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Capitol View®
Tom Scheck

Johnson opposes resolution on D.C. team name

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Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson voted today against a resolution that called on the owner of the Washington NFL team to change its name. The Hennepin County Board considered the resolution at today’s meeting. After a brief discussion, the board voted 6-1 in favor of the resolution.

Johnson, who is the Republican nominee for governor,  was the only member of the board to vote against it. He said he understands people are upset about the name "Redskins" but doesn’t believe it’s the role of the county board to get involved in the debate over the team’s name

“This has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Hennepin County or the Hennepin County Board or Hennepin County taxpayers,” Johnson said. “We have no say in this. We have no control over this. This is what frustrates people so much about government. We can’t focus on the things that we’re supposed to focus on.”

Johnson said he thinks the board should be more focused on a impending property tax increase and other matters facing county government. Several other members of the board objected to Johnson’s stance. They said the county government has a role in sending a message to team owner Dan Snyder that they believe the name is racist.

“I think we focus a lot of time and attention, not just in these meetings, but in our everyday work on a lot of really important issues in Hennepin County,” Commissioner Jan Callison said. “So the fact that we spend five minutes having this conversation doesn’t detract from the work we do every day.”

The Hennepin County Board is the latest government entity to call on the team to change its name. Several Native American tribes said the name is offensive. Thousands of people are expected to protest when Washington plays the Vikings in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Johnson’s DFL opponent, Gov. Mark Dayton, called the team name racist last year. He said at the time that he thinks it should be changed.