Letters to the editor: Writers come to defense of Lillie

Woodbury residents will welcome, not shun, Lillie

As of late I have noticed a plethora of letters in the Woodbury Bulletin which I can only construe as a xenophobic plague.

At this point these letters appear to be directed at a single individual, the likely next state senator for Senate District 53. Objecting to a political viewpoint is one thing I can respect and understand, but it is the eerie tone of xenophobia and the stridency, especially of the most recent letter writer, that I find truly disturbing.

The last letter writer indeed appears to me to be the population censor for the city of Woodbury. He asserts he is the authority on what Woodburians love, and to be sure, as he says, Woodburians “love their own.” This letter writer has a firm grip and understanding on the 50,000 to 60,000 of us here in Woodbury? Aren’t we all “native” Woodburians?

In fact, I moved here and became a Woodburian. Honorable reader, I bet you may well have done so also. Well, let’s allow state Sen. Ted Lillie to join us. I think he will be a good and admirable citizen in our fair city.

I am starting to feel a little less disturbed. The last xenophobic letter writer is sure not the population censor for Woodbury. I was disturbed thinking if he didn’t love me (somebody who had moved in) he might try to deport me to some strange nearby suburb.

Wheew! A sigh of relief – I can stay in Woodbury.

Bob Tatreau - Woodbury

Lillie’s links with Woodbury are strong, valid

I am writing in response to a letter entitled “Lillie’s move to Woodbury deserves skepticism (March 14).” I found it just slightly vexing. The writer deemed it his responsibility to point out a seemingly ulterior motive in Sen. Ted Lillie’s decision to move from Lake Elmo to Woodbury.

First of all, redistricting has happened throughout our country, not just in our Minnesota district. So, I can be reasonably sure that many politicians found themselves living in a different district than the one they used to represent. Sen. Lillie will not be the only politician to decide to move back within the boundaries of a district that holds a good portion of his constituents. We call that common sense.

Sen. Lillie also has a longstanding association with Oakdale businesses which are located in our new district and his wife is employed at Woodwinds Health Campus. The Lillie family does have strong ties to this district.

If you were to go to the Minnesota Secretary of State website, you can look up the results of our last election. You would find that Sen. Lillie won a majority of Woodbury voters.

Sen. Lillie is a small businessman with a vision. He is a freshman senator and yet he has become the Senate majority whip. Quite an accomplishment for someone so new to the political stage. He has shown that he is willing to work hard for us and to stand up for the issues that we have told him are important to us. How do I know? Because, rather than form my opinions on conjecture, I actually talk to my senator and representative (Andrea Kieffer). Both are very approachable and both recognize that they represent everyone within their district.

Sandy Halverson - Woodbury

Tags: letters to the editor, opinion