The first partisan fight of the Minnesota Legislature’s 2020 session occurred at … the Legislative Commission on Metropolitan Government?
Inexplicably perhaps, but yes.
What was to have been a meeting on Wednesday to consider different responses to increased crime on Metro Transit’s light rail lines quickly dissolved into an argument over who should be the chair of the joint commission that oversees the Met Council.
Shortly after the current chair, GOP Rep. Jon Koznick, began the hearing, DFL Sen. Scott Dibble of Minneapolis made a motion to reconsider a decision made two months ago. That led to, in sequence: a call for a recess and the departure of the chair and vice chair; an exchange of accusations of partisan mischief; a duel over what Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure would say about whether the motion to recess should have been voted on and who could be chair once the chair and vice chair had departed.
When all that couldn’t be resolved, the remaining commission members retired to their cell phones. No one was sure how to proceed — or even whether they could adjourn.
Might they have to remain in legislative limbo forever?
The 2020 session of the Minnesota Legislature — with Republicans controlling the state Senate and DFLers in control of the House — doesn’t even begin until Tuesday.
So how did an often obscure legislative commission become the flashpoint for divided government?
Two months ago, the same commission met to elect its chair and vice chair. Since there are seven House members and seven Senate members — and because those bodies are controlled by the DFL and the GOP respectively — both parties have the same number of votes. By tradition and custom, the chair rotates from someone from the majority party in the Senate to someone in the majority in the House. That meant that Sen. Eric Pratt, a Republican from Prior Lake, would be handing the gavel to Rep. Sandra Masin, a DFLer from Eagan.
But a bunch of DFL members didn’t show up, like four of seven. So contrary to all that tradition and custom, Rep. Linda Runbeck, a Republican from Circle Pines, nominated fellow House Republican Rep. Jon Koznick from Lakeville. He won, despite Pratt’s abstention.
Ever since that Dec 10 meeting, the DFL has been laying in wait to make things right, at least from their perspective. On Wednesday, seeing that this time DFLers had the most members in attendance, Dibble pounced.
“I’d like to interrupt this proceeding and make a motion,” Dibble said.
Koznick ruled him out of order but Dibble persisted.
“Mr. Chair I move that we hold new elections for chair of this commission,” he said.
Koznick said he wanted to move ahead with the hearing. He again ruled Dibble out of order. Dibble then moved to challenge that ruling.
Koznick responded: “Here we are in a public forum and you want to bring more partisanship into this. I would move for a recess.”
With that, he banged his gavel and left the room — with the gavel. Vice Chair Pratt followed.
[image_credit]MinnPost photo by Peter Callaghan[/image_credit][image_caption]The empty chairs of Pratt and Koznick, following Koznick's call for a recess.[/image_caption]
At one point the argument revolved around whether Koznick had simply declared a recess or made a motion to recess. If it was the latter (which it was), it should have required a vote — which didn’t happen.
So was the meeting really in recess?
Osmek offered to “chase down” the missing chair and vice chair. The DFL members did not take him up on that offer. Instead, they and the remaining GOP members exchanged accusations of who was being more partisan and who was disrupting the bipartisan tradition of the commission.
“Sen. Dibble, I can read the minutes of the last meeting as well as you can and there were a whole lot of Democrats who were not here,” said Runbeck.
“That’s where honor and civility and custom and usage come into play,” Dibble said. “Someone can do something but doesn’t because they uphold a professional and courteous relationship. When you violate them, there are consequences.”
[image_credit]MinnPost photo by Peter Callaghan[/image_credit][image_caption]State Sen. Scott Dibble, left, assumed the chairmanship of the meeting as the ranking member remaining in the hearing room. But then Sen. David Osmek, right, challenged his authority to do so.[/image_caption]
Afterward, Koznick said he had been meeting with House Speaker Melissa Hortman as well as with Hornstein and Masin to broker a resolution and said it was going to be discussed Thursday. The intent was to give the gavel to Masin.
“The maneuver by Sen. Dibble was uncalled for,” he said. “It is an embarrassment on the Legislature but sometimes that’s the way it goes.”
Is there a chance the met council could be disbanded? I wish MinnPost would write an article on how it started, and how it continues on into perpetuity. Thanks!
Mosquitoes, mass transit, water and sewer treatment and regional parks and wildlife: they all require a managerial body that transcends city and county lines.
The current style of autocratic conservatism didn’t much like the EU either, hence Brexit. The EU was formed to deal with problems that don’t fit normal state boundaries.
With Brexit, the control of fisheries, movement of capital and workers across Europe, public health, immigration and a multitude of other international issues can be bickered to death and the region will devolve into selfish interest of individual states with all the bullying and oppression that comes from inequality of the members.
The Met Council has pragmatic purposes, but just as in every other institution the cons attack, if the Rs can’t control it they want to destroy it.
There seems to be a global war on cooperative institutions that manage resources and conflicts. It is being waged by authoritarian (fascist) pols, led by misfits and misanthropes.
The Met Council has every reason to stay out of politics and do its job over problems that know no civic boundaries. Republicans need to get another hobby that doesn’t hurt so much of our public management institutions.
That was entertaining.
In a real democracy, the people would vote for the chair, as in, a public vote. This “representative” democracy is devolving into petty power games.
That would require people generally be a lot more involved, and vote a lot more often.
I’m thankful to Minnpost to Mr Callaghan for helping to keep me informed
Had Sen Dibble NOT engaged as he did.. would Koznick sought out party leaders for this compromise or merely tried to hold the seat for an extra term?
We will.never know but have our suspicions based on past practices. (Within both parties)
Thus, I say thank you Sen Dibble for fighting for what is right and. Fair.