THE POLITICS OF THE MET COUNCIL: A THREAD

The Metropolitan Council is the Twin Cities' regional planning organization, which every 4 years becomes an issue in Minnesota politics.

That is, it becomes an issue for Republicans.

The Met Council budgets well over a billion dollars per year for transit, parks, urban planning, sanitary and storm sewers, housing, etc.

Its board is made up of 17 members: 16 members who each represent a district and a chairperson, all of whom are appointed by the Governor.

As the largest regional planning organization in the country, it's a frequent target for attacks from "small government" conservatives and libertarian-types.

Republicans in MN often run on dismantling, defunding, or drastically altering the structure of the Council.

This map tests what one of those proposed changes looks like: an elected board.

Using the current district boundaries, I mapped Klobuchar's, Walz's, and Ellison's Minnesota wins.

Even Ellison's comparatively poor performance would deliver a DFL Council.

As Klob does, she won every district.

Walz's middling performance won him 13/16. He received quite a mandate from the voters to appoint a DFL board, which he did when he took office.

Ellison's comparatively weak performance still would have delivered an 11/16 DFL majority.

This short study proves that GOP calls to elect the Met Council board would probably do them more harm than good.

In addition to not actually forcing "Big Government Democrats" out of the Council, they would kill their own ability to oversee it if they ever win the governorship.

Republicans would only be elevating local DFLers by giving them more offices to hold and more chances to break into the public's eye.

END THREAD