2nd GOP Minn. Lawmaker Cited For Making Out In Car Won't Run Again

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota Republican legislator who was cited last summer for making out with a fellow lawmaker in a public park announced Saturday she won't run for re-election. The other lawmaker involved earlier said he would not seek re-election.

Related: MN Reps. Cited Step Down From Ethics Committee

Rep. Tara Mack of Apple Valley said she will leave her seat after eight years. In a statement, the married mother of two children said "we have decided that we want the next chapter of my life to be focused on our family."

Mack chairs the House Health and Human Services Reform Policy Committee. She did not mention last summer's scandal in her statement.

Mack and Republican Rep. Tim Kelly of Red Wing were cited in August for causing a nuisance by a Dakota County park ranger, who said the pair of lawmakers were making out inside a parked car. Mack and Kelly, who are married to other people, initially called the account a lie and vowed to lodge a complaint, but later paid their $260 fines while still insisting they disagreed with some details of the ranger's report.

Related: MN Rep. Demands Colleagues Apologize To Deputy

Kelly announced in February he would not run for re-election. He chairs the House transportation committee.

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