Walz has a chance to transform Minnesota

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Gov. Tim Walz begins the new year with the opportunity to become the most transformational governor in Minnesota history. A huge projected state surplus and a stream of new federal dollars, combined with control of the Legislature by his own DFL, puts Walz in a unique moment.

The issue is whether Walz will seek approval or lead with boldness and innovation, balancing the needs of the moment with reforms that will open a new era of prosperity for Minnesotans.

Four principles should guide Walz's second term as governor.

First, approach the 2023 legislative session remembering that time is an ally. Walz has at least two years of DFL legislative control ahead, potentially four years. Certainly, there are big tasks that should be undertaken this year, including addressing affordable housing, accessible child care, reducing food insecurity and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

In addition, well-targeted crisis funding is needed to help Minnesota families struggling in today's economy. Emergency funding to the state's food banks and food shelves, for example, would help address the food insecurity facing many Minnesotans today, according to Allison O'Toole, the CEO of Second Harvest Heartland, and create time for bigger programs, including universal school meals, to be implemented across the state.

But on both long- and short-term policies coming to the Legislature in 2023, Walz will need to keep a tight rein on some of his DFL colleagues who sometimes confuse "can do" with "should do." Just because the state has the money to do more for many is not an excuse to do what is unnecessary.

The second principle for Walz is to be bold and innovative. Yesterday's solutions may satisfy core constituencies, but they rarely meet tomorrow's challenges and opportunities. If Walz can keep the 2023 session focused on a well-defined agenda, he will have time to reach out to Minnesota's big thinkers and build support for their best ideas.

What would Walz hear if he calls on experts whose loyalty is to effective solutions, not partisan advocates?

Jim Mulder, retired executive director of the Association of Minnesota Counties, would propose an endowed fund to help pay the tuition and living expenses of students in Minnesota's technical colleges, including new immigrants. "We need new people in these professions and the new residents are the best pool of new workers," he says.

Thomas Fisher, director of the Minnesota Design Center at the University of Minnesota, urges creation of an angel investing fund focused on ventures that have great potential but struggle for capital. "Our state lags behind others in terms of the amount of venture capital available here. Most of what is available goes toward technology and biotech," says Fisher.

Curtis Johnson, former chair of the Metropolitan Council and chief of staff to Gov. Arne Carlson, believes water protection is a good use of one-time investments. "Imagine cities all over the state becoming sure of what's in their water ... renewing old infrastructure, which is really old by Midwest standards."

Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, offers a suggestion that could prevent Walz from ending his second term in the way he was forced to govern during much of his first term — managing a pandemic with inadequate information and few tools. Osterholm believes the state should act now to prepare for the next pandemic. Among Osterholm's worries is the migration of chronic wasting disease from deer and other cervids to humans.

Osterholm's warning is based on troubling evidence. CWD-infected deer appear to have transmitted the disease to feral hogs in Texas. Mice altered to have some humanlike genetic traits seem susceptible to CWD. There is no time to lose in studying the disease to prevent transmission, develop tests and find a cure.

And so it goes. Minnesota is awash in innovative people whose ideas should be sought.

The third principle for Walz is to stop adding money to prop up existing systems that deliver education, public safety, health and other core services if the systems themselves are relics of a different Minnesota. The state has too many public agencies delivering services to too few people.

Look at higher education. Minnesota has nearly 60 public higher education campuses, a number that has remained constant for decades. Yet, since 2010, enrollment in the state's postsecondary institutions has dropped by one-third. Minnesota's stagnant population, the opportunities for distance learning and the changing needs of employers demand reforms. But the state keeps funding these institutions not because they are needed to educate Minnesotans, but because closing campuses is politically perilous.

Changing big systems won't be easy. It will require thoughtful analysis. Walz would serve Minnesota well by leading the state in a process to take an objective look at every major system and ask if it still is the best way to deliver the service in question.

The final guiding principle applies to Walz's personal politics. He would do well to heed the lesson of a DFL predecessor, Rudy Perpich. Minnesotans don't elect governors to third terms. The then-popular Rudy Perpich tried and failed in 1990. Others have considered seeking a third term, but bowed to the penchant of Minnesota voters to thank governors for their service after eight years while pushing them aside for new leadership.

Walz doesn't have to declare his plans for 2026 anytime soon. He can retain his political influence and avoid the crippling status of a lame duck governor. The advantage is all Walz's if he accepts that this term will be his last as governor. He can focus on building a legacy that depends on policy achievements, not the ballot box.

Simply put, a second-term governor can push a bold agenda, giving political cover to DFLers in the Legislature while paying little heed to the partisan attacks of adversaries.

Transformation is often not popular in the moment. But for Minnesota to again be the "state that works," Walz needs to lead for the future. Who knows? Perhaps he, too, can end up on the cover of Time magazine, or at least become a positive Facebook meme.

Tom Horner is a public-relations consultant and was the Independence Party of Minnesota's 2010 candidate for governor.