: I update the above post to clarify how Hoffman met her obligations under the Ethics Committee.