Democratic candidate for governor Tim Walz is blasting Republican rival Jeff Johnson for saying about a sales tax increase Duluth voters approved for street repairs that “we are so overtaxed in this state right now.” Walz says about Johnson, “The lack of respect for 77 percent of the voters who chose to improve their community… is stunning to me.”
Johnson responds if Duluth residents choose to increase their taxes, state law allows it. “I’m a local control guy, but I will continue to say that taxes are too high in the state of Minnesota, and Tim [Walz] and I just fundamentally disagree on that: He thinks they need to go up,” says Johnson.
The two are also trading shots over the minimum wage. Walz on Wednesday backed off from his website pledge that he’d increase it to 15 dollars. Johnson says he opposes a 15-dollar minimum wage because “it hurts the people that we claim we want to help” and is a “killer” for the smallest businesses.
More in this excerpt from Walz’s news conference:
More in this interview with Johnson: