As Gov. Tim Walz makes his push for a gas tax hike, even taking to Twitter to hashtag the topic, a host of Minnesota mayors, from Rochester to Ely to Oak Park Heights, took handfuls of potholes — literally — to the Capitol on Thursday to raise alarms that they’d be left out of the discussion.
“We’re all in this pothole together,” said Anne Finn, a lobbyist for the League of Minnesota Cities, which organized a demonstration for the media by bringing chunks of asphalt, brick and concrete from potholes throughout the state to show that it’s ugly everywhere.
The Minnetonka mayor even suggested that residents mail pothole hunks to their lawmakers.
But the issue of transportation funding is larger than simply the pothole season — although this year is particularly epic.
Here’s a summary of what’s going on.
THE WALZ PLAN
Walz, a Democrat, has proposed a 20-cent-per-gallon increase to the state’s gasoline tax as the centerpiece of a plan to increase spending on transportation infrastructure. The plan also includes increases in sales tax and tab fees. The current gas tax is 28.6 cents per gallon.
Walz has argued that the cash is needed because the state is falling behind on both expansion — building new roads and bridges — and maintenance, which is where pothole-prevention can come into play. More than 40 percent of the state’s roads are 50 years old or older, and 50 percent of the bridges are 40-plus years old, Walz and administration officials have said.
The plan has been met with skepticism from Republicans, who say the state doesn’t need to raise the gas tax at all. The state should find savings elsewhere in the budget and dip into a rainy day fund that sits at record levels. Some Republicans have proposed increasing taxes on hybrid or electric vehicles instead of gasoline.
Transportation Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher on Thursday defended the plan in a hearing before a House committee. She described the gas tax as the “workhorse” of the state’s transportation funding for the past five decades.
As expected, Democrats praised the plan, and Republicans criticized it. Democrats control the House, and Republicans control the Senate.
WALZ TAKES MESSAGE ON ROAD
Knowing that he’ll need to sway at least a few Republican votes and swaggering with confidence that the public will support him, Walz has taken the issue on the road and to social media.
Driving around the state, he’s taken to pulling over and tweeting about potholes and started a hashtag #MNPOTHOLES, urging a sort of woe-is-my-street contest.
From Mankato to Minneapolis to Moorhead, Minnesotans are worried about our roads and bridges and know we *must* invest in transportation to keep our communities safe. As the snow starts to melt, potholes are popping up across MN.
Tell us your pothole experience at #MNpotholes. pic.twitter.com/m7MDgFSqNm
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) March 20, 2019
Earlier this week, he traveled to Anoka, where he highlighted a rail crossing in need of safety upgrades. The crossing is in the district of Republican Sen. Jim Abeler — and that wasn’t by accident.
Abeler is the only surviving member of a set of Republican lawmakers who voted to override the veto of former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican. In 2008, Pawlenty vetoed a Democrat-backed plan led by Kelliher, who was speaker of the House at the time. Abeler, then a House member, and several other Republicans split ranks from their party, and the gas tax was increased from 20 cents a gallon to where it is today.
Abeler responded to Walz’s trip into his back yard by saying he has long pushed for improvements to the rail crossing at Ferry Street and Minnesota 47, but, he said, “The funds to solve this problem will not require raising the gas tax, the sales tax or car tab fees.”
It’s unclear if the incident generated any ill will or if it might have been a tactical blunder by Walz, who has pledged to work with Republicans on the issue. On Wednesday, Walz told the Pioneer Press he had not meant to “poke Senator Abeler in the eye” and was sorry if it seemed that way.
SMALL CITIES: HEY, WHAT ABOUT US?
Here’s a potential flaw in Walz highlighting potholes: His plan wouldn’t touch many potholes folks thump into on a regular basis.
Many city streets get little or no state funding. Those roads are generally maintained by — and pothole patches paid for by — local property taxes.
Under the state’s current funding formula, 84 percent of city streets across Minnesota receive no state funding from the accounts that are filled by the gas tax, according to the League of Minnesota Cities.
That’s where the mayors and city officials came in Thursday. While the bipartisan group stopped short of criticizing Walz or his plan, their message was this: Our roads are crumbling, too.
Officials with the group said that local streets are now suffering from a legacy of deferred maintenance and a funding formula that, with the benefit of decades of hindsight, never provided a sustainable level of funding.
It’s unclear what traction their message will have. When questioned about this Thursday by Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, Kelliher demurred, saying the administration was eager to work with lawmakers — who, she said, were best suited to propose remedies.
Minnetonka Mayor Brad Weirsum had an idea of a way to get lawmakers’ attention. “I’d encourage residents to mail your potholes to your lawmakers,” he said.