As Gov. Tim Pawlenty entered the Minnesota House chamber Thursday afternoon, he smiled and shook hands with House and Senate members before giving his State of the State address, in which he said the condition of the state is “strong, hopeful and prosperous.”
After thanking his wife and kids for “love and support,” Pawlenty began his address by noting the hurdles he says the state has cleared in the past three years.
“While it hasn’t always been pretty, we’ve accomplished a great deal together,” Pawlenty said, saying that the state has recovered from a $4 billion deficit and now has a $1 billion surplus.
Pawlenty addressed a joint session of the State Legislature, noting accomplishments and his goals for the state.
His accomplishments list included creating a “historic” partnership between the University and the Mayo Clinic to advance studies in human health, genomics and biosciences, and setting the groundwork for a “world-class higher education institution” in Rochester.
“I think he’s committed to making education at all levels in Minnesota world-class,” said Jason Baskin, president of College Republicans at the University.
Baskin said he thinks Pawlenty is the best person for the job and is willing to put all partisan purposes aside to achieve what is good for the state and the University.
“Pawlenty is a proud alumni both undergraduate and in law school, so I think it holds a special place in his heart and he wants to make sure it gets the support that it needs,” Baskin said.
Max Page, president of the University DFL, said the address was a laundry list of “what sounded like good ideas” but that the governor did not explain how these programs will be funded.
“He didn’t mention much about the University because tuition has gone up 20 percent under him in the last three years; of course, he’s not going to mention that,” Page said.
In his address, Pawlenty told the politicians to not be afraid to debate issues such as having politician performance pay and defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
Page said Pawlenty was playing politics with the gay-marriage issue.
“It is an attempt to discriminate within our constitution,” Page said. “There already is a law that states marriage is between a man and a woman and this is a wedge issue that is not doing any good.”
Pawlenty discussed his education goals, which include adding more rigorous elementary curriculum requirements such as having students take Algebra I by eighth grade and in which students have to complete chemistry and Algebra II to graduate from high school. Pawlenty also encouraged the Legislature to pass his early childhood education initiatives.
“I think that putting more money into early childhood education is a good investment for the state,” said Joe Nathan, director for Center for School Change at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
Nathan said not all early childhood education programs are equally effective but the governor’s proposal seems to be one of high quality.
Nathan said the University needs to put more money into scholarships for the lower- and moderate-income families and that the University needs to re-evaluate its financial procedures.
After quoting the words of John F. Kennedy, Pawlenty concluded his address with a prayer-sounding farewell, “May God open our eyes to our common purpose, guide our service in this time and place and continue to richly bless all the people of Minnesota.”
