The Monday June 8th edition of the Albert Lea Tribune carried an interesting editorial. It stated “It has been since Jan. 7th, 1991 when Rudy Perpich of Hibbing, MN left office, that the governor of Minnesota was outside of the metro. That was 18 years ago, and, if an outstate man or woman wins, it will have been 20 years ago by the time a new governor takes office on Jan. 4th, 2011.” The editorial goes on to say its time for an outstate governor to take office to offset the political and economic advantages of the metro and their legislators.
Living in Bemidji the last six years and being somewhat politically active, I find this absolutely true. The Metro legislators stick together like glue, with nothing to offset this from outstate. I find the 20 year number to be disturbing and something that has got to change.
There are 23 Republicans, 15 Democrats and 3 Independents that have either announced their candidacy for the Governor’s office or are supposedly considering a run.
Here are the Republicans from outstate MN:
Dick Day: Owatonna
Mary Kiffmeyer: Big Lake
Paul Koering: Fort Ripley
Marty Seifert: Marshall
David Senjem: Rochester
Steve Sviggum: Kenyon
Here are the Democrats from outstate MN:
Tom Bakk: Cook
Tarryl Clark: St. Cloud
Tom Rukavina: Virginia
Tim Walz: Mankato
Here are the Independents from outstate MN:
Tim Penny: Waseca
Stephen Williams: Austin
So that’s the line up so far. Here are my 8 reasons Why Our Next Governor Needs to be From Outstate Minnesota:
1) We need a Governor that knows that mass transit in outstate MN is a “Dial A Ride” regional bus service and is not $1 million dollar a mile high speed train.
2) We need a Governor that knows that tourism is a family camping, fishing, and biking and not someone who stays on the 22nd floor of the Marriott Hotel in Downtown Minneapolis.
3) We need a Governor that knows a large school district is where kids ride buses for 45 minutes, not 4.5 miles.
4) We need a Governor that knows what outstate unemployment is (14% in Bemidji/Beltrami County June 09) compared to metro unemployment (8.6% in Hennepin County June 09).
5) We need a Governor that realizes the need for strong rural hospitals, medical care and services and that everything shouldn’t be a 45 minute helicopter ride to Fargo.
6) We need a Governor that realizes the need for fully funding affordable existing 4 year institutions of higher learning giving options to those who want to stay in their own area of the state.
7) We need a Governor that realizes the need for a strong transportation infrastructure in areas where driving is a necessity.
8) We need a Governor that has knowledge and supports industries important to outstate Minnesota such as forestry, mining, and agriculture.
I for one hate to have one subject be an overriding reason for voting or supporting a candidate, but this has got to be a factor when considering a Governor. 20 years is just too long a time not to be represented.
thank you for writing on this subject! Outstate MN is not represented by those in the Metro area who seem to think that MN ends at the northern borders of the Twin Cities suburbs. Thanks for the 8 good reasons….they ought to be published in the Star Tribune for the Metro to read too!
Perpich was also the last DFL governor, so I guess the next Governor “must” be a Democrat to even things out.
I think the reality is that the last three Governors have largely represented the suburbs of Minneapolis. They helped the suburbs play off the older cities with aging infrastructure against one another. The result is that a lot of the transportation money gets spent on new capacity to serve suburban development, rather than to maintain the existing infrastructure or serve existing urban centers, whether outstate or in the metro area.
If you look at the highway investments in our part of the state, they also mostly subsidize new suburban-style development on the edge of town and surrounding rural area, instead of supporting existing investment in communities. That’s great for real estate developers and the construction industry, but it comes at a heavy price for those who live, have a business or own property in small towns. It means that, overall, rural highways are being allowed to very slowly go back to gravel in order to use the resulting saving to add new capacity for suburban commuters.
I don’t think electing a Governor from St. Cloud, which has become a Metro suburb, is going to change that. What will change it is when small towns around Minnesota understand they have more in common with the urban centers of the Twins cities than they do with suburbs. That means investing in existing communities, not promoting new development around those communities. It means making existing schools better, not funding new schools to fuel suburban flight. It means investing in 21st century communication technology so small towns and rural areas can compete in a global economy. It means funding libraries that provide the information infrastrucure that the new knowledge economy is being built on. It means joining with the other urban centers to make sure we get our share of the fourth “T” – Technology. That means having a governor who is committed to creating a state government capable of delivering those things.
It doesn’t really matter where the next governor is from, its what they are committed to doing.