Dayton commits to work on economic disparities
DFL Gov. Mark Dayton is promising to give increased attention to economic disparities among racial groups in the state.
Dayton says he has meetings planned Monday with staff and state agency officials to discuss the issue. New U.S. Census Bureau numbers showed the household income of black Minnesotans dropped significantly last year. Dayton said he’s very distressed by the numbers, but thinks they will help to highlight the problem and the need to do more.
"Just watch me in the next few week and the next three years," he said. "It’s certainly a call to action for me, to me. We need to refocus on this and what we’re doing is clearly not enough.”
Dayton said the state was making progress on racial disparities given recent success in closing the achievement gap in schools. But he said there is more work to do.
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