Governor-elect Klobuchar promises to transform state government, grow economy 

Amy Klobuchar held her first press conference as Minnesota’s governor-elect Wednesday, Nov. 4, to outline her vision for the state, which includes auditing state government to eliminate fraud and growing the state’s workforce and economy.

Klobuchar, who will become Minnesota’s first woman governor when she takes the oath in January, thanked Minnesotans for their support and said she will work hard to transform the state.

“Whether or not I got your vote, I will do my best for you. I will work my heart out for you. Nobody will work harder,” Klobuchar told reporters in St. Paul’s historic James J. Hill Center.

Klobuchar will have 60 days before her January inauguration to staff her office, draft a two-year budget that includes her promise of no new tax hikes and turn her campaign talking points into legislation.

She announced the membership of her 14-person transition team, which will be chaired by Cindy Jesson, former Minnesota Department of Human Services commissioner and former appellate judge. Jesson worked on Gov. Mark Dayton’s transition team.

Members of the transition team include Doug Baker, former Ecolab CEO and former executive committee member of the Minnesota Business Partnership, which lobbies for the state’s biggest companies; Miguel Pozo, a trial attorney and former head of the Hispanic National Bar Association; Justin Buoen, a longtime Klobuchar adviser who ran her 2020 presidential campaign; and Rose Sullivan, Klobuchar’s former Senate chief of staff.

Klobuchar’s transition will have $162,000, according to state statute, with which to staff a transition team, rent out office space and recruit new employees. She launched a transition website on Wednesday where people can submit forms if they would like to work in her administration.

Klobuchar noted that members of the transition team are volunteers and may not necessarily serve in her administration once she takes office.

Asked for more details about her audit of state government, Klobuchar said she will appoint an independent “senior leader” to conduct an audit of every state agency. That person will coordinate with the new state inspector general, the Office of the Legislative Auditor and Minnesota Management and Budget, the state’s budget agency, to identify fraudulent activity.

Klobuchar said she will also direct agencies to create a process for reporting fraud and better work with whistleblowers.

The audit will not only flag fraud, she said, but it will also point out areas where she could cut the budget. Minnesota’s spending is rising faster than revenue, creating a structural imbalance beginning in July. If Klobuchar refuses to raise taxes, she may have to cut spending. Unlike Washington, where Klobuchar has served for 20 years, state government is constitutionally banned from the kind of deficit spending that is routine in the nation’s capital.

Klobuchar noted that the state’s financial outlook could be better than forecasters predicted earlier this year. The state has consistently reported monthly revenue higher than forecast, and state officials will offer another forecast early next month.

Klobuchar has until the third Tuesday in February to craft a two-year budget and submit it to the Legislature, according to state statute.

Regarding Klobuchar’s own U.S. Senate seat, if she resigns before her inauguration, Gov. Tim Walz would appoint her successor. An early resignation and appointment would give the successor more seniority than the large incoming freshman class. Even if Klobuchar were to resign early, Walz can and most likely would defer to Klobuchar, who would then appoint her own successor.

Asked when she planned to resign, Klobuchar remained tight-lipped, as she has since she announced her campaign earlier this year.

“The decision has to be made pretty much before I get in the governor’s office or around that time, so stay tuned for that,” Klobuchar said. “I will do right by the state of Minnesota with that person.”

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