Every year, I look forward to the Superior and Douglas County Days as an interesting and enjoyable event.

The highlight of Superior and Douglas County Days is hearing from Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle (D). He is a great speaker and has a long record of community service: community activist, Peace Corps. Volunteer and Wisconsin Attorney General. Given his credentials, I would think his budget proposals would focus on expanding the social service budget or increasing taxes regardless of what might be in the best interest of the business community. Governor Doyle’s speech proved my assumptions wrong, and I learned he has a much more centrist agenda for the State of Wisconsin.

Governor Doyle articulated that he wants to do the right thing. He proposes to fully fund Shared Revenue (this is the money paid to local municipalities), fully fund the commitment to K-12 and higher education (this is called 2/3 funding), and to increase the amount of money that goes into roads and bridges. Governor Doyle proposes to do all this without a tax increase. Better yet, the Governor has pledged additional monies to rural schools to pay increased fuel expenses. He has also pledged to give bonuses to any city that does not raise its levy rates. Governor Doyle, in my mind, is doing the right thing.

Sure, Governor Doyle’s proposals must be approved by the legislature but politics seem different in Madison than in St. Paul. First, the Wisconsin Governor’s tax pledge was made to all the people of Wisconsin, not just to the Taxpayer’s League – a special interest group intent on blackmailing politicians in upcoming elections. Secondly, the Wisconsin legislature seemingly bases many of their decisions upon their state’s priorities rather than basing their decisions upon political muckraking that seems so prevalent in Minnesota’s legislature. I am not naive to the give- and -take of politics that occurs in Wisconsin as in any other state. However, the legislature in Madison appears to be on track, which is less than I, or anyone else, can say about the Minnesota legislature.

Surely, I am not the only one who has witnessed the differences between the states’ legislators. But more importantly, I am not alone in wishing Minnesota could get its act together.