State of Minnesota secondary Archives: on Local Issues

Jeff Johnson: Disband the Met Council; replace it with regional body

If I were to make the campaign promise "I will eliminate the Met Council," however, I would be more than a bit disingenuous. The governor cannot disband the Met Council without a vote of the legislature and that is not going to happen with a DFL Senate, which isn't up for reelection until 2016.

So, better than a promise impossible to keep is a plan. I will:
1. remove every member of the organization and appoint members who share my vision of the very limited role of the agency;
2. support structural reforms that dramatically scale back the scope of Met Council activities & remove its authority to tax; and
3. use the "bully pulpit" of the governor's office to educate Minnesotans about the benefits of local control versus big government mandates.