Johnson still undecided

10/24/2005

Monday, October 24, 2005

By Linda Vanderwerf, Staff Writer
West Central Tribune

WILLMAR—A heavy hitter is expected to join the field of Democrats running for governor today, but Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson will stay on the sidelines, at least for now.

Attorney General Mike Hatch said in a fund-raising letter last week that he would announce his candidacy today. Hatch joins a growing field of DFL candidates who hope to challenge Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty in the 2006 election.

“I’m not gonna say I’m in and I’m out, because I don’t know at this point,” Johnson said Friday.

Johnson said in a telephone interview that he admires Hatch, someone he’s known for years.

“He’s clearly a strong candidate,” he said. “He’s a bulldog for the average person, no doubt about it.” Hatch was elected attorney general in 1998 and is a former state commerce commissioner. He’s run for governor twice before.

Hatch came to his office in the State Capitol about a week ago, Johnson said.

“He told me he was going to run, … and then he looked at me and said, ‘Dean, are you going to run,” Johnson said. “I said, ‘What do you think?’”

Hatch’s words were: “There’s only two people I know right now that can beat Tim Pawlenty, and that’s Mike Hatch and Dean Johnson.”

Hatch’s suggestion to him was “to stay strong on the bench,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he hasn’t decided whether to run for a number of reasons.

“I just philosophically think these statewide campaigns are far too long,” he said. He did concede that a delay in getting into the race could make fund-raising more difficult.

In addition, being majority leader takes “an enormous amount of time,” he said.

“It’s a fascinating, intriguing, challenging position,” he said. “There’s no handbook written for this job, … there’s a lot of trial and error.”

The job also gives him a chance to do some good things for his home area, including obtaining funding for Willmar’s new airport and for the Willmar Regional Treatment Center sale.

Johnson is also a brigadier general and chaplain in the Army National Guard and a pastor at Calvary Lutheran Church in Willmar.

His military workload as special assistant to the Army chief of chaplains is growing. Calvary is short-staffed now, so that demands more of his time, too.

“It’s not like I’m looking for something more to do,” he said.

However, he has received encouragement from many people. Some organizations just beginning their endorsement process have asked about his plans, too.

Other DFL candidates who have announced so far include state Sen. Steve Kelley, former legislator and nonprofit founder Bud Philbrook, real estate developer Kelly Doran and frequent candidate Ole Savior. State Sen. Becky Lourey also has indicated interest.