The Minnesota House today passed a controversial bill that would put county and city officials and others on the board of the Metropolitan Council, rather than people appointed by the governor. Prior Lake Republican Tony Albright says currently the Met Council “has levying authority and decides where three… some odd billion dollars gets spent on an annual basis, and they’re accountable to a constituency of one.” But Golden Valley Democrat Mike Freiberg points to possible conflicts of interest, saying if he were a city councilmember, “I can’t really imagine trying to balance the needs of a city I’ve been elected to represent with the needs of a metropolitan region.”
Some opponents of the bill say the real motivation is to kill Southwest Light Rail and loosen restrictions on new development in the suburbs.