Legislator in GOP’s crosshairs

03/18/2006

Freshman Republican faces challenger on the right

BY FREDERICK MELO
Pioneer Press

The freshman Republican from Farmington is in a bit of a political pickle.

State Rep. Patrick Garofalo, 33, sailed into office two years ago with 62 percent of the vote, a better showing in his staunchly Republican district than even U.S. Rep. John Kline or President Bush. And on social issues, no one denies he’s come straight from the conservative mold. To the delight of backers, Garofalo last year co-sponsored a series of bills taking aim at abortion rights, gay marriage benefits and gun control.

So is he a shoo-in for re-election? Not hardly, say a bevy of fiscal hawks.

As dozens of party delegates gather for an endorsement convention at McGuire Junior High School in Lakeville today, there’s a question about whether Garofalo even will receive the GOP nod to run for a second term. So far, he is the only Republican House member facing a challenger from within his own party.

Garofalo, more likely to take his cues on divisive issues from the governor than from archconservatives, has made some visible enemies on the right.

“On our scorecard, he got 58,” said David Strom, president of the Taxpayers League of Minnesota, which ranks lawmakers’ voting records on tax and spending items from zero to 100. In 2005, Garofalo landed among the bottom 20 percent of Republicans on the list; by comparison, points out Strom, district seatmate Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville, scored 100.

“We want good, solid conservatives up there,” said Chaz Johnson, a Northwest Airlines flight attendant who unveiled his surprise candidacy in January. “It’s the tax issues that need to be addressed.”

Johnson, a party chair for the 2nd Congressional District, has been active in Farmington-area politics. Until this race, the two men considered each other friends.

Richard Noe, Johnson’s campaign manager, said the candidates still share the same conservative social values. “But on some of the meat and potato financial issues, (Garofalo’s) votes seem to be in favor of growing government. It’s an unusual combination.”

Facing heat from former allies for supporting the Northstar Commuter Rail line, a stadium proposal and an increase to the state gas tax, Garofalo announced in early February that he had abandoned his re-election bid.

He’s since said that he’s on the fence and would run if drafted by party delegates at today’s convention.

Garofalo, a network engineer for Allianz Life Insurance, had cited a lack of family time with his small children and an intense job as reasons he was debating seeking re-election. “Then we all said, ‘The hell you’re going to quit!’ “ said Rebecca Susag, a delegate from Douglas Township. “He never really wanted to quit being in the Legislature. He just didn’t know if he had the stomach for the endorsement battle, frankly.”

Garofalo could not be reached for comment, but according to supporters, he has not ruled out returning to the race as an independent or facing Johnson in the Republican primary without the party’s official backing.

The latter strategy has worked for legislators in the past. State Rep. Dennis Ozment, R-Rosemount, protected his seat from a more fiscally conservative GOP opponent in 2002. (The convention ended without an endorsement.)

In that election, redistricting had eliminated Ozment’s political stronghold in southern Dakota County, including Farmington.

Ozment dismissed Johnson and his supporters as the same group of “right-wing ultra-conservatives” who challenged him four years ago and praised Garofalo for “calling shots as he sees them.”

“He’s been doing a good job,” Ozment said. “That’s the kind of leadership people want. They want people that make the tough decisions and not just take a poll and see which way the wind is blowing.”

But Ozment, a 22-year incumbent, had more political insulation in 2002; Garofalo’s tenure in the House is less than 2 years old.

THE VOTES

Strom of the Taxpayers League acknowledges that conservatives faced challenges at the Capitol. Last year, the Legislature shot down Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s plan to build a state-sponsored racetrack casino, a proposal that Garofalo had favored. Lawmakers also opted against a taxpayer-subsidized stadium for the Minnesota Twins, which the governor (and Garofalo) had supported.

Instead, the Legislature approved increasing the minimum wage, boosting ethanol content in gasoline and pumping millions of dollars into the Northstar Commuter Rail line. All received the governor’s approval, as well as Garofalo’s, but not the support of fiscal conservatives.

Garofalo built his ties to Pawlenty as the technology manager on his 2002 gubernatorial campaign.

That doesn’t mean he’s never broken ranks. Last May, he cast a decisive vote in helping DFLers and a small group of Republicans pass a 10-cent-per-gallon state gas tax increase. Garofalo said the funds were badly needed to pay for road repair, but the governor later snuffed out the measure.

With the transportation bill sure to draw Pawlenty’s veto, Garofalo’s vote left key players in his party scratching their heads.

“I think the big issue has to do with a sense of arrogance that a freshman legislator, in such a short period of time, starts bucking the governor,” said Strom.

Garofalo’s supporters see things differently.

“I’m pleased that Pat has had the courage as a freshman legislator to not totally toe the company line,” said Susag, who is also his campaign treasurer. “It seems the stand-out issue was the gas tax. He was looking out for the best interest of his constituents in Dakota County. We have terrible roads.”

In Dakota County, party obligations have forced some political observers to sit this contest out. Garofalo served as Steve Strachan’s fundraiser in 2002, when Strachan’s sights were set on the House 36B seat.

“I agreed to be the convention chair six months ago … before there was any hint that everything wouldn’t be completely routine,” said Strachan, who gave up his political seat two years ago to become police chief in Lakeville. “It’s not routine anymore.”