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Constitutional Convention Debate

  • 27 Mar 2018
  • 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Metropolitan State University | 700 E 7th St, St Paul, MN 55106

Join us on March 27 for a debate on the pros and cons of a call for a constitutional convention according to Article V of the U.S. Constitution. The debate will be argued by Teresa S. Collett, Professor of Law at University of Saint Thomas School of Law and Matthew Filner, Professor of Political Science at Metropolitan State University. The debate will be moderated by Cara Letofsky. Light refreshments will be provided.

The debate will begin at 7 p.m. The event will take place in Library 302, commonly called the Ecolab room. The library is on 7th, just south of Maria. $5 parking is available in the large lot on Maria Street, between 6th and 7th. Otherwise, street parking is recommended.

About the Speakers

Matthew Filner serves as associate professor of political science and Chair of the Social Science Department at Metropolitan State University. Filner holds a Ph.D. in political science from Indiana University and teaches courses in American Politics, Constitutional law and political philosophy. In 2015-16, Filner was a Fulbright scholar in Japan, where he taught courses on American government to Japanese students. He has published articles in journals such as Polity, The State and Local Government Review, the International Journal of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies, a chapter of Democracy’s Edges, and is a regular contribute to the online journals Public Seminar and MinnPost.

In addition to his work as a professor, Filner has worked in politics for over 20 years. He served as communications director for Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and has managed political campaigns at the local, state and national levels. In 2007, he was the founding director of the Minnesota chapter of Progressive Majority, a national candidate recruitment and training organization.

Teresa Collett, J.D., is professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, where she teaches constitutional litigation. Collett received her doctorate at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Collett is a trained moderator for Better Angels, a bipartisan citizen’s group bringing red and blue Americans together to build new ways to talk to one another and participate together in public life.

Collett has published numerous legal articles and is the co-author of a law casebook on professional responsibility and co-editor of a collection of essays exploring “catholic” and “Catholic” perspectives on American law. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and has testified before committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, as well as before legislative committees in several states. She has also represented government officials and medical groups before federal appellate courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2010, she ran as the endorsed Republican candidate for Congress in Congressional District 4.

Cara Letofsky has worked at the intersection of community organizing and policy-making in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region for 25 years. She currently is a member of the Metropolitan Council and runs a consulting firm, Mill City Consulting. Her passions are social and economic justice, and expanding voting rights and preserving our democracy. Last year, during the first 100 days of the new Administration, she co-produced and co-facilitated a ten-event series We the People... A Community Conversation to Understand the U.S. Constitution to bring attention to the document that guides our country, how it got us to the situation we are in today, and how we can use it to get create a stronger democracy.



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