Two significant political events take place today that have ties to the Wayzata community.
One is happening in St. Paul – the other in New Hampshire. Minnesota lawmakers open the 2020 legislative session. Meanwhile, New Hampshire is holding its presidential primary.
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| Sen. Amy Klobuchar rally Monday in Manchester, New Hampshire/Courtesy amyklobuchar.com |
New Hampshire
Wayzata native Sen. Amy Klobuchar is among several Democratic presidential candidates vying for the party’s nomination.
Some polls suggest an uptick for her since a debate this past Friday.
The New Hampshire primary follows confusion at the Iowa Caucuses last week in which issues with a mobile app delayed results.
Mark Zdechlik with Minnesota Public Radio is traveling with Sen. Klobuchar along the campaign trail. Zdechlik took a moment to share his insights with Wayzata.com.
“If you look at fundraising alone, they claim $3 million since the last debate that’s not a huge amount of money for some of the other candidates but it is a lot of money for Klobuchar,” said Zdechlik. “The crowds at Klobuchar events are getting bigger and she’s doing better in polls in New Hampshire but ultimately the voters will let us know.”
Nevada and South Carolina’s primaries occur later this month followed by Super Tuesday (March 3) in which a number of states hold their primaries – including Minnesota.
“She has put out a new television ad featuring remarks from that debate that she got so much attention for her doing well in,” said Zdechlik. “She’s just going with a sort of full court press trying to do the best she can to turn out voters.”
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| State Capitol, St. Paul/Courtesy mn.gov |
St. Paul
As the ballots are tabulated in New Hampshire, Minnesota lawmakers get back to work at the Capital today.
A new session is scheduled to go through mid-May.
A bonding bill will be one of the big talking points.
In January, Gov. Tim Walz sent lawmakers his proposed $2 billion list of infrastructure projects he wants included in the bonding bill.
Wayzata’s Lake Effect Project made his list.
Wayzata is like many communities asking for the state’s help with locally-based projects.
There will be plenty of back and forth in St. Paul in developing what the final bonding bill will comprise.
Republicans have stated they would like to trim the governor’s $2 billion proposal down.
We’ll have to see if Wayzata makes the final cut.
It’s not only a bonding bill year, but it’s also an election year.
There are a total of 201 seats up for reelection (134 in the House and 67 in the Senate).
This includes District 33A Rep. Jerry Hertaus and District 33 Sen. David Osmek who both represent Wayzata.
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| Wayzata City Council: Alex Plechash, Johanna McCarthy, Ken Willcox, Dan Koch, Jeff Buchanan |
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