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5 legislature. Even some current appointed Met Council members have history, affiliations, and/or allegiances with /to other organizations. 15) Isn’t it a conflict of interest to ask an official elected by one specific city or county to represent an entire region? Local elected officials already serve in many capacities where they must consider regional interests. The Council’s Transportation Advisory Board, for example, which recommends allocation of transportation and transit funding throughout the region, is made up of majority of local elected officials. In fact, the federal government requires all regional metropolitan planning organizations, which administer transportation and transit funding in metro areas (and are thus required to have a regional focus) to be made up of a majority of elected officials. Even the structure of County Boards and City Councils requires local elected officials to represent the interests of the entire city/county, rather than the specific district that elected them. There are hundreds of examples of local officials serving on regional boards and joint powers agreements where they collectively share authority in areas beyond each member’s individual jurisdiction. 16) Wouldn’t this make the Council more parochial, more politicized, and more beholden to special interest groups? We believe that a fundamental principle of effective government is accountability to those impacted by its decisions. It is inherent in the nature of the political process, however, that increased input from stakeholders of all interests could raise concerns of increased politicization. However, this concern would be mitigated by the participation of a broad range of local elected officials who would strengthen the Council’s accountability and increase its flexibility; these are necessary steps to increase the credibility of the Council with metro-area residents. Furthermore, we are confident that concerns about parochialism and politicization could be mitigated by a fair, regionally balanced, selection process that allows for advocacy, debate, and voting. In addition, the Council would continue to be overseen by the Legislature to help ensure that it remains an effective regional tool. In fact, a Council composed of a majority of elected officials may have more legitimacy in the eyes of the Legislature, as it will be seen as an independent, responsive entity. A Council with a majority of local elected officials will be able to independently interact with the Legislature, rather than as a State agency under executive branch control. 17) Isn’t there a potential for Council appointees to be geographically imbalanced? We believe the most important issue is that of accountability; it is our goal to make the Council accountable to the entirety of the metropolitan area. These principles do not in and of themselves guarantee geographic balance, as they are purposely at a high level, but we would