Minnesota Lawyer
Gov.-elect Mark Dayton addresses the media
Two hours after being certified as the winner of the governor’s race, Mark Dayton vowed his top priorities will be dealing with the state’s $6.2 billion budget deficit and creating jobs. “Now the real work begins,” Dayton said at a Capitol press conference, with his two sons by his side.
The DFL Governor-elect lauded GOP state Rep. Tom Emmer for conceding the race earlier in the day following a statewide manual recount of the election that showed him trailing by roughly 9,000 votes. “That is a profoundly important legacy of your campaign, Rep. Emmer, for which all of us owe you our respect and our gratitude,” Dayton said.
The Governor-elect reiterated his plan to make Minnesota’s income tax system more “progressive” by raising rates on the state’s wealthiest residents. But Dayton now faces the prospect of working with a state House and Senate that are controlled by Republicans who have promised to balance the budget without raising taxes. Nonetheless he vowed to work with the Legislature.
“If we simply disregard and defeat each others’ proposals, and try to make each other look bad in the process, we will only cause unwanted gridlock and deadlock,” Dayton said. “More importantly we will fail the people of Minnesota.”
Dayton is the first Democrat elected governor since 1986, when Rudy Perpich claimed the state’s top post. The DFLer promised that the month-long delay in certifying the election tally would not hinder his ability to govern effectively. For instance, Dayton said he expected to name a chief of staff within 48 hours.
“No excuses,” he said. “We’ll be ready.”
