Editorial: No special session

There's no reason for Gov. Mark Dayton to call a special session, the St. Cloud Times says.

In its editorial today, the Times says special sessions are becoming a way for politicians to cover up the fact they're not doing their jobs.

Legislators had 11 weeks to solve very solvable problems. Some good things were accomplished. And even though all sides were very close to compromising on other issues, that did not happen. Voters should cast their Election Day ballots based on those results; not on incumbents able to claim "we got it done, even if it took a little bit longer."

Worse yet, if you do convene a special session, it likely will include a bonding bill, which does not just provide cover, it inevitably gives incumbents some bright, shiny objects to which they can point while campaigning and say "see what I did."

That would be tragic — not just for challengers regardless of party, but for all Minnesotans who elected these legislators and yourself on the belief all of you would get the job done on time.

The governor says he's got a list of conditions before he'll call a special session.

But the Times says the state isn't in a budget year, it has a surplus, and it suggested politicians who failed at their jobs should suffer the consequences without a bailout in the form of a special session.

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