Vikings Stadium, Voter ID, Bonding Projects Come up at Town Hall Meeting with Oakdale's Legislators

Local elected officials showed up to hear from residents and answer their questions at a town hall meeting Saturday morning at Maplewood City Hall. Rep. Nora Slawik (DFL-Maplewood), Sen. Chuck Wiger (DFL-Maplewood), Rep. Leon Lillie (DFL-North St. Paul), Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt and a representative from U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum’s office participated.

Here’s some of what was said that the town hall meeting:

On a new Vikings Stadium: Slawik said she’d like to see a stadium built in Arden Hills because it could bring in a lot of revenue for the area.

Oakdale resident Mary Strom said she’s OK with building a new stadium, but she doesn’t want to see taxpayer or gambling money pay for it.

“Is there another creative way of finding funding?” she asked.

There’s no magic bullet, Wiger said, unless the team's owner is willing to pay more, but there won’t be a general tax to fund the stadium.

Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt noted that the Ramsey County Board hasn't voted on the most recent stadium proposal. She said she’d like to see user fees pay for a stadium, rather than a local sales tax.

On the economy: Wiger said recovering from the recession, creating jobs and economic development has to be the No. 1 priority this session. He said he supports Gov. Mark Dayton’s jobs plan, which includes incentives for hiring veterans and the unemployed.

On the state budget: If the February budget forecast is positive, Rep. Nora Slawik said she hopes there might be a supplemental budget bill that could mitigate some of the measures taken last year to balance the budget, such as shifting payments to schools.

Resident John Becker said he thinks taxes are too low for people like himself, who make a “comfortable income.”

“Ever since tax rates for everyone were pulled down in this state, we have had one fiscal train wreck after another,” he said. He takes issue with the suggestion that he is free to give the government as much money as he'd like, he said.

“Government is not run like a church, nor is it run like public broadcasting,” he said. “It’s the sort of thing where we as grown-ups decide these are the things that we as a society need and we’re going to pay for it.”

On the bonding bill: A resident at the meeting asked why the state would shift money from the schools, and at the same time spend money on “frivolous” things like fixing up the Nicollet Mall and building a Saints stadium in downtown St. Paul—both projects recommended in Gov. Mark Dayton’s bonding proposal.

Slawik explained that bonding money must go toward capital projects, so they couldn’t simply use bonding money to pay school districts what they’re owed.

Wiger said a number of the bonding projects will support higher education—such as a project to add classrooms at Century College, which is also included in Dayton’s proposal. Wiger—who sits on the Senate's Capital Investment Committee—said he doesn’t support all of the projects in the governor’s proposal, the Nicollet Mall project being one he opposes.

“We walked down there and I remember they said one person tripped on their heel,” he said. “$25 million? No, fill in the crack.”

On voter ID: Oakdale resident (and ) Dallas Pierson asked why legislators are so opposed to voter ID when requiring identification has become so commonplace. He noted that unions require identification to vote.

Slawik said, “It’s a voter suppression tactic,” because some populations, such as students and seniors would have more difficulty voting. Some seniors who are no longer driving don’t have identification, she said.

A resident who had worked in the hospitality industry said the proposal concerns him because there is a percentage of people who no longer look like the photograph on their ID card. Determining whether they look like the person pictured can be subjective, he said.

Another resident said poor people won’t be able to afford the costs of getting documents to get an identification card, or of driving to a government center that might be miles away if they’re living in a rural area.

Wiger said the issue is likely to end up on ballots, with voters deciding the outcome.

“It’s almost inevitable it’s going to be put on the ballot,” he said. “There’s going to be a great deal of discussion.”