Tony Cornish (born May 3, 1951) is a retired American police officer and former politician from the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. He was a member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...

. He resigned in disgrace from the Minnesota House on November 30, 2017, following multiple accusations of sexual harassment.

Early life, education, and career

Cornish was educated at Garden City High School in Garden City Township, Minnesota and has received secondary education. From 1975 to 1977, he served as a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

for the city of

Amboy Amboy may refer to: Places * Amboy, Córdoba, village in Calamuchita Department, Córdoba province, Argentina United States * Amboy Crater, feature in Mojave National Preserve, California Settled U.S. places * Amboy, California * Amboy, Ge ...

. From 1977 to 1980, he served as a

deputy sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

for

Blue Earth County Blue Earth County is a county in the State of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,112. Its county seat is Mankato. The county is named for the Blue Earth River and for the deposits of blue-green clay once evident along the ...

. In 1980, he became a

conservation officer A conservation officer is a law enforcement officer who protects wildlife and the environment. A conservation officer may also be referred to as an environmental technician or technologist, game warden, forest ranger, forest watcher, forest gu ...

for the

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or Minnesota DNR, is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recre ...

, serving 22 years before retiring in 2002. He was the

police chief The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

of Lake Crystal from 2007 to 2012.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Cornish was elected to the

in 2002 and was re-elected in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. Cornish had a history of treating staff and lobbyists very poorly during his tenure in the

. Cornish also had a history of using his state issued email for inappropriate messaging of other female representatives and lobbyists and would chastise staff for looking at his email, despite his directions to assist him with email. On November 27, 2017, Cornish submitted his letter of resignation, which became effective at 11:59 p.m. on November 30, 2017. In a letter, Cornish apologized to his fellow house members for "bringing a cloud over the House and my friends." He also submitted an inappropriate letter that included a "wish list" for his replacement that went on to argue against anti-cop bills and the need for legislative action that would push cops to obtain their own liability insurance.

Sexual harassment allegations

In November 2017, state Rep.

Erin Maye Quade Erin Maye Quade (born March 12, 1986) is an American politician from the state of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) Party, she served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019. She was the DFL-endorse ...

and another woman, a lobbyist, accused Cornish of sexually harassing them. In response, Cornish said that his interaction with Maye Quade was taken out of context and meant as a friendly, joking exchange. He said the incidents in his office alleged by the lobbyist never happened, though he admitted that he did send her a string of text messages soliciting sex. House Speaker

Kurt Daudt Kurt Louis Daudt (born September 26, 1973) is an American politician and the Minority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He is a former Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minneso ...

suspended Cornish as chairman of the Public Safety Committee following the allegations. Subsequently, former House Speaker

Kurt Zellers Kurt Zellers (born October 16, 1969) is an American politician who served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013 and minority leader from 2009 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represente ...

said that during his time as speaker from 2011 to 2012 he had confronted Cornish about sexually harassing women at the State Capitol and called for him to resign. In interviews with ''

MPR News Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest. MPR ha ...

'', 25 people who worked with or around Cornish the past seven years described alleged unwanted sexual advances to unwanted flirtatious contact.

Personal life

Cornish resides in Vernon Center. He is divorced, has three children, and is affiliated with the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...

. In 1990, a Koochiching County judge granted Cornish’s ex-wife, Mary, a domestic abuse protection order against him. They had divorced two years earlier. A copy of the one-year protection order, dated July 23, 1990, offers scant details of the circumstances, saying only that “the evidence justifies issuance of the order.” He is the uncle of former

Minnesota Governor The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...

Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...

's wife, Terry.

Electoral history

2010 Minnesota State Representative District 24B ''Statewide Voter Turnout TBD %'' Tony Cornish (R), 9621 votes, 63% Joan Muth-Milks (DFL), 3417 votes, 22% Mark D. Meyer (I), 2242 votes, 15% Write-In, 9 votes, 0.05% 2008 Minnesota State Representative District 24B ''Statewide Voter Turnout 78.49%'' Tony Cornish (R), 10275 votes, 51.18% John Branstad (DFL), 9781 votes, 48.72% Write-In, 10 votes, 0.10% 2006 Minnesota State Representative District 24BFischenich, Mark. "Talking straight in 24B". Mankato Free Press
Retrieved 2011-05-13. ''Statewide Voter Turnout 60.46%'' Tony Cornish (R), 9108 votes, 54.34% Jim Peterson (DFL), 7636 votes, 45.56% Write-In, 16 votes, 0.10% 2004 Minnesota State Representative District 24B ''Statewide Voter Turnout 78.77%'' Tony Cornish (R), 12416 votes, 60.27% Terry Clodfelter (DFL), 8172 votes, 39.67% Write-In, 13 votes, 0.06% 2002 Minnesota State Representative District 24B ''Statewide Voter Turnout 64.89%'' Tony Cornish (R), 8959 votes, 51.60% Sandy Lorenz (DFL), 8388 votes, 48.31% Write-In, 16 votes, 0.09%

References

External links

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornish, Tony 1951 births Living people People from Vernon Center, Minnesota Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives American Lutherans 21st-century American politicians