In addressing the CGMC members, many of whom come from small communities throughout Minnesota, she stressed the importance of fighting fraud and lowering taxes to create stronger communities.

Demuth currently serves as Minnesota Speaker of the House. She began the townhall by sharing the story of how she got involved in politics. She began by running for the local school board and running on a write-in ballot. She would ultimately serve three terms on the school board and learned the important role education has in a small community.

Demuth said she saw how the strength of a school can make a strong community, but a strong community can also make a strong school.

In 2018, her local representative called her and encouraged her to run for the Minnesota House of Representatives. She decided to run and was elected. Her first term in the house began in 2019 and she was voted minority leader in 2023.

Lisa Demuth, (right) candidate for Minnesota Governor, speaks with CGMC Executive Director Bradley Peterson during Thursday’s candidate session. Demuth receive a round of applause after saying she supported local control of zoning and planning at a community level. “I think that is the best way to get things done,” she said. “You know what you need.”

“All of this came from wanting to serve my community a little bit more,” she said.

In 2024, the voters of Minnesota delivered a tie to the House of Representatives, with 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans.

Demuth took a moment to comment on former Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman, who was murdered last year in an act of political violence.

She said she considered Hortman a good colleague and friend and her loss was tragic.

“She and I were of different political parties, and we did not see eye-to-eye, but we were both committed to making things a little better for Minnesota,” she said.

Working with Hortman, she believed they were able to pass strong legislation despite the tie in the House and that work has continued.

Demuth specifically cited the passage of back-to-back bonding bills, which was rare. Those bonding bills helped many communities in Greater Minnesota to tackle needed infrastructure projects.

She acknowledge not every project was approved, investments in infrastructure like roads, bridges, wastewater, lead pipe replacement and other improvements will make Minnesota stronger.

“It is going to help with the pressures all of you are facing when it comes to property taxes,” she said.

Tax reduction is a priority for Demuth. She spoke on right-sizing state government, reducing taxes for businesses and ending the tax on social security.

She also acknowledged that major legislative mandates that went in place in 2023 and 2024, like Paid Family Medical Leave and Earned Safe and Sick Time, had created problems for all communities.

“I know those are hitting your cities and you have to recoup those costs and we don’t have a lot of options,” she said.

Demuth said she would never promise to get rid of property taxes because that is a local control issue and each community needed to decide what was right for them.

She also put her support behind increasing Local Government Aid (LGA). She said the LGA payments are very important to Greater Minnesota and she assured the conference goers that her fellow legislators were aware of this.

“We know that is an important piece for you to do what you can and try to keep property taxes down,” she said.

From the beginning, Demuth said fighting fraud was a top priority of her campaign. She believes that combating fraud will benefit the tax payer, saying the $9 billion in fraud reported in Minnesota results in higher costs for everyone.

“It is a disrespect to everyone in this room and beyond as tax payer,” she said. “The government has to respect the tax dollars, right-size government and give things out to the people who need it most and invest in our infrastructure.”

On education, Demuth said the state needs to improve its test scores and bring reading scores back up as an economic measure.

“We are preparing our next workforce,” she said. “We want to keep those people here in Minnesota, but they need to be equipped for the job that needs us.”

At the end of the townhall CGMC Executive Director Bradley Peterson asked Demuth some follow-up questions. He asked her to share her vision and philosophy for governing.

“I am very collaborative,” Demuth said. “I want to hear from people who are willing to have a discussion or will be part of decision-making.”

She said collaboration takes more time at the beginning but the buy-in and understanding gained makes relationships stronger.

Demuth said in appointing commissioners, she would give people the opportunity to serve, but would always hold them accountable, especially when dealing with state tax dollars.

On a question of energy affordability, Demuth said she wanted to respect and honor the environment and would not vilify one form of energy over the other. For this reason, she supported studies looking into lifting the state’s moratorium on nuclear power.

Peterson asked a follow-up question about lead pipe replacement projects. Many cities in Greater Minnesota were working to remove lead pipes from their water infrastructure and were relying on capital funding to cover this cost. He asked if was possible to establish an alternative funding source outside of bonding.

Demuth said there are potential plans to create alternative funding for lead pipe removal. She said in the last year, the state was able to reduce spending by $5 billion without raising taxes and anti-fraud measures could further reduce costs. With the savings, she thought an alternative funding source was possible.

The last question of the townhall was on housing in Minnesota. Peterson asked Demuth what solutions there were to housing shortages and how involved St. Paul should be in the solution. Recently, the state has proposed new zoning regulations that would be imposed on communities across Minnesota.

Demuth said outright that she supported local control of zoning and planning at a community level.

This drew a round of applause from the CGMC conference goers, many of whom had concerns about losing local control of zoning.

Demuth said she believed the cities knew best how to managed its zoning, saying “I think that is the best way to get things done. You know what you need.”

Demuth added that in terms of housing, the state needed all types of housing at every economic level, but the problem is that much of the housing was unaffordable, even starter homes.

As Governor, Demuth said she would work to reduce restrictions and requirements on building homes. She blamed state regulations for raising housing costs, saying a house built in Wisconsin cost $40,000 less due to fewer regulations. Demuth also acknowledged that access to childcare was needed, along with housing.

Demuth reminded everyone that the primary election was Aug. 11 and voting was critical as it determined who would be on the ballot in November.

“This primary is important,” she said. “If you can’t vote on the day, early voting is available.”

She also encouraged everyone to contact their legislators on the issues that mattered to them.

“That’s how we do our best work,” Demuth said.