Patty Wetterling

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Patty Wetterling
Born (1949-11-02) November 2, 1949
Omaha, Nebraska
Residence St. Joseph, Minnesota
Occupation community organizer, political activist
Years active 1989 - Present
Political party
 Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Spouse(s) Jerry Wetterling
Children 4

Patty Wetterling (born November 2, 1949) is a U.S. advocate of children's safety, particularly focused on protecting children from abduction and abuse. Her advocacy began after her son Jacob was abducted in 1989. She was a candidate for the Minnesota Sixth District seat in the United States House of Representatives as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate in 2004 and 2006, losing to Republicans Mark Kennedy and Michele Bachmann respectively.

Biography

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Wetterling grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota and later moved to St. Joseph, where she raised four children with her husband Jerry. On October 22, 1989, their son Jacob, then 11 years old, was abducted at gunpoint by a masked man. An extensive search was carried out, but Jacob and the abductor have not yet been found. Four months after the abduction, the Wetterlings founded the Jacob Wetterling Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to child safety education. Recently, Wetterling sent a scathing letter to then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales decrying the dilution of sex offender registration laws and demanding that Congress and the Justice Department fix the flaws that their overzealousness caused. On June 18, 2007, Wetterling was interviewed on air by Minnesota Public Radio and discussed "Romeo and Juliet" offenders.[1] Wetterling has found common ground with the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys and joined them in declaring the Adam Walsh Act unconstitutional and contrary to public safety.[2] On September 14, 2007, Wetterling reiterated her perception of the harm that current sex offender laws are causing.[3]

Political career

In the 2004 race for U.S. Representative from Minnesota's 6th District she challenged incumbent Republican Mark Kennedy. Wetterling decided to enter the race after Stillwater lawyer Janet Robert withdrew. Wetterling received a $1,000 campaign contribution donation from U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama, one of only 3 political contributions listed for Obama that year.[4] Kennedy won the election with 54% of the vote to Wetterling's 46%.

Wetterling then entered the race for Mark Dayton's U.S. Senate seat in 2006 when Dayton announced he would not seek reelection. Wetterling withdrew from the race on January 20, 2006, and endorsed Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, who won the election.

After leaving the Senate race, Wetterling was publicly asked by Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch to run with him as Lieutenant Governor. Wetterling declined Hatch's offer. On February 3, 2006, Wetterling announced that she would once again run for Congress in Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District. Wetterling's opponent for the DFL nomination was Elwyn Tinklenberg, former mayor of Blaine, Minnesota. A third DFL candidate, Scott Mortensen, dropped out early on.

On May 13, 2006, Wetterling won the DFL endorsement to face Republican state senator Michele Bachmann for the U.S. House seat. Wetterling lost the general election to Bachmann, 50% to 42%.

Son's abduction

In 1999, for the 10th anniversary of Jacob's abduction, Patty Wetterling decided to write an open letter to the abductor. Minnesota newspapers agreed to print it for her. Wetterling consulted the FBI for advice on how to word the letter. In the letter, Wetterling asks the abductor if Jacob is still with him. She offers compassion for the abductor, and says that all little boys, including the abductor when he was one, deserve a happy childhood. She tells him she's sorry if he did not have one, that she does not see him as an ugly, dirty old man, and that she hopes that if he ever goes fishing and catches something he cooks it for Jacob. She writes that she and her family are looking for answers, that only he can answer them, and that she wants to know what became of Jacob after the kidnapping. The letter generated some tips, but nothing substantial.

Also in early 2004, news reports circulated that new evidence was being considered in the abduction of her son. News outlets in the Twin Cities indicated that another boy had been assaulted not long before Jacob disappeared. Police were also ruling out the long-held belief that the abductor had gotten away in a car.

In 2010, news reports again focused upon an earth-moving project occurring on the Rassier farm, in close proximity to the Wetterlings' property. (The Wetterlings still live in the vicinity in which Jacob, his brother and a friend were riding at the time Jacob was abducted.) The Stearns County Sheriff, along with the FBI, were reportedly digging deep into the earth to remove some dirt. They took it away, apparently to be evaluated and tested in the police laboratory.[citation needed]

Electoral history

  • 2006 Race for U.S. House of Representatives - Minnesota 6th District
  • 2004 Race for U.S. House of Representatives - Minnesota 6th District

References

  1. ↑ "Sex offender laws have unintended consequences | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ". Minnesota.publicradio.org. 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2010-07-20. 
  2. ↑ http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=30820
  3. ↑ "Opinion - Patty Wetterling: The harm in sex-offender laws - sacbee.com". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2010-07-20. 
  4. ↑ "Donor Lookup: Find Individual and Soft Money Contributors". OpenSecrets. Retrieved 2010-07-20. 

External links

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