Should government officials be allowed to use taxpayer dollars to promote their own political views? That’s a question that’s been debated for years, but a prominent guidepost was established in 1953, in a New Jersey legal decision written by Judge William Brennan.

In that oft-cited case, Citizens to Protect Public Funds v. Board of Education, Brennan — who later went on to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court— strongly discouraged public advocacy with taxpayer dollars, noting that “public funds belong equally to both sides of a controversy.”

While Judge Brennan wrote his decision in the context of a school board referendum, the principle is the same whenever elected officials are considering using taxpayer dollars to promote one side of a political controversy. In almost every case, it’s a bad idea. That’s not just our view. It’s advice that’s been issued by the Minnesota Attorney General and the State Auditor, who have both cited the Brennan decision.

It’s advice that officials in the Ely and Babbitt area should consider before moving forward on a proposal to use tax dollars to fund the operation of Up North Jobs, a group that even founders acknowledge was created to counter the political message of the anti-copper/nickel mining group known as Sustainable Ely.

Certainly, local governmental bodies are free to voice their individual or collective opinions on the subject of mining, or any other topic, through the passage of resolutions or other similar means. But when elected officials consider appropriating tax dollars to fund an advocacy organization, that’s flirting with perilous territory.

Sure, some would no doubt argue that Up North Jobs represents the view of a majority of local residents, and that’s probably true. It’s equally true that most residents vote DFL, but that’s no justification to use city or school district funds to maintain a DFL campaign headquarters on the main drag.

Governmental bodies can use tax dollars to pay lobbying costs for specific projects, which is another form of advocacy, or for defined services, such as economic development management. But in those cases, cities are either paying legitimate travel expenses for public officials, or contract fees for a defined professional service.

But paying the rent, utilities, and other operating costs of a recently-created nonprofit organization, simply because local officials agree with their message, is entirely different, and entirely inappropriate.

Establishing a joint powers board, similar to the one that currently oversees the Ely Area Ambulance service may spread the cost of funding such an effort, but it can’t evade the more fundamental question of public purpose. Like it or not, there are two sides to most political debates, including the current debate over mining. As Judge Brennan would no doubt note, the taxpayer dollars that some would like to spend to fund Up North Jobs belong equally to all the residents of the communities potentially involved, even those who oppose copper/nickel mining.

It’s understandable that local officials want to spur the creation of good jobs in our area— that’s a goal we firmly support. But rather than an economic call to arms, as some have suggested, perhaps the Ely City Council should facilitate a civil discussion on how two organizations that both claim to support economic development can work together to support job creation for those who need work today. Invite representatives of Up North Jobs and Sustainable Ely to a meeting and ask them what specific ideas they have and what steps they are willing to take to help foster job growth now.

Sure, they don’t agree on the merits of copper-nickel mining, but the two sides undoubtedly could find some areas of agreement on ways they could cooperate to improve the local economy in the near term.

Copper-nickel mining in the Ely area is years away, at best. It isn’t the answer to the local economy, at least not for the upcoming decade. Besides, whether the mines eventually open will largely be determined by global economic trends and decision-making by corporate boards located far from here. And they won’t much care what locals think about it.

If folks in Ely are itching for a fight, copper-nickel mining can undoubtedly provide the ammunition. But if they’re looking for actual ideas to create jobs for residents living here today, there’s some real work to be done. Mining may eventually become a reality in the future, but it certainly isn’t the answer to what ails Ely in the present. And fighting about it won’t change that. It only diverts our energies from the real work that needs doing.