City Pages: Best Politician 2007
Photo by Nick Vlcek for City Pages
Granted, Lourey's two bids for governor are textbook examples of how not to get elected to higher office. To her credit, the now retired state senator from Kerrick has always been more interested in good policy than easy politics. You know how no one ever says good fish tastes "fishy"? It's kind of like that with politicians—a good politician isn't too political. Lourey's adherence to principle was never plainer than when the Minnesota Senate voted on a bill to prohibit protesters from disrupting funeral services. The measure was targeted at that creepy "God Hates Fags" religious outfit from Kansas that weasels free media by making asses of themselves at services for the war dead. As much as anyone, Lourey had emotional motivations to support the ban. Her son Matt Lourey, a helicopter pilot, was killed in Iraq. But Lourey also has an above-average appreciation for the Constitution and free speech, and little appetite for pandering. The result? When the time came for members of the Senate to cast their votes, there was just one dissenter: Becky Lourey.