Former legislator refutes renegade Republican
March 3, 2008 by roz kohls staff writer
Filed under General
Phil Krinkie, a former state legislator, wrote a great counterpoint in the Star Tribune to State Rep. Neil Peterson’s column about why he chose to override the governor’s veto. It’s too bad the Star Tribune published Krinkie’s arguments on Saturday, when few people had a chance to read it. The two best parts are, first, Krinkie’s point about reducing property taxes for the people in Edina on the backs of the poorest districts in the state, such as Mary Ellen Otremba’s District 11B. The second best part I will quote directly, “Peterson doesn’t want our children paying the bill for roads they will drive on, the roads they will rely on for police, fire and emergency services, the roads that will transport virtually every product they ever buy, but it’s OK to have our kids pay for a polar-bear exhibit and a hockey arena they may never use?”
Are legislators supposed to mindlessly support “their party” regardless of their own logic and thoughts on the issue at hand? You know that I like the governor very much, but even he does not expect so much — his instructions to Republicans before the “veto” vote was to “Vote your conscience.” I don’t know about you, but I would hope that each legislator weighed the pros and cons, and then voted accordingly. I don’t care for the gas tax increase, but I respect those who voted in favor because they felt that the roads and bridges needed to be fixed now with money now. That’s honorable.