Reader help requested because no answer was found online: Is there any kinship relationship between Robyn West and Nolan West? Any reader knowing the answer is asked to submit a comment; ideally with a link if available. West, obviously, is not an uncommon last name.
An attentive reader responded, and the comment was cleared this morning:
Your reader request:
Yes, Nolan West is the SON of Anoka County Commissioner Robyn West, who is running for re-election in much of the same area her son is running for the House.
Might I suggest that voters would be much better served voting for Susan Witt for the State House and Nyle Zikmund for County Commissioner!
[highlighting added]
Since that Sept 14 post, more has been reported, the situation even reaching one DC outlet.
Washington Times:
Republican candidate apologizes, deletes old Facebook post about ‘lynching’ Obama
By Jessica Chasmar - The Washington Times - Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Nolan West, a GOP legislative aide who is now a candidate for the Minnesota House, started scrubbing his Facebook profile of the controversial comments after being contacted by the Star Tribune.
“I apologize for posting insensitive material,” Mr. West told the newspaper in an email. “I’ve taken those posts down because they do not reflect who I am or what I believe.”
On the eve of President Obama’s 2008 election, Mr. West, who was then a teenager, reportedly wrote on Facebook: “IT’S LYNCHING TIME.”
In later years, he posted derogatory comments about women and gays, the Star Tribune reported.
In 2011, he reportedly expressed admiration for the Confederacy and called President Abraham Lincoln “the single worst president this country has ever seen.”
In 2015, he reportedly advertised a Confederate flag sale on his page the same day that South Carolina removed the Confederate battle flag from its statehouse grounds in the aftermath of the Charleston church shooting, in which nine people were gunned down by a white supremacist.
Another 2015 post appeared to belittle nationwide efforts to ban the Confederate flag, equating it with the rainbow LGBT flag, the Star Tribune reported.
Mr. West’s Facebook page appeared to be disabled Wednesday morning.
Our own City Pages:
The worst news is this: Nolan West has a Minnesota state salaried job
Thursday, September 15, 2016 by City Pages readers in News -- Reader Cheryl Tregillis responds to [CP Sept 14 item] Candidate Nolan West’s Facebook history is a trove of racist, homophobic idiocy:
So Nolan is running for office as a candidate for the 'party of Lincoln?' What is wrong with the MNGOP that the GOP would ever hire someone like this to be a legislative aide? That as a problem precedes the concern about him running for office.
He would not seem to be a good candidate, likely to lose, with crap like this illustrating who he is. But a greater concern to me is that he can easily continue in his state salaried job when his candidacy fails. This man is actively contributing to the drafting of legislation in the state of Minnesota for a party that controls one of the two houses of the legislature.
That is wrong.
[" ... trove ..." link in above quote headlining is in original]
The CP reader seems to have hit upon something akin to the intransigence the GOP, primarily via its House leader Kurt Daudt, has shown in grandstanding and obstruction vs. the business of governing, passing legislation all can live with, etc.
However, an interesting pattern exists, per a Google this morning = nolan west legislative aide minnesota
LinkedIn - tracked
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolanwestformn[...]www.house.leg.state.mn.us/.../staffin...Nolan West. Committee Legislative Assistant - 557A State Office Building 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Saint Paul Minnesota 55155Minnesota House of RepresentativesIn the newsThe worst news is this: Nolan West has a Minnesota state salaried job - trackedNolan West, a yes-man for Republican legislators, is running for a ... What is wrong with the MNGOP that the GOP would ever hire someone like this to be a legislative aide?
City Pages - 2 days agoNolan West, GOP candidate, apologizes, deletes old Facebook post about 'lynching' Obama - tracked
Washington Times - 3 days agoHouse candidate resigns from legislative job after inflammatory Facebook posts surface - trackedMore news for nolan west legislative aide minnesota
TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press - 2 days ago
Try the Google yourself, and see if you can access that legislative staff page:
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/staff.asp
No lil' Nolan listed there, as of this morning. Scrubbing of the GOP embarrassment reached beyond anything by Nolan or his family, into the legislature's MnGOP staff folks mopping up, per the reports of Nolan's "resigning" his job.
The alacrity with which the House GOP staff scrub was done suggests the "resignation" might have been prompted and assisted.
Which brings us to the major question - family dynastic intent towards career politician status. Robyn West has been for years an occupant of a seat on the Anoka County Board, elected and reelected - whatever you make of that.
Young Nolan - His LinkedIn page, not yet scrubbed at the time of this post, indicates:
Experience
Committee Legislative Assistant
Minnesota GOP House Caucus
Committee on Government Operations & Election Policy
Legislative Assistant to Tim Sanders 37B and Brian Daniels 24B
Major Sales Associate
Costco Wholesale
Oversaw and modified the visual presentation of the department.
Sold a variety of electronic merchandise ranging from clock radio to LED TVs.
Provided IT support for the warehouse.
Advised the member service department on electronic returns.Campaign Director
Tim Sanders for State Legislature
Developed messaging strategy. Managed media and constituent contacts. Canvased the district.
Photo Lab Technician
CVS Pharmacy
Maintained photo equipment and developed photos.
Precinct Agent
Geek Squad
Repaired computers ranging from corrupt operating systems to faulty RAM.
Consulted for the customer service department regarding customer issues and faulty electronics.
With a degree in history from the U being so employable, no real jobs, just Geek Squad to pol in the family tradition; and his primary skill might be marching in parades.
So Robyn and contacts got the kid a political paycheck. Bravo, Robyn. It's a real service to the public. Especially as how his Facebook history - pre-scrubbing - shows what a substantial character the gentleman brings to the public payroll.
Is this your idea of good government? The tree, or the apple that's fallen not too far away from the tree? Both, together in this sad and sordid thing, project a need for new blood on the County Board, and for another person more fit for the actual requirement of good legislative government. We have enough Kurt Daudts. One more would be a mistake.
____________UPDATE_____________
Curiously, young Nolan's campaign website about page's bottom facebook and twitter links don't link, as of the time of this post, to any actual content. Scrubbing bubbles at play today. Possibly earlier. How about this for an about page, less wordy than his content:
"Dork."
__________FURTHER UPDATE____________
Reader help needed. The less terse actual Nolan West about page among other things apart from Lincoln, Obama, Jefferson Davis, and all:
Nolan currently lives in Club West and works for the House Majority Caucus in the Minnesota Legislature. He is running in House District 37B to represent Blaine in the Minnesota Legislature.
Well, we know about that "currently [...] works for the House Majority Caucus" bit; the site needs updating; currently without a job; and we know about the candidacy. It's been in the news.
What about "Club West"?
Links online: here, here, here, here and here. Is this more of the Robyn - Nolan West activity? Did they develop a property, farming a new cash crop, suburban housing expansionism? The West family name is not on the SoS filings; but, so what? Developers are Crabgrass.
Does any reader know the history, and if so, a comment with detail would be greatly appreciated?
LAST: Possibly fertile grounds for cause and effect speculation, Seeking Alpha here as to possible cause, then City Pages, here.
Woodshed?