A Minnesota Republican State Legislator's Contract with Voters

By: Bob Carney Jr.
revised: 1/29/10
 

  1. JOB ONE -- The Legislature's minimum required task is to agree on a budget and a tax system that serves all Minnesotans.

  1. ROLES OF THE LEGISLATURE AND THE COURTS -- The Legislature, with 201 members from all around the State, and a wide variety of backgrounds, is the branch of a Republican form of Government responsible and best suited for lawmaking, policy, and oversight. Unless a claimed right is either explicitly provided for in the Federal or State Constitution, or has been established by long-standing and reaffirmed precedent, the Courts should defer to the Legislature for resolving controversies over rights.
     

  2. DELIBERATE AND BRAINSTORM -- The Legislature works best when it deliberates, not when caucuses collide. Legislators of different parties need to socialize, and to work together, especially in committees. Better law and policy results when the core needs of different interests are accommodated, through compromise whenever possible.
     

  3. AVOID PARTISAN GEOGRAPHIC DIVISION -- Partisan geographic divisions, (city/suburbs, metro/rural) are not in our best interest. To avoid this, we understand and accept that Republican legislators from different districts will represent different interests. We expect this will also be true of DFL'ers, and other parties.
     

  4. CAMPAIGN FINANCE -- Special interest money is poison -- it leads to interest group politics. However, money in politics is Constitutionally difficult or impossible to ban. The best option is public campaign financing, including both income tax check-offs, and the current Minnesota option for individuals to receive a tax refund for their contribution up to $50. The internet offers a great opportunity to break down money-driven politics.
     

  5. PRINCIPLES AND COMPROMISE -- Some issues are matters of principle and beyond compromise, while other issues are not. Legislative candidates should tell their constituents which issues are, for them, beyond compromise, and which issues are a question of simply finding a fair and reasonable balance between legitimate competing interests. It is unreasonable to ask anyone to do either more, or less, than this.
     

  6. THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE MIX -- Minnesota has a history of maintaining a good "public-private mix" -- a strong private sector combined with an excellent public sector, including government and non-profits. This mix is the foundation of what is often called the quality of life -- the Minneapolis park system is an excellent example. We need to keep asking: what is best done in the public sector? What is best done in the private sector? Where do public-private combinations make sense?
     

  7. INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING -- With today's technology, there is no excuse for a voting process that does not let the voter rank multiple candidates in order of preference. An "instant runoff" system can let voters vote first for the candidate they prefer most, and then have their second or third choice count when votes are retabulated after eliminating trailing candidates. Our current system forces an artificial and unnecessary choice: either a two-party system, or elected officials who don't represent the choice of a majority of voters.