With the candidates for governor now starting to play out, we have to ask ourselves if they really want to steer the Legislature toward fixing the budget mess this state's currently in.

When the state legislature's session finally ended, everyone -- including politicians and voters -- likely figured that it was just another session where Spackle covered the budget's cracks and holes.

They figured right.

Now, our new leadership will have to figure out how to stop the shell games of years past and actually get a budget that is not only balanced, but will help to start putting some funds back into Minnesota's reserves.

Schools, communities and other civic projects shouldn't be the ones that take the hit because of someone's mismanagement. This state and its citizens deserve better.

We're hoping whoever is elected governor will have the vision (and patience) to help accomplish a task that will not be easy to accomplish.