Second District Congressman Jason Lewis is pushing a bill that would have local elected officials serve on the Metropolitan Council, rather than people appointed by the governor. Lewis says the Met Council can increase taxes but has no elected members, plus its budget “dwarfs all others: Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, Washington D-C, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Denver, Miami, Tampa and Chicago. None of them is as large as our Met Council.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey responds those pushing the Met Council reorganization, “Every single one of them is opposed to public transportation and light rail. That’s what this is about at the end of the day.”
Governor Mark Dayton opposes the change.