Why Horner?

Yesterday I was contacted by the Horner campaign asking me to put down in words why I am supporting Tom Horner for Governor. Below is my response:

I can’t recall a time in recent Minnesota history when so much was riding on the outcome of a gubernatorial election. While our state economy is finally in a somewhat steady but tepid recovery, we face a massive budget deficit. And if that is not enough of a challenge, the long-term demographics of an aging and ethically changing population will tax our public services, our current and future workforce and our public infrastructure. To say that we need a governor with real vision, leadership and a record of accomplishment seems like an understatement. For the truth is that in spite of what Garrison Keillor may tell his national audience each week, we Minnesotans know that our state has been slipping on many key parameters for some time. Can we really call ourselves “above average” anymore? I’m not so sure.

For most of the past decade we seamlessly transitioned from one budget deficit to the next, with no effort to truly or honestly balance the budget. Remember when we used to have a substantial budget reserve; a massive tobacco endowment; or a sizable surplus in the health care access fund? It really wasn’t that many years ago, but they are all gone because our state officials and legislators chose to throw one-time money at recurring budget problems. Instead of honestly addressing our needs with real budget cuts and/or real revenue enhancements, they chose to take the politically easy route with the use of one-time funds, accounting gimmicks and shifts. Who in their right mind would call that sound political or fiscal stewardship?

To be honest, I don’t envy our next Governor as it is not going to be easy. We are going to need a Governor who is willing to make very difficult decisions and ask us all to sacrifice a bit to successfully get through this mess. And I mean all of us. Not just the wealthy through higher taxes and not just the poor through draconian cuts in service. Not just the struggling rural communities through cuts in police, fire and essential services; and not just the local taxpayer through higher school levies. But all of us together.

Benjamin Franklin was famously quoted as saying at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” It is time for a new kind of leader to bring Minnesotans together; a leader with creative vision and skills. We need a leader who is more interested in pragmatically solving our problems than simply getting elected. And I believe that Tom Horner is that kind of leader. I have known Tom Horner for several years and have always admired his creativity, his leadership and his ability to bring diverse views to consensus. Equally important, I do not believe that at this critical point in our state’s history that we can rationally expect the representatives of the two parties that made this mess to fix it; they are simply too polarized. That is why centrist Democrats, Republicans and Independents who deeply care about the future of this state are standing up for Tom Horner. I am pleased to be one of them.