A wide-ranging group that’s advising the incoming Walz administration is off-and-running as Lieutenant Governor-elect Peggy Flanagan opened the first of three meetings at the State Capitol Monday. “We said consistently that we believe that people who are directly affected by policy should have a seat at the table, and we would like to think that this Transition Advisory Board is literally people being at the table,” says Flanagan.
The group, comprised of over two dozen people from a variety of backgrounds, will first help the incoming Walz administration recruit commissioners and other top officials. At their next meeting, they’ll discuss budget and policy priorities.
Education Minnesota teachers union President Denise Specht is on the advisory board and says, “Every door I knocked and every phone I picked up, people want to talk about public education — so I’m certainly hoping it’s at the heart of the discussion.” Jaylani Hussein with the Council on American Islamic Relations Minnesota says, “We want to see the community’s smartest and brightest have the same amount of opportunity to lead the state and show that this community is not only part of the state, but also the part that’s gonna help grow it.” Hussein says he’s “very encouraged” because it’s the first time a governor-elect has called together such an advisory board.
Here are Lieutenant Governor-elect Peggy Flanagan’s opening remarks: