Governor Doug Burgum gives his Executive Budget Address on December 5, 2018. (Photo via screenshot.)
I wrote earlier today about the Legislature voting to strip State Auditor Josh Gallion of his authority to initiate performance audits. They did this through an amendment to the auditor’s budget in Senate Bill 2004. It is — without question — one of the worst moves of the 2019 Legislative Session.
Gallion has been doing an exceptional job of making the twin principles of accountability and transparency paramount to his office. It’s time that the people of North Dakota fight back against the Bismarck political establishment by contacting Governor Doug Burgum and urging him to line item veto this horrendous portion of SB 2004. You can do this by clicking here.
It’s vital that Governor Burgum know that we support the State Auditor’s ability to act independently in carrying out his “duties, powers, and responsibilities” in “detecting and reporting any defaults, and determining that expenditures have been made in accordance with law and appropriation acts.” This is even bigger than Josh Gallion. We need to protect the office of State Auditor. Please act now!
T. Arthur Mason is a native North Dakotan who has spent nearly all of his life in the Peace Garden State. As the third of four children in Western North Dakota, Mason grew to appreciate family and the outdoors. Some of his fondest memories are annual deer hunts with family and friends.
In his early teenage years, faith became a central part of T. Arthur Mason's life. He and the majority of his family attend church together on a weekly basis and find this a fulfilling aspect of their lives.
Through the influence of his father, T. Arthur Mason became intrigued with politics. As a boy, he attended political events with his father and enjoyed the friendships that resulted as a byproduct of those political associations. As Mason grew older, he became convinced that the quote often attributed to Thomas Jefferson was true, "That government is best which governs least."
Today, T. Arthur Mason enjoys time with his wife and children, an occasional hunt, and an increasingly active life on the political scene. This blog is the fulfillment of a dream to design a web site in the realm of politics and to advocate for the principles of Liberty and constitutionally limited government.
On behalf of all those that contribute to The Minuteman, we hope you enjoy your time on the site and will share the message with others.
After Josh Gallion won his bid in 2016 to be North Dakota’s State Auditor, he told the Bismarck Tribune that he hoped to improve the perception of the audit process and find savings for our state government. Gallion’s victory in [read more…]
In January of 2018, Governor Doug Burgum was in attendance at the State Capitol with directors of the state Department of Transportation, the Highway Patrol, and the Health Department to unveil a new traffic safety initiative known as “Vision Zero“. [read more…]
At the end of last month, North Dakota’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announced 13 finalists for open positions on North Dakota’s Board of Higher Education. Among them was former Bismarck Mayor Mike Seminary. We made our case of [read more…]
