Government Reform (MN Governor's Race)

Government reform could cover a lot of different issues. Basically, anything that changes the way government is structured or does business is government reform. For this post, I’m going to focus on three issues: term limits, omnibus bills, and politician pay.

Term Limits
In Minnesota, the governor is elected every four years, but can serve an unlimited amount of terms. Term limits limit the amount of time an elected official can hold office. Maine was the first state to adopt legislative term limits in 1996. Since then, 15 states have followed suit. Minnesota is not one of them.

The Minnesota state legislature also has no term limits. In 2017, senator Rich Draheim (R) of Madison Lake, Minnesota was set to introduce a bill to tackle term limits in 2018. However, I couldn’t find any follow up on that. Under his bill, lawmakers wouldn’t be able to serve more than 20 consecutive terms in the legislature. He said, “If you really want citizen legislators, after 20 years, you're no longer a citizen, you're a politician.” In our current state legislature, 18 out of the 201 lawmakers have served more than 20 consecutive years.

One of the biggest arguments in favor of term limits is to reduce the amount of lobby influence on lawmakers. Draheim says, "When we have such a big outside influence of money from other groups, the longer you've been there the more money rolls in. I think it'll give people more of a voice in the Legislature." According to the Mankato Free Press, “Several studies done in the mid-2000s from the National Conference of State Legislatures have shown mixed benefits for states with legislative term limits. Some states felt more power went to lobbyists and staff to make up for the loss of legislative institutional knowledge. Others felt term limits made it harder for lobbyists to work with rotating 

Reviews from politicians are mixed. Republican Representative, Tony Cornish (who has since resigned due to sexual harassment allegations) was in his 15th year last year when he said, "I've never been a big fan of term limits. I think there's a reason that people are in there a long time, and it's that because people must like them." He said he really didn’t feel like he knew what he was doing until his fourth year and having more experience makes for a better lawmaker. His argument was that the public can always vote them out of they aren’t satisfied.

Omnibus Bills
Omnibus is a word derived from Latin meaning “for everything.” An omnibus bill is a bill that packages many issues into one bill, making it difficult to debate. Omnibus bills are often used to pass controversial amendments.

They are very popular in the Minnesota state legislature and in most states. The Minnesota constitution requires that omnibus only addresses a single subject, such is taxes. In that case, it could encompass corporate, sales, income, and property taxes, but lump it all together. However, not all omnibus bills are so clear in their focus, so the title of the bill becomes very important, allowing lawmakers to fit many, often controversial, issues together.

For example, in 1997, thrown into a tax policy bill was a provision that Minnesota schools would have to pay prevailing wages on construction projects over $100,000. It was thrown in under a miscellaneous category, but had nothing to do with taxes. It’s a labor issue. Many groups sued and won declaring it unconstitutional because it violated the single subject rule.

On omnibus bills, current governor Mark Dayton has said he doesn’t want policy measures tucked away in omnibus budget bills. According to MinnPost, “He was particularly miffed that a large omnibus bill funding environmental programs also included policy provisions to delay deadlines to comply with his proposal to create water buffer protection on state waterways.” In his own words, “They think they can ram them down my throat, these policy measures that are bad for Minnesota and that I’ll accept them by tying them to appropriation bills which eventually have to be signed. Well, I've told them before and I keep saying it, policy measures don’t belong in budget bills, budgets belong in budget bills. If they want to send all of these other policy measures to me, we can deal with them separately.

Politician Pay
Withholding politician’s pay during shutdowns or when they are deemed “not doing their jobs” gets a lot of chatter, but from what I can tell, there haven’t been any federal or state bills that actually turn this chatter into policy.

Here is where the candidates stand on the above government reform issues:

Jeff Johnson (R): Candidate Johnson vows to, in his first 50 days, push for term limit legislation for all legislators and executive officeholders including governor, veto omnibus bills that don’t comply with the constitutions single subject rule, and advocate for a law that if the governor and legislatures can’t agree on a budget bill, they will forfeit their pay until a budget is signed. In addition, all of his department heads will have measurable performance goals to meet in order to receive their full salary.

Erin Murphy (D): Candidate Murphy does not have a public position on any of the above issues that I could find.

Tim Pawlenty (R): Candidate Pawlenty pursued term limits as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives in the 90’s. He proposed 10 year term limits on state legislature, 12 year term limits on congress, and and 2 term limit on governors by saying that term limits would ensure that ”there would be less focus on re-election and more on policy.” The bill failed to pass a House subcommittee on election law with a 5-5 vote. It would have been a question for voters in 1996 otherwise. I couldn’t find any public position on the other 2 issues.

Tim Walz (D): Candidate Walz was asked about term limits at a debate in Winona when he was running for Congress in 2016. He said this. “Well, I’m not for ‘em. I think you do this. You do nonpartisan judicial redistricting to get these districts as close as you can to being fair. And then you get the money out of politics, or make it fair and transparent in what you would get, is a whole bunch of people running. In states that do something similar to that, incumbents get re-elected 56% of the time. In states that don’t, it’s 90%. And there you make sure if you have a good legislator, doing good work, they can continue on. If they’re not, you can remove them.” I couldn’t find any public position on the other 2 issues.

Equity & Justice (MN Governor's Race)

One of the best known sentences in the English language is, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It comes from the preamble of the Declaration of Independence which was adopted on July 4, 1776. This is the moral standard to which the United States should strive. This was the foundation for the political philosophy of Abraham Lincoln and the lens to which he interpreted the United States Constitution. This is what we celebrate on the 4th of July.

And yet, here we are 242 later, and while Minnesota iis a pretty great place to live for a lot of people, it is not equitable for all. All men are not treated as though they are created equal. All men do not experience and equitable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There remains a lack of equity for those of non-white racial backgrounds, indigenous people, women, the LGBT community, and the disabled. Here is some background and statistics on each.


Racial & Indigenous Inequity
Minnesota is ranked 2nd worst in the country for racial equality. Let that sink in for a moment. The second worst. The only state in the whole country that has more racial inequality is, wait for it, Wisconsin. The median household income for black people in Minnesota is $30,306 while the median household income for white people is $66,979. In 2017, the unemployment rate for white people was 3.0% while the unemployment rate for black people was 8.8%. Minnesota ranks 47th in the unemployment gap between white and non-white residents and 44th for the racial gap for wealth.

76% of white Minnesotans own homes compared with 21.7% of black Minnesotans. 111 out of every 100,000 white people are incarcerated compared with 1,219 out of every 100,000 black people. This means that black Minnesotans are 10 times more likely to end up in prison than white Minnesotans. As noted in my cannabis post, marijuana arrests and incarcerations disproportionately affect people of color despite the fact that 5 times as many whites are using drugs as blacks. Nationally, blacks are sent to prison for drug offenses at a rate of 10 times the rate of whites. African American serve nearly as much time in prison for non-violent drug offenses (58.7 months) as whites do for violent offenses (61.7 months). In Minnesota, blacks are 6.4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites.

Race relations experts tie all of these statistics together. “If [African Americans living near the poverty line] do have employment, it pays a very low wage. You are a renter at best,” said Keith Mayes, associate professor of African American Studies at the University of Minnesota. “And then if you are thoroughly outside of the labor market and participating in the underground economy [selling drugs, sex] then you may end up in jail.”

And, as great is education is in our state, in 2017, the Minnesota Department of Education reported that twice as many white students met the standards for reading math than black students in grades 3-8 and 10th grade.

Minnesota is home to 11 tribal nations. Nationally, wages are lower for Native Americans, poverty is higher, education achievement is lower, and drug abuse is higher. Minnesota has major health inequities between its white and non-white communities.

Gender Equity
Women comprise 51.2% of the Minnesota workforce. Yet, full-time female workers make less than their male counterparts. Minnesota women earn only 84% of what men make on an hourly basis.

LGBTQ+ Equity
So much progress has been made for the gay & lesbian community in Minnesota, especially with being the first state to vote down a marriage amendment, and then with the passage of marriage equality ahead of it being legalized federally. But, there is still a long way to go for the transgender community especially in light of “bathroom bills” around the country and the president’s rhetoric on transgender troops in serving in the military.

Disability Equity
10.5% of Minnesotans have a disability. Despite federal laws requiring accessibility, many parts of our community are often inaccessible to people with disabilities.

Here is where the candidates stand on issues of equity:

Jeff Johnson (R): Candidate Johnson does not address any of these issues on his website. I couldn’t find anything addressing his views on race inequality, the gender pay gap, or disability rights. In 2013, Johnson said of gay marriage, “Here’s where I am. I support traditional marriage and I think it should be the law in Minnesota, so I do not support gay marriage. But I also believe that any couple should be allowed to enter into contractual unions that allow for certain rights like hospital visitation or inheritance rights or end-of-life decisions, things like that. Regardless of what issues like this are before me as governor, I’m not going to be focusing on it. I just believe the governor should be focused on issues of the budget and education because that’s what most of the people of Minnesota want us to work on.”

Erin Murphy (D): (Race/Indigenous) Candidate Murphy thinks we can tackle health disparities among communities of color. She wants to close the opportunity gap by investing in Pre-K & early learning, providing home visits, and hiring teachers of color. She supports cannabis legislation including record expungement, releasing non-violent offenders and supporting them as the transfer out of the criminal justice system. She wants to restore the right to vote for those who have served their time for felony convictions. (Gender) She supports legislation to close the pay gap. She believes in policies that require affirmative consent, enhanced education, and action against sexual harassment and violence in order to change the culture. She wants to ensure that all women have access to affordable health care, contraception, and abortion services. (LGBTQ+) She’ll work to streamline the process required to change one’s gender on official identification cards. She’ll work to ensure trans Minnesotans get access to the health care they need through their insurance. She opposes conversion therapy and bathroom bills. (Disability) She wants to ensure that everything from public transit to sidewalks to restaurants and malls are fully accessible. She’ll fight to ensure that people with disabilities have the care they require. She will invest in the services and affordable housing options needed to ensure that people with disabilities are fully integrated in their schools, workplaces, and communities, and able to live independently for as long as they choose.

Tim Pawlenty (R): Candidate Pawlenty does not address any of these issues on his website. I could not find anything on his views on race inequality. In 2014, concerning the gender pay gap, he said, "I'm the father of two daughters, and I want them to fully see and embrace the American dream. So we all need to work on making sure there isn't a glass ceiling, and if there is one, we need to make sure it's busted, broken, shattered." According to a 2011 article, he opposed recognition of same-sex unions, supported Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, vetoed a bill granting end-of-life rights to same-sex couples, vetoed an anti-bullying bill that added protections for sexual orientation and gender identity, and vetoed a bill to allow local municipalities to offer domestic partner benefits. In April of this year, he was the keynote at the Minnesota Family Council’s annual dinner. The Minnesota Family Council lobbies against rights for LGBTQ+ Minnesotans. In June 2018, he told WCCO Sunday Morning that he thinks the biblical definition of marriage is between one man and one woman, but the civil law has been decided and there’s no going back from that.

Tim Walz (D): (Race/Indigenous) Candidate Walz will ensure that people of color have equitable access to positions in state government so that the government is more reflective of Minnesota. If elected, Peggy Flanagan will be the highest ranking Native American woman in the history of the United States as Lieutenant Governor. He supports investing in programs that will hire more teachers of color as well as investing in improving access to childcare, families that want to combat the opioid epidemic, and ensuring that health care providers are providing culturally competent care. When Minnesota has a budget surplus, he believes in investing in targeted job creating programs in communities of color and indigenous communities. He is in favor of creating a taxation and regulation system for adult-use cannabis and supports outlawing private prisons in Minnesota. He will honor treaty rights in Minnesota and consult with tribal governments on the front end of decision making. He will invest in Dakota and Ojibwe language immersion programs. He will ensure history and culture of Native people is included in the K-12 education system. He will support and fund adult education programs and career skill development for Native adults. And, he supports tuition waivers for Native American students in higher education with a priority for future educators. He will provide funds to expand culturally competent long-term treatment programs to combat the opioid crisis. He acknowledges and will work to heal multi-generational and historic trauma. He will educate those who work with Native families on these traumas and their increased vulnerability. He will fund public housing, food stability, and supportive assistance programs and work with tribes to create stable family networks. He will commit to addressing systemic racism and implicit bias in state agencies. He will reduce barriers for Native families to take custody of their relatives. (LGBTQ+) He will stand against “bathroom bills” and ban conversion therapy. He will build on the work of the anti-bullying bill passed during the 2014 legislative session.

Environment (MN Governor's Race)

What are the issues facing the environment in Minnesota? First and foremost, there is climate change. Minnesota has warmed 1 to 3 degrees over the last century. In the winter, ice forms on lakes later and melts earlier. Throughout the Midwest, annual precipitation has increased 5-10% over the last 50 years, and 35% on the four wettest days of the year. As a result, floods have become more frequent. In the Red River watershed, which affects northwestern Minnesota, river flows during the worst flood each year have been increasing about 10% per decade since the 1920’s. In addition to floods, rising temperatures will interfere with winter recreation and agriculture, change the composition of Minnesota forests, and increase water pollution as severe storms increase the amount of pollutants that runoff from land to water. In the next 70 years, it is predicted that southern Minnesota will have 5 to 15 more days over 95 degrees than they do today. This will affect corn harvests in rural areas and public health in urban areas.

Why is the climate changing? Our earth is warming. Due to fossil fuel (coal, oil, and natural gas) burning, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is higher than it has been at any time in the last 400,000 years. People have increased the carbon dioxide in the air by 40% since the 1700’s. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released during the combustion of fossil fuels used to produce electricity trap heat in our atmosphere. As the atmosphere warms, evaporation increases which increases humidity, average rainfall, and severe storms.

What is Minnesota doing about it? Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Standard requires utilities to produce 25% of their electrical generation through renewable energy sources such as wind, hydrogen, and solar by 2025. Governor Pawlenty set this goal in 2006 and signed it into law a year later. It is one of the nation’s strongest renewable energy standards to move us away from the use of fossil fuels. Minnesota currently gets 21% of its energy from renewable energy.

Protecting Minnesota’s groundwater so that everyone has safe and affordable drinking water is another concern. Nearly 75% of Minnesotans get their drinking water from ground water sources. According to the Minnesota Department of Health’s Annual Drinking Water Report, 537 public wells have elevated nitrate levels and 10% of private wells already exceed health limits. The cost for treating this water is very expensive and will cost 10 communities in the state of Minnesota thousands of dollars per household. According to Clean Water Action, “Minnesota officials, farmers, and communities must find ways to reduce runoff from farm fields that contain excess amounts of nitrogen, which pollute drinking water with nitrates.”

Our elected officials play an important role in environmental protection, or lack thereof. In 1989, the legislature passed the Groundwater Protection Act which directs the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) to promote voluntary pollution prevention by reducing the use of chemical fertilizer. They also have the authority to impose rules if the voluntary prevention is not enough. These voluntary measure have not been enough, so as of June 2018, the MDA has held 17 public meetings across the state and has proposed a Groundwater Protection Rule to work with farmers and communities where the drinking water is already unsafe or approaching unsafe levels. Where this issue goes next will largely depend on our elected officials.

Here is where the candidates stand:

Jeff Johnson (R): Candidate Johnson does not address the environment as an issue on his website as he has downplayed the concern of climate change. In 2006, he did vote in favor of having a portion of sales tax dedicated to the environment and the arts, 30% of which would protect and restore Minnesota’s water.

Erin Murphy (D): Candidate Murphy supports strengthening efforts such as Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Standard to help Minnesota move away from fossil fuels. She wants to dramatically increase our use of electric vehicles by investing in the infrastructure to make electric vehicles an option for all Minnesotans throughout the state. She also wants to make serious investments in making buildings more efficient. She will work to expand Minnesota’s green energy portfolio to include more wind, solar, biomass, and other renewable options. She will invest more in the Natural Resources Research Institute in their pursuit of scientific advances capable of cleaning impaired drinking water, preventing impaired water, and reacting quickly to compromised water. She believes in making an $11 billion dollar bonding investment to update state and local waste and drinking water infrastructure to prevent water contamination in communities all over the state.

Tim Pawlenty (R): Candidate Pawlenty does not address the environment as an issue on his website. However, in 2003, as governor, he established the Clean Water Cabinet to coordinate and facilitate efforts to protect Minnesota’s waters. And, as stated above, he set the goal of 25% of energy generation to come from renewable resources by the year 2025 as governor in 2006. In 2011, during a speech at the University of Chicago, he said, “The Environmental Protection Agency is now regulating carbon emissions, a policy rejected by Congress, but putting millions of jobs at risk. We don't need the unelected officials at EPA to do what our elected officials in Congress have rejected. We need less EPA monitoring of our economy and more monitoring of EPA's effects on our freedom.” After his announcement of his bid for governor this year, he told the press corp, “The climate is always changing. …Here’s the good news: The United States of America, regardless of what you think about climate change, is leading the world in reducing carbon emissions. … We now have access to abundant and affordable American energy. … But we do not need, and we should not have, more government mandates or dictates about any of that. … Regardless of what you think of climate change, and the climate is changing.”

Tim Walz (D): Candidate Walz supports expanding Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Standard to ensure that by 2030, 50% of our energy comes from renewable sources. He supports reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 in all sectors of the economy. He will work with farmers on clean water solutions. He will work for tribal rights when assessing Minnesota projects as he has with the updates to the Enbridge Energy Line 3 oil pipeline which passes through tribal lands.

Education (MN Governor's Race)

Minnesota ranks 7th in the country for Pre-K-12 education. Our strengths in Pre-K-12 education come from our achievement in math (3rd) and reading (6th) as well as the quality of state-run Pre-K (6th). A strong education is linked to a strong and skilled workforce which is linked to a strong economy. I am an elementary public school teacher in a high achieving district and I think personal experience is important. So, in portions of this blog post, I will be sharing some of my own experience.

In the education world, a lot of weight and attention is given to educational researcher John Hattie. He synthesizes education research from around the world to determine effect size on student achievement. So, what matters according to research when it comes to a successful education? You can see the full list of how over 250 influences rank here. But, the number 1 factor related to student achievement is collective teacher efficacy.

Teachers
In politics and society as a whole, there seem to be two predominant views of teachers and public education. Which viewpoint you hold tends to dictate how you approach public education. The first is that teachers are trusted professionals with specific training and skills. They know how to impact the lives of young people in a positive manner which sets them up for on-going success. They work hard for the benefit of their students. Low achievement is a result of poverty and factors outside of school. The second is that anyone can be a teacher, with or without proper licensing, and while there are some good teachers, many public education teachers are ineffective. Low achievement is a result solely of these ineffective teachers that are unfairly protected by teacher tenure and teachers unions.

Let’s talk about teacher unions a bit. Teacher unions and collective bargaining are essential to fair teacher pay, workplace protections, and collective teacher efficacy which is the number one factor in student achievement. The word “collective” cannot be overlooked. Teachers should not be working in isolation competing against each other. They must be working together to impact student achievement. In our district, we have a saying. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Teacher unions are groups of teachers working together. How one sees teacher unions generally goes back to how one sees teachers. Are they trusted professionals working for the good of our students or complacent, ineffective freeloaders just showing up and collecting a paycheck?

One of the most contested teacher protections is tenure. In 1886, Massachusetts became the first state to pass a pre-college teacher tenure law. Prior to this, teachers were often fired for non-work related issues. Calls for teacher protections coincided with the labor movement and women’s suffrage movement of the late 19th century. The National Education Association advocated for public school teacher tenure to protect against gender and race discrimination, favoritism, and to protect political affiliation.

After the Great Depression, teacher unions began to negotiate for these protections. By 1940, 70% of K-12 teachers had such protections. By the 1950’s, it was over 80%. 1983 was a turning point for teacher tenure under the Ronald Reagan administration. Since then, many efforts have been made to reform or eliminate teacher tenure.

So, how does my personal experience inform my perspective? In my first three years of teaching I was on a probationary contract, and I could be terminated for any reason. Teachers are closely monitored and observed (including 3 formal administrative observations each year) during those first three years. Those who do not cut it, are terminated. In my ten years of teaching, I have seen many teachers terminated in their first 3 years. In my fourth year, I was granted a continuing contract which protects me from being fired for personal or political reasons and prevents me from being terminated to hire new, less expensive teachers. I can still be terminated for poor performance and this does happen. I absolutely fear losing my job. I also know of one teacher that was terminated with a continuing contract. However, for the most part, I have not seen any teacher granted a continuing contract that should not be in the profession or who has become complacent which is why this doesn’t happen very often. Teachers work hard and are passionate about what they do and highly skilled. You can’t sustain the job otherwise.

What about teacher pay? I know not all teachers will agree with me, but I believe I am paid fairly and that the current pay system is fair, equitable, and predictable. It’s a publicly funded profession. Schools don’t have endless amounts of money with which to offer raises to some teachers and not others. And, in my experience, there are no teachers I know who should get paid more or less than their colleagues. My base pay is based on my years of experience and level of education. Each year, a portion of my pay (a couple thousand dollars) is withheld until the end of the year when I have met all of the accountability requirements. This insures both fairness and accountability. There are no wage gaps in teaching. I get paid the same as anyone with my experience and education. There are no bonuses. However, if teachers do not meet all of the accountability requirements throughout the year, they do not get their full pay. And yes, this does happen. I personally know at least one colleague this has happened to. But again, I work in a high achieving district with high teacher efficacy, so I don’t personally know of it happening that often and it shouldn’t happen that often.

Minnesota Education Mandates
Education is largely impacted by elected officials. They have a lot of power and they use it. If education is an important issue to you, it matters who you vote for very much. The legislature makes the laws which determine everything from what schools must teach and how much, how teachers are licensed, and what food services must serve. The governor either vetoes those mandates or signs them into law. Here are some specific laws you may or may not know about:

• Each year, kindergarteners must receive 425 hours of instruction. All day kindergarten must receive 850 hours of instruction. 1st-6th graders must receive 935 hours of instruction. 7th-12th graders must receive 1,020 hours of instruction. All calendars for grades 1-11 must include 165 days of instruction.
• To graduate in Minnesota, you must complete 4 credits of language arts, 3 credits of math including algebra II, and 3 credits of science including 1 biology, 1 chemistry or physics, and 1 elective.
• A district is required to reserve 2% of its revenue for staff development.

The law also requires the commissioner of education to review all mandates every four years to find which mandates fail to promote public education, are underfunded, or are duplicative and report back to the legislature. This year 17 mandates were identified. Here are some of the highlights.

• The science graduation mandate was challenged as not promoting public education. It was recommended that the 3 credits required are physical science, life science, and an elective.
• Due to funding, many state level special education guidelines that go above federal guidelines were challenged in favor of just following federal guidelines. For example, Minnesota offers special education services from birth to 21 whereas the federal guideline is age 3 to age 21. Minnesota also has a number of provisions that must be included in the IEP of a student that is blind whereas the federal statute has no such requirement. The state requires a deaf and hard of hearing advisory board that is not required federally. The state requires early interventions in the classroom before an evaluation for special education is conducted. This is not a federal requirement. Minnesota requires specific case load limitations for special education teachers. Limits are not required by federal law.
• The law that requires most districts to start after Labor Day was challenged as not promoting public education.
• It was stated that 2% of revenue for staff development is not adequate.

Currently the legislature is considering a substantial amount of new mandates such as

• Allowing a student to be excused for up to 3 days to participate in activities necessary to join a branch of the military.
• Requiring substance abuse prevention curriculum for grades 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12 and requiring schools to include sexual exploitation prevention instruction in health curriculum including instruction on consent to reduce sexual assault.
• Requiring all students to screen for dyslexia between kindergarten and grade 2 as well as any student who shows symptoms from grade 2 on.
• Requiring the commissioner to administer MCA’s as late in the year as possible.
• Prohibiting school counselors from interfering with a student’s desire to enlist in the armed forces.
• Giving students privacy rights on school issued devices.
• Prohibiting schools from denying a school lunch to a student even if they have an outstanding balance.

Education Funding
Our elected officials are also the deciding factor on education funding, so once again, if education is an important issue to you, it matters who you vote for very much. According to the Minnesota Constitution, Article XIII, Section 1, “The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it is the duty of the legislature to establish a general and uniform system of public schools. The legislature shall make such provisions by taxation or otherwise as will secure a thorough and efficient system of public schools throughout the state.”

In Minnesota, schools are funded through three primary revenue sources: income and sales taxes, property taxes, and property tax levies in districts approved by voters. Given that property taxes and levies vary by districts, not all school funding is created equal. Overall, Minnesota ranks 18th in total per pupil spending. All 6 states that rank higher than Minnesota in Pre-K-12 education have higher per pupil spending.

In May of this year, 59 out of 336 Minnesota school districts were facing budget deficits. Minneapolis is facing the largest deficit. Deficits typically translate to teacher and staff layoffs (which translates to increased class sizes), cutting programs, and deferring building maintenance. At that time, Governor Dayton proposed a one time $138 million dollar emergency funding bill. Republicans included $225 million in their tax bill, but Dayton vetoed it which means the districts did not get the money they needed. Why would he do that? It was a matter of where the bill was getting the funds. $50 million was coming from money the DNR already owed the districts but was yet unpaid from public access fees they collect on school trust lands. The rest came from freeing up regulations on how schools use their staff development and community education funds which would allow them to transfer funds from their community education funds to their general funds. So, there wasn’t actually any new money. It was just suggesting the school take from one pot and move it to the other which translates to cuts in things like staff development and community education. This is very common. Additionally, it is extremely common for schools to have money owed to them and to have those debts continuously kicked down the line to pay for other things so that schools never get the money. St. Paul District Superintendent commented on the veto of the tax bill, “For St. Paul Public Schools, it means that we are going to enact a $17.2 million budget reduction. I knew that any funding that would have come out of a bill that was signed would not have made up for that entire deficit,” he said, adding he “thought that this year would give us just a little time, a little bit of money, to restore some services and supports that our students and schools need.”

The most vulnerable students are often affected the most. Schools can’t always predict their special education costs because those costs are based on enrollment predictions that can fluctuate. There is a massive special education funding gap. What state and federal governments provide, differs greatly from what special education services students actually require.

School Choice Movement
School choice allows families to redirect public education funds to private school, charter schools, or home schools. The most common school choice programs involve scholarship tax credits which exist in many states including Minnesota. The most controversial form of school choice is the school choice voucher program. Fifteen states have voucher programs, but not Minnesota. The movement gained prominence in 1990 with the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program is the largest voucher program.

Supporters of school choice say that it expands options for students with poor educational options in their neighborhood and gives parents options. They think public schools should be run like businesses subject to competition from other schools and closure if they don’t work.

Critics say that it redirects public school funds to private institutions in an effort to privatize education, therefore undermining public education. They say that schools cannot run like a business because students are not products. They say that public schools have to accept all students, but private schools don’t and public schools are hurt when their funds are diverted because the schools they are diverted from are already typically underfunded. Choice schools are not accountable to the public, oversight is often lax, and some choice schools violate separation of church and state (where tax dollars would be diverted to religious institutions through the choice program).

School Security
There is a lot of talk about school security in today’s political climate. To that, I can really just offer my own experience. At my school, all doors are locked at all times, including classroom doors. All people have to be buzzed into the front office, including staff, during the school day. We have a full time paid employee (hired within a month of Sandy Hook) whose sole job is to take ID’s, make badges for all visitors, and run background checks on volunteers. We have an armed officer walking the hallways. State law requires five lockdown drills a year.

Achievement & Opportunity Gaps
One of the most startling things I learned in my Reading Comprehension Instruction class was that by age 3, students from lower income families and upper income families have a 30 million word gap. Poverty is completely linked to reduced academic achievement. If affects physical, social-emotional, and cognitive readiness for school resulting in lower performance. John Hattie identifies just 17 negative effects on student achievement out of over 250 and a family being on welfare or state aid is one of them. Education can’t solve all of those problems, but funding of early childhood education for at-risk students is an essential component of bridging the achievement and opportunity gaps.

Higher Education
Minnesota ranks 23rd for higher education. We rank 4th for the amount of education for adults over the age of 25, but 45th for amount of debt at graduation (meaning that residents of states above us have less student loan debt)! Part of this could be because we rank 38th for tuition and fees.

Here is where the candidates stand on all of these issues related to education:
Jeff Johnson (R): (Teachers) Candidate Johnson wants to get rid of teacher tenure in favor of annual performance reviews with no limit to how much of a raise teacher can get, even though he will inevitably reduce funding for public schools. (Mandates & Funding) Candidate Johnson will eliminate every state mandate and regulation in place today and create a Minnesota School Finance Commission to determine the basic dollar amount schools need per pupil. He will then sign legislation requiring schools to provide a learning environment, curriculum, and instruction with access to a broad range of ideology making it clear that public education courses are not for political, ideological, religious, or anti-religious indoctrination. He says this is necessary due to students being discriminated against for challenging the left-wing ideology present in some schools. He also vows to install common sense graduation standards. (School Choice) In his first 50 days, he will bring a “parent trigger” law to Minnesota which will allow parents to petition for change in their school if it is chronically failing, transition to a charter school, or allow access to vouchers to move their child elsewhere. (School Security) He will assign legislation that allows districts to use existing funding to upgrade school security and explore the option of placing qualified armed retired police officers and veterans on school grounds. (Achievement & Opportunity Gaps) He supports the early learning scholarship program in which parents choose the best option for their child’s Pre-K education. (Higher Education) He will promote vocational and trade schools and allow private investment options for student loans.

Erin Murphy (D): (Teachers) She supports collective bargaining and high-quality teacher licensure programs. (Mandates & Funding) Candidate Murphy will re-evaluate the use of standardized tests in our schools. She says she will make sure public schools have the tools and resources they need. (Achievement & Opportunity Gaps) Candidate Murphy will invest in early learning opportunities and voluntary Pre-K for every child. She will fund full-service community schools that support students and their families inside and outside the classroom. She will ensure the teacher workforce is diverse and reflects the student population. (Higher Education) She will guarantee access to career and technical education. She wants to invest in technical programs and apprenticeships while still in high school. She supports 2 years of free higher education. She supports free-tuition to four year programs for families who make less than $150,000 a year. She wants to expand refinancing options and student loan forgiveness programs to help those who have already graduated.

Tim Pawlenty (R): Candidate Pawlenty does not address this issue on his website. However, in 2009, when Pawlenty was governor over a third of Minnesota school districts were forced to borrow to pay their bills due to Pawlenty’s budget planning. He delayed payment of $1.2 billion to Minnesota schools to balance the state budget. This forced districts to borrow as the money promised to them wouldn’t come until the next budget which resulted in interest payments for the schools, as well.

Tim Walz (D): Candidate Walz was a high school teacher for 20 years. (Teachers) He sees teachers as trusted professionals and believes they are best equipped to make the decisions that impact their classrooms and students. He believes in raising salaries. (Mandates & Funding) He will fully and equitably fund schools and avoid the budget tricks of past administrations (kicking the can down the road). He will prioritize funding coming from the state so that districts aren’t dependent on property taxes which create racial and economic disparities in education. (School Choice) He is opposed to voucher programs. (Achievement & Opportunity Gap) He wants resources and support professionals in all schools, such as counselors and nurses. He support universal Pre-K. He will recruit educators of color by offering loan forgiveness for teachers of color willing to work in high need fields. (Higher Education) He will provide 2 years free education at Minnesota state institutions for families who make less than $125,000 a year.

Economy (MN Governor's Race)

Republican voters often cite the economy as their primary reason for voting Republican claiming that Democrats kill the economy with their free-wheeling socialist ways and out of control government spending. Democrat voters often cite Republicans pandering to the top 1% as killers of the economy for the remaining 99%. So, when we are talking about the economy, what are we really talking about and what is the current state of the Minnesota economy?

GDP
The strength of an economy is measured by GDP. The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) includes everything a country or state produces by the people and the companies in the state or country, or our total output. The GDP growth rate measures if an economy is growing more quickly or more slowly than the quarter before. Ideally, the growth rate should be between 2-3%. When the GDP growth rate turns negative, we enter a recession. During a recession income, employment, manufacturing, and retail sales drop in addition to GDP. Healthy income, employment, manufacturing, retail sales, and GDP are signs of a healthy economy. Unhealthy numbers are signs of an unhealthy economy. Here is a chart of annual percentage change of GDP in Minnesota from 2000 to 2017. If you click on one link, click on this one. For additional context, Jesse Ventura (I) was governor from 2000-2003. Tim Pawlenty (R) was governor from 2003-2011 and Mark Dayton (D) has been governor since 2011. For comparison, here are the national numbers.

Let’s examine the Minnesota economy by comparing it to another midwestern state that has had drastically different policies over the past 8 years: Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s economic policy has focused on cutting taxes for the rich, shrinking government through spending cuts, and weakening unions. Minnesota’s economic policies have focused on raising the minimum wage, strengthening labor standards, and boosting public investment in education and infrastructure. What have been the effects?

Jobs & Wages
Minnesota has added more jobs than Wisconsin every year since 2010 and has now passed Wisconsin in overall number of jobs. Additionally, wages have grown faster at every decile in the wage distribution. Median household income grew by 7.2% from 2010 to 2016 versus 5.1% in Wisconsin. In fact, median household income increased over twice as fast in Minnesota than the United States as a whole between 2010 and 2013. It grew 4.4% in the US as a whole and 9.5% in Minnesota. As of November of 2017, median household income was $61,492. Between 2010 and 2017, women’s median wage rose by 5.4% in Minnesota compared to only 0.8% in Wisconsin. Men’s median wage grew by 1.6% and actually fell by 0.9% in Wisconsin. Wisconsin also saw the largest decline in union membership of any state between 2010 and 2017 due to the loss of collective bargaining rights in 2011 and the “right to work” law.

Unemployment in Minnesota fell to 2.5% in May, a near record low. It is consistently ranked below the national unemployment rate. While many state’s labor forces have shrunk due to the retirement of baby boomers, Minnesota ranks third for labor force participation and the 7th best state for employment.

Economic Disparities
Minnesota certainly sounds pretty good, right? Unfortunately, this isn’t true for all Minnesotans. Minnesota ranks 47th in the unemployment gap between white and nonwhite residents and 44th for the racial gap for wealth.

Minimum Wage
Starting January 1, 2018, Minnesota minimum wage became $9.65/hr for large employers and $7.87/hr for other state minimum wages. Current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. An estimated 225,000 in Minnesota will earn less than $9.65/hr. Due to inflation, today’s minimum wage is worth less than when its value peaked in 1968. California passed a law that increases the minimum wage to $15/hr by January 1, 2022. New York followed suit passing a law to raise the minimum wage to $15/hr by the end of 2018. Washington, D.C. passed legislation to do so by July 1, 2020. For more on the minimum wage debate at the federal level, see my blog post from the 2016 presidential election here.

Labor Unions and Collective Bargaining
Labor unions organizing and negotiating over the years have brought about numerous worker protections including the 40 hour work week, paid leave, overtime pay, child labor laws, workers comp, unemployment insurance, pensions, safety standards and regulations, employer health care insurance, raises, sexual harassment laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and holiday pay, among many other protections. Unions use collective bargaining to negotiate wages and other conditions of employment using the concept that they are stronger and more powerful together as one voice instead of separate individuals.

When the 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 became law on June 29, 2011 it outlawed collective bargaining which affected compensation, retirement, health insurance (it doubled health care premiums for state employees), and sick leave for public employees.

Another movement to weaken unions are “Right to Work” laws where workers can opt out of union dues, but still benefit from the collective bargaining power, significantly weakening the union’s funding and power. The Supreme Court’s Janus decision this week made all states “Right to Work” states.

Taxes & Spending
One of the reasons Minnesota is such a great place to live is due to our steady stream of revenue and regular budget surpluses. I looked at a couple of different sources to see how Minnesota compares nationally. In one, Minnesota is the fourth highest taxed state behind New York, Hawaii, Maine, and Vermont. Our total tax burden is 10.37% of our income including property taxes, income taxes, and sales taxes. In another, Minnesota was 9th at 10.8% behind New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Rhode Island. Either way, Minnesota generates ample revenue and is frequently placed on best of lists for a variety of measures of quality of life.

So, where does the money go? The pie chart below shows state spending for the 2018 Fiscal Year. One of the greatest political debates of all time is around taxes and government spending. Some are for limited government and very little spending. But, on the other hand, that reduces funding for many programs, services, and products that many Minnesotans depend on.

Source: https://www.usgovernmentspending.com/minnesota_state_spending.html

Here is where the candidates stand on policies which would affect the economy:

Jeff Johnson-R: (Taxes) Candidate Johnson will push for legislation that cuts income taxes across the board and oppose any tax that has an automatic increase. He will push to end taxation of social security benefits and push for legislation to end the business property tax. He will also fight for a cap on property tax increases. (Spending) He wants to cut spending across the board and will not sign a budget that isn’t lower than the previous year’s budget for each agency. In his first week, he plans to audit every government program to determine which are a effective and which are not. Those that are not will be eliminated. He also wants to institute an Automatic Taxpayer Refund provision that automatically returns surplus tax revenue to the taxpayers. (Jobs) He plans to eliminate one regulation for each new regulation created. He will promote vocational and trade schools to fill the need for skilled workers. His administration's policy will be to purchase goods and services from Minnesota based companies. He will measure agency’s effectiveness based on how quickly and efficiently they are able to make a permit decision.

Erin Murphy-D: (Workers’ Rights) Candidate Murphy supports raising the state’s minimum wage to $15/hr and ensuring that all workers have access to paid sick time. She supports labor and collective bargaining. (Jobs) She supports infrastructure investment and job creation through expanding broadband access, increasing use of electric vehicles, and repairing outdated waste and drinking water infrastructure. She believes that supporting Main Street businesses, helping young farmers with start-up costs, and investing in innovation will encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship and economy.

Tim Pawlenty-R: (Jobs) Candidate Pawlenty links good paying jobs to a quality education. He says he will make sure schools are properly funded while holding them accountable for reform and better results. Part of that reform will be to re-emphasize vocational and techinical training in high schools and beyond. (Taxes) He says that we need a tax code that allows businesses to grow and provide good paying jobs while still providing needed services.

Lori Swanson-D: Candidate Swanson is so far the most difficult candidate to find clear stances and policy proposals from. She touts her legal record and has written a series of articles on her vision for Minnesota, but she doesn’t come out and state where she stands on each issue, so I am going to stop covering her for now.

Tim Walz-D: (Jobs) Candidate Walz will fully fund Pre-K to K-12 education to create a workforce that keeps Minnesota moving forward. He will support initiatives like expanding broadband to connect rural residents to the internet. He will improve infrastructure by passing a $1 billion dollar bonding bill. He supports re-investing in the Minnesota Investment Fund and the Minnesota Job Creation Fund which help start-up companies create new jobs. (Taxes) He supports expanding the Working Family Tax Credit which is for working individuals whose income is below a certain level and making sure the top 1% pay their fair share in taxes. (Workers’ Rights) Candidate Walz will increase the minimum wage to $15/hr. He will improve and expand sick time laws and ensure that workers aren’t penalized for using their sick time. He will expand paid family leave. He will fight for fair scheduling rules that ensure that workers receive proper notification, are compensated for last minute changes, and have breaks between shifts. He will protect collective bargaining rights and unions.

Child Care (MN Governor's Race)

Child Care Costs

In 78% of Minnesota households, both parents work. Yet, Minnesota has one of the highest child care costs in the country. The average cost to have your infant in a center in the metro area is $340/week. That’s $17,680 a year. And, that’s the average. For in-home daycares, the average is $188.00/week. In rural areas, the average for a center is $216/week which equals $11,232 a year. The in-home average in rural areas is $142.00/week. Keep in mind, these are the averages for one child.

Our oldest is now 6. When he was an infant, we sent him to an in-home daycare and it cost $215 a week which included food and diapers. Our youngest just turned 1. We sent her to a center and it cost us $389 per week and didn’t include diapers. With the addition of before and after school care for our oldest, we were spending $200 more per month on child care than we were on our mortgage. I am home with both of them now for the summer which saves on these costs.

Child Care Shortage
We are lucky that we had options for care. There is a severe shortage of child care in much of the state. Between 2006 and 2015, the number of licensed in home child care providers decreased by 27% across the state which translates to a loss of about 36,500 spaces. Rural areas are the hardest hit by this, and in some cases, entire communities are without access to care. Infants are the hardest to find care for which has serious implications for women who would like to return to the workforce after having a baby. Low-income families and single-parent families are especially hard hit as low-income families are less likely to have paid leave.

There are many reasons for this, but one is the increased amount of regulation that the Minnesota Association of Child Care Professionals says has nothing to do with the safety of the children in their care and is causing caregivers to leave the profession. In May, the Minnesota State Senate unanimously passed a bill that gave more leeway on staff qualifications and allowed more leeway on staff to child ratios if some infants or toddlers were only part time. Another that passed unanimously was an exemption from a training rule that was intended to apply to centers that cared for the developmentally disabled, but was applying to all centers. A third bill passed with a handful of no votes that reduced what was needed for background checks of minors present at in-home day cares. They formerly needed to be fingerprinted and photographed. The bill made it so they would just need to provide a legal name and birth date. According to the Minnesota Association of Child Care Professionals, the minor fingerprint bill was one of the number one regulations causing providers to leave the industry.

Child Care Assistance Program & Fraud
The Legislature hasn’t been discussing changes to state reimbursements that help low-income families pay for care. One of those programs would be the Child Care Assistance Program which is a program out of the Minnesota Department of Human Services. It provides financial assistance to low income families to pay for child care so they can seek employment or education that will lead to employment. It serves more than 30,000 children currently. It is dependent on providers registering for the program to seek reimbursement. However, some providers see the reimbursement rates as too low to cover costs and decline to enroll eligible children for the subsidized care. Eligibility varies based on the size of the household.

Recently, there has been an outcry on how easy it is for providers to defraud the government under this program. According to daycare provider, Becky Swanson, a parent brings the child to the childcare center or the childcare provider and parent signs the child in, but they don’t leave the child. The parent’s signature allows the provider to claim that day as a day of care. So if you’re a parent of two, and if your provider charges $150 a week per child, the provider claims $300 for two children for the week even though they were not in daycare. As of May, there were 10 open investigations into daycare fraud. The state has closed 13 centers since it formed a fraud investigation unit in 2014.

Child Care Tax Credit
The Minnesota Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit is also intended to offset child care costs. But, you may only claim up to $3,000 for one child and up to $6,000 for two or more. The statewide average for one child is $16,120 for center care and $8,528 for in-home care. To be eligible for the full credit (which is 35% of those claimed expenses), you have to show documentation that someone else cared for your child and you must make less than $50,000. The credit phases out if you make more than $50,000 and you become ineligible if you make more than $62,000 for one qualifying dependent, or more than $74,000 for 2 or more qualifying dependents.

Paid Parental Leave
The final issue that falls under this umbrella is paid parental leave. The United States is the only developed country in the world that has no guaranteed paid leave. 1 in 4 American moms have no choice but to return to work when their child is just 2 weeks old. 87% of parents have no access to paid leave through their employers. Each additional month a parent has paid leave, the infant mortality rate goes down 13%. Americans have the highest infant mortality rate in the world. Countries that enact paid family leave see infant mortality rates decrease. They also see a decrease in high school dropout rates, a rise in college attendance, and higher incomes at age 30. Babies whose mothers don’t have paid leave are less likely to nurse or be taken to the doctor. When they become toddlers, they have more behavioral problems and score lower on cognitive tests. While I am citing national numbers here, this is an issue that has yet to be taken up federally and will not be any time soon as it an issue that is historically voted down under Republican leadership like the United States currently has. Therefore, it becomes a state’s issue.



Here is where the candidates stand:

Jeff Johnson-R: Candidate Johnson’s sister, Jodi Olson, runs a daycare out of her home in Detroit Lakes. That’s all I could find that was even remotely related to the above issues.

Erin Murphy-D: Candidate Murphy says, “The lack of affordable, accessible child care is holding too many Minnesotans back from entering the workforce and it’s having adverse effects on our local economy.” She says she will work with communities all over the state to ensure quality childcare that is available and affordable, but has not outlined a specific plan, as of yet. Following her endorsement from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), she stated, “As governor, I’ll continue to stand up and fight for livable wages, access to paid sick time and paid family leave.”

Tim Pawlenty-R: Candidate Pawlenty is focused on the child care fraud issues more than anything else. On his website, he cites, “childcare providers allegedly defrauding the state of a massive amount of money and sending some of that money to terrorists overseas” as a reason “state government needs to be held more accountable.” In 2003, Governor Pawlenty’s budget doubled the copays for low-income families receiving state-subsidized health care under the Child Care Assistance program.

Lori Swanson-D: Candidate Swanson has been criticized and protested for not catching and prosecuting the day care fraud. I couldn’t find her stance on any of the above issues, but Matt Pelikan, the current DFL-endorsed candidate for Minnesota Attorney General (Swanson’s current job) slammed her for not providing paid parental leave to her staffers.

Tim Walz-D: Candidate Walz plans to increase the Child and Dependent Care tax credit that is available to low-income families in an effort to help cover the costs of child care. He also plans to increase the income eligibility limits so that more people are eligible for the credit. He plans to fully fund an forecast the Child Care Assistance Program. He says he will remove red tape and fees that make opening and running a daycare challenging. He plans to open a Child Care Innovation Center that will offer seed money, training, and technical assistance to those who want to open a child care program. Additionally, he supports progressive paid leave policies so that parents can stay home to welcome a new member of the family. Candidate Walz is the only candidate to have child care as an official part of their platform.

Cannabis (MN Governor's Race)

The legalization of marijuana is an issue that has quickly gained steam in recent years. In 2014, a Star Tribune poll showed that just 30% of respondents favored legalization while 63% opposed. A poll at the State Fair in 2017 showed that 50.6% favored full legalization. Nationally, a Quinnipac University poll in April of 2018 showed support for legalization had his an all time high at 63% with support for medical marijuana at 93%. In Minnesota, cannabis is legal for medical purposes, but illegal for recreational use. Minnesota became the 22nd state to legalize medical marijuana in 2014 when Governor Mark Dayton did so for conditions such as cancer, seizures, and some chronic diseases. He has been opposed to recreational legalization.

In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational use of marijuana with ballot initiatives. Alaska, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and the District of Columbia have all followed suit. Significantly, Vermont legalized it through their state legislature without a ballot initiative, becoming the first state to do so.

What are the benefits of doing so? Marijuana sales create millions to billions (California) in tax revenue and most states have it written into the law that a portion of that money will benefit public education. For example, for the 2017-2018 school year, the Colorado Department of Education received 90.3 million from marijuana revenue. Keep in mind, though, that that won’t solve all of the financial issues in public education, as overall K-12 education funding for the state of Colorado was 5.6 billion for the 2017-2018 school year. In Washington, which generates about $700 million in tax revenue, more than half of the revenue is dedicated to public health programs such as expanding Medicade or funding substance abuse programs.

Another benefit is tourism. 82.4 million travelers visited Colorado in 2016. 15% of those visitors engaged in some marijuana related activity and 5% named it as the motivation for their trip giving Colorado more tourists than most states.

The legalization of marijuana would also lead to a decline in marijuana related arrests and the costs of prosecuting them and imprisoning them. Marijuana arrests and incarcerations disproportionately affect people of color despite the fact that 5 times as many whites are using drugs as blacks. Nationally, blacks are sent to prison for drug offenses at a rate of 10 times the rate of whites. African American serve nearly as much time in prison for non-violent drug offenses (58.7 months) as whites do for violent offenses (61.7 months). In Minnesota, blacks are 6.4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites.

Why do people oppose it? Some still view it as a public safety and health risk. It is a drug, after all. Others say it’s just about big business making money at the expense of the consumer and cite concerns about the industry having no federal oversight since marijuana is illegal at the federal level. Therefore, there are no quality standards or oversight on the growth, processing, packaging, or sale. Data is severely lacking for long-term studies on the effects on society for legalization. They point to the addictive qualities and the inevitability that the marijuana industry will market to children, much like the tobacco industry, and the industry will continue to seek new and increasingly frequent users in order to make money. They say we have enough issues with tobacco and alcohol and don’t need yet another legal intoxicant.

Here is where the candidates stand:

Jeff Johnson-R: Candidate Johnson supported the 2014 bill that legalized medical marijuana, but is opposed to recreational marijuana legalization. In 2014, he was the only GOP gubernatorial candidate to support medical marijuana. Concerning recreational marijuana, he says, “My focus will be on fixing those things that are making life difficult for Minnesota’s middle class. Not legalizing pot.”

Erin Murphy-D: Candidate Murphy supports legalizing marijuana use for recreational purposes including record expungement, a process for releasing non-violent offenders, and support for them as they transition out of the criminal justice system. She also supports expanding the medical cannabis program so that doctors could prescribe medical cannabis to any patient they see fit. She says that this would give doctor’s more tools to help people manage pain and would reduce use of opioids. She is the only candidate to address this issue as a part of her vision on her website.

Tim Pawlenty-R: Back in 2009, as governor, Candidate Pawlenty vetoed a bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana. He claimed he was “sympathetic to those dealing with end of life illness” but he felt that marijuana posed “serious public safety and health risks.” I could not find any updated position.

Lori Swanson-D: Candidate Swanson has made no public statements on this issue and I could not find anything concerning her position.

Tim Walz-D: Candidate Walz supports the legalization of marijuana for recreational uses. As part of his work in Washington as a congressman, he has been active in trying to get medicinal marijuana to military veterans. Additionally, he notes, “The system we have had was that we looked the other way, unless you’re a person of color, in which case you face the threat of arrest and incarceration.” He has also stated, “We have an opportunity in Minnesota to replace the current failed policy with one that creates tax revenue, grows jobs, builds opportunities for Minnesotans, protects Minnesota kids, and trusts adults to make personal decisions based on their personal freedoms.”