These are interesting times we live in, when a DFL House member is disappointed with the governor of her own party for not providing money for a project that's dear to the hearts of Rochester's GOP-leaning business leadership and which received at best lukewarm support from the city's GOP legislative leadership, including the Senate majority leader. All very complicated and very revealing.
Here's the release from Rep. Tina Liebling...more reaction to come from area lawmakers:
(ST. PAUL) — Today, Governor Dayton announced the projects that will receive a portion of the $47.5 million in DEED bonding funding. The GOP-led legislature delegated these funding decisions to the executive branch in the 2012 bonding bill. The Mayo Civic Center expansion and renovation project was not selected to receive funding.
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State Representative Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester) released the following statement:
"I’m disappointed that the Mayo Civic Center project was not selected, but I’m even more disappointed in how this process was done. Governor Dayton should never have been put in a position to pick winners and losers from such a large pool of worthwhile projects with such a small amount of bonding dollars. It is the legislature’s job to pass a bonding bill that lists specific projects, rather than delegate that a portion of that task to the governor. Until now, that was the way it had been done since statehood.
"Most disappointing of all is that fact that Senator Senjem, chair of the Senate Capital Investment Committee and Majority Leader, and Senator Carla Nelson, who is a member of the Senate Capital Investment Committee, did not secure this important funding for Rochester. Reps. Mike Benson and Duane Quam also gave tepid or no support to the project, which sealed its fate.
I have championed this project for several years and will continue to work with members of both parties to get the funding needed."
