A player in one of the oddest twists in last spring's medical marijuana debate has been defeated in his bid for re-election as sheriff of Dodge County.

Dodge County Sheriff Jim Jensen also serves as chair of the Violent Crimes Coordinating Council, according to a pdf of its . 2014 Membership List.

Last February, City Pages' Jesse Marx reported in Does a police advisory council have any business in the medical marijuana debate? [UPDATE]:

Last month, the Violent Crimes Coordinating Council did something odd.



Members decided to make their "strong opposition" to medical marijuana known by sending a letter to the bill's chief legislative proponents, including State Rep. Carly Melin (DFL-6A). It asserted that the chronic pain of individuals did not outweigh the interests of public safety. In response, Melin solicited the nonpartisan House Research Department for background information on the VCCC. She asked specifically about whether the council had the authority to issue opinions on pending legislation. . . .

Marx followed up that report with Police group that opposed medical cannabis still struggling to find its place in politics:

The state's Violent Crimes Coordinating Council is having a hard time obeying the rules.



You may remember that these were the guys who, in January, jumped unexpectedly into the medical cannabis debate by sending a letter of "strong opposition" to key legislators. The problem was that no one asked for the council's opinion, and by providing one, its members overstepped their boundaries. . . . So in response to the letter, State Rep. Michael Paymar (D-St. Paul) the chairman of the public safety finance and policy committee who oversaw the creation of the council, expressed frustration, as did State Rep. Carly Melin (D-Hibbing). In April, Paymar countered by attaching an amendment to a public safety bill that would have made it clear: the VCCC could not lobby any government figures except the commissioner of public safety.



Paymar's amendment did not make it into the final public safety bill. However, at a June 11 meeting, the VCCC acknowledged the complaint and agreed that it would be best to limit its own power, so that members could approach the legislature only when asked for an opinion.



Hardly had the air cleared, though, before Dodge County Sheriff Jim Jensen dropped this curious line: "It seems like the legislature wants to take the freedom of speech away from the committee, but we still have our own freedom of speech." Instead of taking out a group policy position, he suggested, "we can formulate and send individual letters" from "inside our (law enforcement) associations." . . .

Jensen lost his bid for re-election to Dodge County Investigator Scott Rose. Rose announced his candidacy back in February, KTTC-TV reported:

Rose tells KTTC if he becomes the new sheriff, he can bring the department together in a positive way. He also talks about what he can do for the staff saying, "the first thing we want to do is pull the guys together as a team. I think it's important for the sheriff to not only have a good relationship with his staff and with his department. But we also need to build better relationships with some of the other people that we serve." Rose's announcement to run for sheriff comes after Jim Jensen fired his chief deputy last month. Rose did not talk about that situation Monday night, but he did say that certain circumstances over the last year have pushed him to run for sheriff earlier in his career than he had anticipated.