Recently the community has engaged in a conversation about whether a local candidate’s political affiliation matters. I am going to tell you why I think it does. Before I do, I want to remind you that the conversation started when the Cook County DFL gave support to several local candidates. Instead of doing it secretly, the CCDFL felt that the socially responsible way to do this was to inform the community and be open and transparent.
Although it is no secret that the Cook County Republican Party had an event with the chair of the state party to introduce their commissioner candidate, they have not officially announced that support. That Republican event was reported on by the News-Herald and WTIP, and at least according to one other candidate with whom I had an email conversation, they approached that candidate to give Republican support as well.
In this election, it is no mystery about political affiliations. Just look at the lawns. When you see a Trump sign, you will see what local candidates they are supporting. When you see a Biden sign, you see what local candidates they are supporting. As we all know, the two parties, which used to be made up of looser political affiliations, have consolidated. It is no surprise that consolidation is reflected locally. I thought that Grand Marais was immune from that, but the more involved I became with local politics, the more I realized that it never was. These issues hid under the surface. Like Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “We…are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with.”
I think it is important that local candidate’s political affiliations matter, because when a local candidate gives their vote to a national or state candidate that vote directly impacts the local community. Last year, the CCDFL polled the county and found that one of the top issues for community members was taxes. That is no surprise to anyone who has attended an often contentious, unkind, and loud public comment period at a meeting where tax discussions occur. Here are a couple of examples from taxes.
The first comes from the Trump administration’s undervaluing of the property values of the Boundary Waters. Because there is no development allowed in the BWCAW, the feds provide a payment in lieu of the taxes Cook County would have collected on that land. The undervaluing of that land will cost Cook County over seven million bucks. That’s right. $7 million. That is the cost of about six new Hovland public works facilities. The county must either reduce services or raise taxes to make up for the loss to a tune of about $2,600 per household.
Grand Marais gets local government aid from the state. Local government aid is the way that the state helps less affluent communities afford the normal functions of government, such as road repairs, sewers, and maintenance costs. Grand Marais gets about $60,000. Before Republican Tim Pawlenty was elected governor of the state, Grand Marais got about $280,000 a year. As Republicans took control, aid was reduced and never restored. That resulted in a loss of local government aid to each household in Grand Marais of about $340 per year. That is $340 per household per year in loss of services or increased taxes at the local level due to cuts at the state level.
You can also look at the school levy. It is a DFL priority to get more funding to the schools in the state. That increased funding will mean that we can invest more in our children without having to raise our local school levies. I think everyone would agree that investing in our children’s education is one of the best ways that we can provide public support for private success in their lives.
There’s example after example of how federal and state policies directly impact the local community through taxes. These few examples show how Republican policies actions have adversely impacted our local taxes. Democratic policies and actions help us and other rural communities by using state and federal policy to help stabilize our local taxes and still allow us to offer the services that make living here so good, such as all the good roads that help us get outside and explore every corner of our county.
Over and over with many issues, you find that national Republican policies, such as Trump forcing local counties to take a stance on refugee resettlement – which Cook County never qualified for in the first place – or the Democratic policies for increasing social security impact our lives here in Cook County.
So, yes, I want to know what the local candidate’s values are and how they align with state and national candidates and political parties. I want to know that because how they vote nationally and at the state level directly impacts your and my families at the local level. Also, it is honest and transparent, and all our public officials should be open, honest, and transparent.
Thank you,
Bryan Hansel, Chair,
Cook County DFL
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