| If either (or both) R.T. Rybak and Chris Coleman eventually decide to run for Governor, they will have built up quite a stable of ammunition to use against outgoing governor Tim Pawlenty.
Both mayors are hitting back against Pawlenty's attacks against local spending patterns.
Last week on his radio show, Pawlenty used a tired old line about the Cathedral being the last thing built in St. Paul without a public subsidy. In response, Mayor Coleman's office sent out a powerpoint presentation containing 22 examples of projects built without public money. Accompanying the document, Coleman spokesman Bob Hume said "I know that the Governor is busy studying Iowa and New Hampshire, but as with this, the Como Circulator, or LGA, he's wildly out of touch with what's going on in Saint Paul."
Further west in Minneapolis, the office of Mayor R.T. Rybak put up a blog post countering attacks against Minneapolis' construction of artistic drinking fountains (and the way the city paid for them): On several occasions, Governor Pawlenty has made false statements that were critical of Minneapolis and Mayor Rybak's fiscal discipline. At a time when the State budget is again in chaos, Governor Pawlenty should not be giving financial advice, especially when that advice is based on misinformation. Minneapolis' fiscal prudence stands up against the State's any day.
In particular, Gov. Pawlenty has commented on Minneapolis' plan to build public drinking fountains that are designed by artists. I'd like to assert a little bit of truth about these public art drinking fountains.
First of all, the drinking fountains in question are funded with dedicated revenue streams that are completely separate from the City's General Fund and have nothing to do with the amount of local government aid (LGA) the City gets from the State.
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Even if the City cut all funding for these drinking fountains and cut all funding for all public art, the LGA cuts the Governor has proposed would have the exact same impact on the city. None of the funds for these fountains can be used for higher priorities like police officers, snow plowing, or emergency response. The post includes a point-by-point explanation of how the city allocates arts funding for these types of projects.
It's amazing what happens when you add a little real-world context to political posturing, isn't it? |
