Guest Post: A Time to Act for Minnesota by Mayor Chris Coleman
Thursday, September 06, 2007 at 2:44 pm
- 22 Comments
In the hours after the I-35W bridge collapsed, there was a moment when Minnesota’s politics were worthy of national respect. Leaders came together across jurisdictions and political parties and were clear about our priorities: rescue the injured, find the lost, understand what happened and why, rebuild the bridge, and commit ourselves to creating long-term solutions to short-term budget issues. We knew there were tough decisions to be made, but we resolved to make them. In that instant, we understood the obligations of leadership.
The framework for moving forward was clear. Not only did we need to address the calamity in front of us, but we needed to finish the business of the 2007 session. Local Government Aid, as approved by the Legislature and previously agreed to by the governor, is a key part of that business.
Let me take a minute to explain why.
Local Government Aid was created in 1971 as part of the “Minnesota Miracle” – a package of property tax reforms designed to promote economic growth throughout the state without placing an unfair burden on any given community. The objective was to use the income tax revenue the state collects from individuals and businesses based on their ability to pay to compensate communities asked to meet higher levels of need. It added an important progressive element to our tax system.
Gov. Wendell Anderson and the members of the Legislature understood what the Itasca Group and the Brookings Study documented 35 years later – that disparities in education and income across the region stifle economic growth for the whole state. The Minnesota Miracle was the legislative reflection of Paul Wellstone’s favorite adage, “We all do better when we all do better.” And just as those forward-thinking political leaders in the 1971 Legislature had planned – we all did better.
If Minnesota wants to compete for the “creative class” – that group of young people who will find the cure for cancer or invent the tools we will need to reduce our consumption of carbon-based fuels or be the next batting champion or start the next 3M, Best Buy or Ecolab – St. Paul must grow and prosper.
In order for St. Paul and the entire state to grow and prosper, we need to set the table with good transit, clean developable land and the infrastructure to promote economic development. Our cities have to be vibrant places that connect with the natural environment, promote the arts and bring people together.
Minnesota used to depend on being one of the most highly ranked states with respect to educational attainment, public health, entrepreneurship, environmental quality and on and on. Those rankings require a higher level of local investment than our property-tax payers can – or should be asked to – afford. Each year that we fail to fully fund LGA, we allow Minnesota to fall further and further behind. None of us wants to be part of a race to the bottom.
Local Government Aid grew out of the fundamental truth that we, in Minnesota, share a common destiny. From Warroad to Winona and from St. James to St. Paul, we are one state, bound together by a common future. For a moment last month, as we stared into the river and tried to fathom what had happened, we understood that. There was important work to be done and, for a moment, we didn’t care who got the credit. And, as is usually the case when we focus our energies around important work, the distractions fell away and we discovered that there was credit enough for everyone.
It seems that we have lost that moment and have returned to business as usual. Meeting behind closed doors. Gauging political risks. Trading accusations. Digging in our heels. We’ve returned to business as usual and, in the process, lost track of the people’s business.
There is time to reclaim the moment and the opportunity it represents. It doesn’t matter that it is September, not May. It doesn’t matter who said what to whom. What matters is that we have been given this day and this opportunity to lead. We have been given the opportunity to serve this great state. It’s time to be about the people’s business. It’s time for a special session. On behalf of cities throughout the state and the property-tax payers they represent, I ask the governor and legislative leadership to put aside politics as usual and get the job done for the people of Minnesota.
Chris Coleman is mayor of St. Paul
22 Comments
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 4:08 pm
Excuse me but Isn’t this the same fellow who, along with five of his closest friends just thumbed his nose at a $1.5 billion dollar investment for his city?
Did I not read, just this morning, that Mayor Chris Coleman applauded the loss of $1.5 billion that would have put more than 400,000 sq. ft. of tax paying retail businesses in his lap?
$1.5 billion that would have added 1,500 very expensive (read highly taxed) riverfront homes onto the tax rolls?
$1.5 billion worth of restraunts and cafe’s ?
And not even 24 hours later he is out here with his hat in hand looking for a state bailout?
And there is more.
Local Government Aid..aid as in help. Prudent financial managers know that aid is not counted upon to balance the budget, nor is it meant to bail out incompetant politicians whose promises end up costing more that the city’s budget can bear.
Truly, I am astonished at this fellow’s gall.
BTW, is this Coleman by any chance related to Nick Coleman the columnist? I detect a similarity that shared blood would certianly explain.
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 5:20 pm
Check the archives for coverage of the Bridges debate There’s been a long, drawn-out debate over the Bridges project, which was covered in some depth by one of our former reporters, Sara Reller.
Last I checked, it wasn’t a secret that Chris and Nick Coleman are brothers. Of course, if you’re more interested in making a dramatic flourish with thinly veiled insults than in assessing the quality and content of Mayor Coleman’s op-ed…
Nah, couldn’t be.
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 6:04 pm
Remarkable stupidity
“Isn’t this the same fellow who, along with five of his closest friends just thumbed his nose at a $1.5 billion dollar investment for his city?”
No, it isn’t.
This is the guy who said “no” to $125M in handouts to a private developer.
If you can’t see the difference, you’ll only make a fool of yourself. I mean, counting the TIF portion of a development as an “investment” by the developer? My, you’re rather fast and loose with public money!
(More likely just not very bright)
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 6:12 pm
Of course you’re correct. Make that a $1.375 Billion dollar investment; silly me.
Lucky for the rest of you that there is a financial wizard amongst us to keep dullards such as myself between the lines!
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 6:22 pm
Wikipedia! Of course..the journalists first stop for everything that needs knowing.
Heavens knows why it wasn’t in my bookmarked favorites already.
There may well have been, as you say, a long drawn out debate. I am left wondering “so what?”
The inescapable conclusion is that despite that worthy intercourse, the elected “managers” of the city of Saint Paul decided they didn’t need an enormous development that promised hundreds of new jobs as well as huge tax reciepts on Wednesday evening, and showed up the first thing Thursday morning shaking a tin cup at the rest of the state.
That may pass for leadership in Saint Paul, but it leaves the rest of us shaking our heads in wonderment.
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 6:38 pm
CNN Colemans I have enough trouble keeping Chris Coleman, Nick Coleman, and Norm Coleman straight.
I might have to delete some old Zorro memories to have enough storage for the millions, billions, and trillions!
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 6:51 pm
Guest Post? I have seen this “post” as an editorial in the Pioneer Press and several other websites.
Additionally, the same exact “post” can be found on the City of Saint Paul’s website: http://www.stpaul.go…
Do you really think it is appropriate to suggest that the Mayor has chosen this venue to shake his tin cup when in fact he is apparently working every “street corner” on the internet and print media?
Could it be that someone merely cut the Mayor’s plea and pasted here calling it a “post”?
Nah.
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 7:26 pm
Earlier C&N Coleman Query? Probably as appropriate as the semi-question about the CN(N) Coleman brothers ancestry@twincities
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 7:55 pm
Is there magic in the term “post”? It’s a guest post. Posts are merely content published in a blog format. We don’t claim to publish it first, nor do we say it’s exclusive content. What we do offer that, say, the Pioneer Press doesn’t is a quick, easy way for you to offer your feedback. Thanks for doing so.
Comment posted September 7, 2007 @ 11:00 am
the piece was sent to us by his office thank you for your concern
Comment posted September 7, 2007 @ 11:02 am
Nick Coleman frequently mentions that Chris is his brother in his columns http://64.233.167.10…
I would recommend you go back to monitoring Nick more like you did in the good old days “Monitor Exposer”.
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 11:08 am
Excuse me but Isn't this the same fellow who, along with five of his closest friends just thumbed his nose at a $1.5 billion dollar investment for his city?
Did I not read, just this morning, that Mayor Chris Coleman applauded the loss of $1.5 billion that would have put more than 400,000 sq. ft. of tax paying retail businesses in his lap?
$1.5 billion that would have added 1,500 very expensive (read highly taxed) riverfront homes onto the tax rolls?
$1.5 billion worth of restraunts and cafe's ?
And not even 24 hours later he is out here with his hat in hand looking for a state bailout?
And there is more.
Local Government Aid..aid as in help. Prudent financial managers know that aid is not counted upon to balance the budget, nor is it meant to bail out incompetant politicians whose promises end up costing more that the city's budget can bear.
Truly, I am astonished at this fellow's gall.
BTW, is this Coleman by any chance related to Nick Coleman the columnist? I detect a similarity that shared blood would certianly explain.
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 12:20 pm
Check the archives for coverage of the Bridges debate There's been a long, drawn-out debate over the Bridges project, which was covered in some depth by one of our former reporters, Sara Reller.
Last I checked, it wasn't a secret that Chris and Nick Coleman are brothers. Of course, if you're more interested in making a dramatic flourish with thinly veiled insults than in assessing the quality and content of Mayor Coleman's op-ed…
Nah, couldn't be.
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 1:04 pm
Remarkable stupidity
“Isn't this the same fellow who, along with five of his closest friends just thumbed his nose at a $1.5 billion dollar investment for his city?”
No, it isn't.
This is the guy who said “no” to $125M in handouts to a private developer.
If you can't see the difference, you'll only make a fool of yourself. I mean, counting the TIF portion of a development as an “investment” by the developer? My, you're rather fast and loose with public money!
(More likely just not very bright)
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
Of course you're correct. Make that a $1.375 Billion dollar investment; silly me.
Lucky for the rest of you that there is a financial wizard amongst us to keep dullards such as myself between the lines!
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
Wikipedia! Of course..the journalists first stop for everything that needs knowing.
Heavens knows why it wasn't in my bookmarked favorites already.
There may well have been, as you say, a long drawn out debate. I am left wondering “so what?”
The inescapable conclusion is that despite that worthy intercourse, the elected “managers” of the city of Saint Paul decided they didn't need an enormous development that promised hundreds of new jobs as well as huge tax reciepts on Wednesday evening, and showed up the first thing Thursday morning shaking a tin cup at the rest of the state.
That may pass for leadership in Saint Paul, but it leaves the rest of us shaking our heads in wonderment.
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
CNN Colemans I have enough trouble keeping Chris Coleman, Nick Coleman, and Norm Coleman straight.
I might have to delete some old Zorro memories to have enough storage for the millions, billions, and trillions!
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 1:51 pm
Guest Post? I have seen this “post” as an editorial in the Pioneer Press and several other websites.
Additionally, the same exact “post” can be found on the City of Saint Paul's website: http://www.stpaul.go…
Do you really think it is appropriate to suggest that the Mayor has chosen this venue to shake his tin cup when in fact he is apparently working every “street corner” on the internet and print media?
Could it be that someone merely cut the Mayor's plea and pasted here calling it a “post”?
Nah.
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 2:26 pm
Earlier C&N; Coleman Query? Probably as appropriate as the semi-question about the CN(N) Coleman brothers ancestry@twincities
Comment posted September 6, 2007 @ 2:55 pm
Is there magic in the term “post”? It's a guest post. Posts are merely content published in a blog format. We don't claim to publish it first, nor do we say it's exclusive content. What we do offer that, say, the Pioneer Press doesn't is a quick, easy way for you to offer your feedback. Thanks for doing so.
Comment posted September 7, 2007 @ 6:00 am
the piece was sent to us by his office thank you for your concern
Comment posted September 7, 2007 @ 6:02 am
Nick Coleman frequently mentions that Chris is his brother in his columns http://64.233.167.10…
I would recommend you go back to monitoring Nick more like you did in the good old days “Monitor Exposer”.
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