The Catholic Spirit: Gov. Walz not seeking a third term amid human services fraud investigations

Gov. Tim Walz announced Jan. 5 that he will no longer seek a third term as governor of Minnesota.

He acknowledged the impact of recent federal and state investigations into state human services fraud allegations and the political reaction it has created.

In a statement posted on his office’s website, Walz said he decided not to run after consulting with his family and staff during the holidays.

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Jason Adkins — executive director and general counsel of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, which represents the public policy interests of the state’s Catholic bishops — said in an email that Walz made the right decision. New leadership is required to address the undermining of the credibility and viability of programs designed to serve people in need, he said.

“In particular, the state needs to ensure that both those responsible for fraud and others who are complicit by intentionally enabling it are brought to justice so that we can restore confidence in our state’s social safety net and protect vulnerable citizens,” Adkins said.

In his announcement, Walz also noted efforts to address the issue of fraud in Minnesota. Those initiatives included the Dec. 12 hiring of Tim O’Malley — whose experience includes working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, leading the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and helping lead the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ response to allegations of clergy sexual abuse — to help implement a statewide fraud prevention program.

Read the full article from The Catholic Spirit.