SoCal lobbyist who worked with Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman pays tribute to slain lawmaker
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The assassination of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband over the weekend haunts those who knew her personally and professionally.
Benjamin Olson lives in Los Angeles and works as a lobbyist in Minnesota during the legislative session. He was shocked when details of the targeted attacks emerged.
"To see her name was really devastating," Olson said.
He first met Hortman in 2009 as a politician and later became friends.
"She had introduced a bill that me and friend were basically interested in and we went in and met with her and she said, 'Yeah, let's do this bill together,'" he said.
Olson said Hortman's star kept rising until she became speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2024.
"She's just the best of us. She was just better at meeting people half way," Olson said. "She really was curious about where people were coming from. Why do people believe what they believed. And, she a deal maker and in that role that's what you have to be."
The motive behind the murders remains unknown.
"It was sort of almost like, 'Anybody but her,' to me at first and it was just devastating," Olson said. "I don't think there's a single person that knows her that doesn't like her."
Hortman successfully helped pass a state budget last week during a special session and was looking forward to spending time with her family and pets.
"She was able to go there, make a deal and then she was ready to enjoy summer," Olson said.
It's going to take time to process what's happened.
Olson a special election will be held to fill Hortman's seat, adding that the enormity of the tragedy is likely to resonate again when the Legislature comes back in February.
