Commentary; Posted: 11/13/02

Voters respond to no tax increase promise

Don Heinzman

The problems of Minnesota and the suburbs, in particular, will be addressed by a Republican governor and suburban Republican legislators. How this suburban Republican power flexes this muscle remains to be seen.

One factor is obvious. Voters in the suburbs, concerned about the economy, responded to a promise of no increase in taxes and accountability for government spending.

Governor-elect Tim Pawlenty, is a product of the suburban way of governing, with roots in South St. Paul and his home in Eagan where he was a council member. He knows problems of the suburbs, particularly the unbelievable traffic congestion and the need to fund public education.

He endorsed the last local levy election in his home school district, where he has two children in school.

Young, bright, articulate and politically savvy, Governor-elect Pawlenty will be a welcome contrast to the Ventura administration. As he said, because he has a majority of Republicans in the House and a closely divided Senate, he will be able to get things done.

He has a history of hard work, asking tough questions and saying ìno.î He intends to look at each departmentís mission, why it exists, the benchmarks, and the funding.

Pawlenty is a numbers person as well as an attorney. He says the state budget went from $13 billion to $27 billion in 10 years while the population went up 12 percent and inflation 3 percent. Government, he says, must live within its means and he hopes only to slow down the rate of spending.

Thatís the thinking that resonated with voters in the suburbs on Nov. 5.

There is, however, an irony in this Republican Legislative victory in the suburbs. Granted many suburban residents are conservative in their outlook, guarding against tax increases, and struggling to pay for homes and raise families in ìinstantî communities. All the events leading up to the election following the tragic death of Paul and Sheila Wellstone energized the big turnout in the suburbs.

The irony is that the Republican legislators from Governor-elect Pawlenty on down are pledged to keep taxes low at a time when school districts in the suburbs need more funds. During his campaign, Governor-elect Pawlenty said he would increase the state aid formula by the cost of living percentage.

The irony is that the Republican legislators oppose a multi-modal approach in transportation, particularly commuter rail, that holds some promise of reducing traffic congestion, one of the biggest problems in the suburban area.

Governor-elect Pawlenty is hoping the deficit projection of $3 billion is wrong and that the economy will bounce back and restrict the dollars that have to be cut.

With K-12 education, higher education, and human services accounting for a major part of the budget, Pawlenty will have to have a magic wand to avoid a tax increase.

The governor-elect is an exciting choice because he will be looking for accountability measures to assure that dollars spent will yield results

His suggestion to bond to finance a transportation system that ìworksî for thousands of commuters has real potential for immediate solution to traffic bottle-necks.

Governor-elect Pawlenty and his Republican colleagues will ask the hard questions in this next legislative session.

Will the answers solve the problems in the suburbs which elected so many Republican legislators a week ago?

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