Statement of Jim Monroe,
Executive Director, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees,
On Governor Pawlenty’s Unallotment Announcement
June 16, 2009 

“Governor Pawlenty’s unallotment priorities speak volumes to the fact he has turned his back on Minnesotans while turning his attention to the national spotlight.

While he cuts local government aid to communities which will delay hiring police and firefighters, or lay them off,  Governor Pawlenty would rather threaten the safety of Minnesotans than lay off members of his full-time security detail who travel all over the country with him. 

When it comes to education, Governor Pawlenty turns his back on the public school system and the University of Minnesota which educated him and helped him pull himself up by his bootstraps.  Pawlenty’s cuts to state colleges and universities coupled with payment delays to school districts will shred the bootstraps of every high school and potential college student in this state who desires a brighter future.

How can Governor Pawlenty call himself a Sam’s Club Governor when he increases the number of uninsured in this state by 30,000 people knowing full well that every Sam’s Club member and every other Minnesotan will end up paying for our uninsured citizens?

When Governor Pawlenty commented at today’s press conference that unallotment will put additional pressure on state agencies – MAPE would like to offer a solution of where we would work with the Governor to find deficit reduction solutions.  MAPE believes the deficit can be reduced while maintaining vital services provided by state employees.  The first two areas to look for waste are 1.9 billion dollars in outside contracts and over 100 million dollars in bloated management levels in the Pawlenty administration.”   

 

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