Walz and Flanagan announce Met Council Nominating Committee

Governor-elect Tim Walz and Lt. Governor-elect Peggy Flanagan announced the nominating committee members and appointments process for candidates interested in serving on the Metropolitan Council.

The nominating committee has historically been comprised of seven members who are current or formerly elected local officials, plus the Council Chair as an ex officio member. To create more seats at the table for Minnesotans to help shape his administration, Governor-elect Walz will expand the committee to 12, including the Chair and four additional ex officio members derived from the metropolitan community.

“We’ve heard from stakeholders that more input into members of the Metropolitan Council is key to selecting a high achieving Council that really connects with and understand the needs of the metro communities it represents,” said Governor-elect Walz. “We agree. Adding these talented and connected community leaders will help shape the Council and ensure we achieve our goal of having more Minnesotans at the table.”

“We want to thank Metro Cities, the Citizens League and others who put time and energy into thinking through this issue and making recommendations that helped shape our committee,” said Lt. Governor-elect Peggy Flanagan. “Communities of color, indigenous communities and people with disabilities have been underrepresented at these decision-making tables for far too long and by adding these members, we will make sure their voices are heard.”

Walz also provided a letter of direction to the nominating committee to guide its search for Metropolitan Council members. The letter requests the nominating committee publicly forward three candidates for each Council district by February 18, 2019 so that he can meet his statutory deadline of appointment by March 4, 2019.

Nominating committee

The 12-member nominating committee, which recommends candidates for the Metropolitan Council to the Governor, will host public meetings to accept statements from, or on behalf of, applicants for the positions. The members:

• Janet Williams, Mayor of Savage, representing Scott County, Chair of the Nominating Committee

• Dave Bartholomay, Mayor of Circle Pines, representing Anoka County

• Randy Maluchnik, County Commissioner, representing Carver County

• George Tourville, Mayor of Inver Grove Heights, representing Dakota County

• Andrea Jenkins, Minneapolis City Council Vice President, representing Hennepin County

• John Choi, County Attorney, representing Ramsey County

• Lisa Weik, County Commissioner, representing Washington County

• Nora Slawik, incoming Metropolitan Council Chair, ex officio member

• Nikki Villavicencio, Disability Rights Advocate, ex officio member

• Pahoua Hoffman, Executive Director of the Citizens League, ex officio member

• Dr. Joe Hobot, President and CEO of American Indian OIC, ex officio member

• Ruby Azurdia-Lee, President of Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servico (CLUES), ex officio member

Applicants selected to be interviewed by the nominating committee will testify at one of four public meetings. They will receive details on the format in advance of those meetings.

Public meetings

For more than 50 years, the Metropolitan Council has played a key role in coordinating regional growth and planning, providing essential services such as transit and wastewater treatment, and convening partners to accomplish ambitious goals unrealistic for a single community, but possible as a region.

The Secretary of State’s office published the vacancies for all 16 Council seats on November 1, 2018. Applications must be submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office by 5:00 p.m. on January 9, 2019 to be considered. Anyone interested in applying must complete an Open Appointments Application Form.

For more information on the responsibilities of Council Members or to find your district, please read the Council Member job description.