Question 4:

The Governor of Minnesota will be asked to come up with solutions to a variety of issues that culminate in the tension between the need to protect the environment, and the need to sustain economic development. Solutions to conflicts that have arisen through issues such as the BWCA, timber resources, agriculture, including feedlots, and others will require making difficult choices and creating consensus. What are some of the tradeoffs you see in these rural and urban issues? In your rebuttal please respond to these two questions. Can you create consensus between these divergent Minnesota interests to work out some of these problems? If so, how would you create that consensus?

MONDALE Question 4 rebuttal:

As I stated previously, I believe the core role of a governor is to build consensus on tough issues so resolution can be achieved.

It is also a governor’s job to represent the entire state, not just regions. I believe very strongly that each decision made, each direction taken, must be assessed by its impact on the entire state, not just one plot of land at one particular time. As I have previously stated during this debate, a statewide vision for the long-term growth of Minnesota must balance urban and rural interests.

As a legislator, I often found myself in the position of consensus builder. After years of partisan bickering which had pitted cities against suburbs and stalled regional planning reforms, I was able to bring all the parties to the table and pass the Metropolitan Livable Communities Act. This law was aimed at slowing the rate of urban sprawl, encouraged affordable housing and redevelopment of the urban core. Clinton’s former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Henry Cisneros, called this legislation one of the most innovative solutions to the affordable housing problem he’s ever seen.

Leadership means bringing people together and getting things done, not grandstanding on an issue for political gain.

I am not afraid of tough challenges, or to take on seemingly insurmountable issues, as my legislative record shows. As we face many challenges in the years ahead, strong leadership will be required, and it must begin at the top.