Elections

The results and changes are in… well almost in…

A wave of voter discontent has dramatically altered the balance of political power at both the state and federal level. Republicans have taken control of the U.S. House and both the House and Senate of the Minnesota Legislature. The trend also affected gubernatorial races in many states, including Minnesota. A whisker-thin margin separating DFLer Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer has triggered a recount, which will begin the Monday after Thanksgiving. This shifting landscape raises many questions:

How will these changes affect the disability community?
As an overall community, we have cultivated relationships with legislators on both sides of the aisle. Our issues are nonpartisan, and while the legislators in key positions of power will change, we anticipate strong connections with committee chairs and leadership in both the House and Senate.

How this change in leadership will affect individuals more specifically is unclear. Most of the 40 newly elected members where a different party now controls the seats within the state House and Senate were elected on a platform of ‘no new taxes’ and less government. Significant changes will need to be made to the state human services budget to honor this pledge.

What if there is a recount? Does Gov. Pawlenty stay in office until it is settled?
Yes. While the current gubernatorial term ends in January 2011, if the recount hasn’t been settled by then, Pawlenty will remain as governor.

The state still has a huge budget deficit, right?
Yes, there is still an anticipated budget hole of about $6 billion that needs to be plugged by the next legislature. We will continue to champion the needs of all members of the disability community, especially when it comes to access to rehabilitation services, PCA services, and those on the Medicaid waivers.

Who are the new leaders?
We await the recount of the Governor’s race before knowing who is to replace Gov. Pawlenty, but we do know more about the House and Senate. In the House, the new majority leader is Rep. Matt Dean, with the all important speaker being the former minority leader Rep. Kurt Zellers. The DFL have selected former Health and Human Services Policy Committee Chair Rep. Paul Thissen as their minority leader, after he won a three way race over Rep. Ryan Winkler and Rep. Tina Liebling. In the Senate, former Taxes Committee Chair Sen. Tom Bakk was selected unanimously as the new minority leader. Whereas, the Republicans have made Sen. Amy Koch the first woman majority leader in the history of the Minnesota Senate.

So what HAS changed?
The state Senate will have 16 new members and the House will have 24. These are people we need to educate about disability. Some will have connections to disability and the world of services those with complex conditions require, but many will not.

There are significant philosophical differences between the DFL and Republican parties. If we look to the past to help predict the future, in the area of human services, proposals that have been forwarded by those who will now control the committee agendas include:

-          limits on the size of the state’s health budget
-          medical or health savings accounts
-          for profit (vs. nonprofit) health plans

What can I do?
Encourage all people to reach out to their elected representatives, regardless of political party. While we have seen some of our friends and champions of disability services lose their opportunity to serve in the legislature, we need to welcome those who have replaced them and let them know how much the work we do matters to those who need our services.