At a campaign stop in northwestern Minnesota, Republican gubernatorial Jeff Johnson decried state regulators' decision to delay the $2.6-billion Sandpiper pipeline expansion, calling it the "latest slight of Greater Minnesota" by DFL Gov. Mark Dayton.
Johnson was in Eldred, about 55 miles north of Moorehead, visiting a local grain elevator to criticize the Dayton administration.
The Detroit Lakes native and Hennepin County commissioner has blamed Dayton for leading state government in what he calls a "metro-centric" direction. He said that state's delay in approving the proposed pipeline is contributing to a rail car shortage caused by crude oil shipments from North Dakota's Bakken region. Johnson said the shortage is hurting the state's farmers who are trying to get their grain to market.
"This is just the latest in a long line of examples of how Greater Minnesota is viewed as an afterthought by Mark Dayton," Johnson said in a statement.
Johnson, a Detroit Lakes native and Hennepin County commissioner who lives in the west metro suburb of Plymouth, has accused Dayton of leading state government in what we calls a "metro-centric" direction.
Linden Zakula, a spokesman for the governor's campaign, accused Johnson of politicizing the issue in an attempt to pander to voters.
The governor has previously said the Sandpiper pipeline is crucial to handle the growing production of North Dakota crude oil, but he also has said he believes environmental reviews ordered by the Public Utilities Commission should be completed first.
"I have said previously that I believe the Sandpiper pipeline is needed to transport the ever-increasing amounts of Bakken oil across Minnesota," Dayton said in a statement. "I also know that years ago, the Minnesota Legislature made the Public Utilities Commission responsible for approving and routing pipelines in order to remove politics and politicians from those complex decisions. The wisdom of that action is made clear to me once again today."
The DFL hit back at the Johnson campaign, arguing that the GOP challenger's record demonstrates he is trying to re-define himself as an advocate for rural Minnesota before the November election.
Ken Martin, DFL party chairman, points to Johnson's 2003 vote when he was a member of the state Legislature that reduced local government aid funding by more than $300 million.
Local government aid comes from state coffers and are distributed to counties and cities throughout Minnesota, which depend on the state funding to fund services.
Democrats said that the reduction in local government aid caused an increase in property tax rates and that local Chambers of Commerce drafted resolutions against further cuts.
The Johnson campaign in an emailed statement did not address Johnson's 2003 vote but said "it's ironic and arrogant for Mark Dayton, (lieutenant governor candidate) Tina Smith and Ken Martin -- all of whom live in the Twin Cities -- to think that they now what's better for Great Minnesota than people who are actually from and live in Greater Minnesota."
Johnson lives in Plymouth, a West Metro suburb.
Updated to include Gov. Dayton's statement.
