Rochester area House candidates weigh in on Walz's use of emergency powers
In the midst of the Minnesota legislature’s fifth special session of 2020, Med City Beat welcomed the candidates for Rochester’s House districts to four separate virtual forums Tuesday night. Throughout the night, conversation centered around the candidates’ opinions on the use of executive power by Gov. Tim Walz, which has been repeatedly decried by GOP legislators.
In July, some House GOP members said they would not support a $1.4 billion bonding bill as long as Gov. Tim Walz held emergency powers in response to Covid-19, killing momentum on the package of state projects. (Fast forward to today, however, and leaders from both parties have expressed optimism that the $1.4 billion package will pass the legislature in this special session.)
While the bonding bill fight may be coming to an end, the debate over proper use of emergency powers has remained. GOP members of the legislature have almost unilaterally voted to revoke the governor’s powers, while Walz’s DFL party mates have supported the move since March.
We asked all eight candidates vying for one of four Rochester-area seats to give their opinions on the peacetime emergency and the governor’s continued use of executive power — below is a snippet of what we learned.
Their Responses
Two of the four Rochester-area incumbents have become part of the GOP bloc voting to terminate the governor’s powers: 25A Rep. Duane Quam and 26B Rep. Nels Pierson.
Quam said he believes the legislature now deserves the opportunity to define the state’s response to the pandemic.
“At some point, you have to actually put in the statute the processes needed, instead of having one person make the decisions,” said Quam. “Nobody’s perfect, and having 201 legislators in that discussion can avoid problems, issues and unforeseen circumstances.”
Pierson said he believed the governor had to make some “very difficult decisions” early on, but added that scrutiny from some House committees may have improved the state’s response.
“I keep hearing people asking Republicans to work with the governor, but I think that misses the point: right now, the governor has all the power,” said Pierson.
Both challengers to Reps. Quam and Pierson said they support the governor and, if elected, would vote to extend his powers until the pandemic subsides.
“Unfortunately, the way this whole emergency has been dealt with has needed quick response and executive orders to ensure safety, consistency and flexibility,” said Kim Hicks, Rep. Quam’s challenger.
Pierson’s opponent Randy Brock said the best way to respond to the virus would be to follow a national plan put forth by the White House - but without one in place, extending the governor’s statewide powers remains the best alternative.
“As long as the president has emergency powers in place and all 50 states have an emergency in place, it’s going to be the best way to function in response to the pandemic,” said Brock.
In District 26A, DFL Rep. Tina Liebling has voted to extend the governor’s powers. She said the federal response to Covid-19 has been subpar, forcing the state government to do things it’s not tailored to do.
“Unfortunately, the statute available to the governor isn’t ideally tailored to this situation,” said Liebling. “He has to come back and renew it every 30 days.”
GOP challenger Gary Melin said he would join Reps. Pierson and Quam in voting to strike down the governor’s emergency powers if elected, adding that statewide lockdowns and mask mandates have hurt rural communities.
“If power is not voted on by you and I, then all the power and authority has to be called ‘emergency’ power,” said Melin. “Why do we not know what the true needs are, rather than having to put a lockdown on our businesses and our people in the community?”
The only local House race without an incumbent is in District 25B, where either DFLer Liz Boldon and Republican Kenneth Bush will replace DFL Rep. Duane Sauke. If elected, Boldon said she would follow Sauke’s record of voting to extend the peacetime emergency.
“The governor needs to be able to move quickly, and we know that the legislature does not always act quickly,” said Boldon. “He needs to be able to get resources quickly to those who need it.”
Bush followed his GOP colleagues in opposing the governor’s executive powers — saying Gov. Walz had “taken advantage” of the situation.
“We’re in a fifth special session and we can’t get a bonding bill passed,” said Bush, “and the reason why is because the legislature, throughout this time, really hasn’t had the opportunity to communicate with the governor and come together collectively as a legislative body.”
Watch the four Minnesota House forums on our Facebook page.
Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.
