Pawlenty replaces 3 state department heads

12/08/2006

The governor shook up his cabinet with a change of commissioners at Finance, Revenue and Natural Resources. The replacements are considered bridge-builders who have good relationships with the DFL-led Legislature.


Patricia Lopez,
Star Tribune
Last update: December 07, 2006 – 9:48 PM


Three of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's most powerful cabinet members stepped down on Thursday, signaling major changes at the departments of Finance, Revenue and Natural Resources.


Finance Commissioner Peggy Ingison will leave to become chief financial officer at the Minneapolis public schools and DNR Commissioner Gene Merriam plans to spend more time "hunting and fishing," while Revenue Commissioner Dan Salomone will take the post of deputy chief of the department he formerly headed.


In their place, Pawlenty picked one of his closest advisers, deputy chief of staff Tom Hanson, to lead Finance, and Ward Einess, acting commissioner of employment and economic development and a former senior policy adviser to Pawlenty, to take over at Revenue.


Merriam's replacement at DNR will be named later this month.


Legislative leaders praised the moves, although Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, said he was "very disappointed" that Ingison and Merriam were leaving. "They were consummate professionals and great to work with," he said.


With them went important and longstanding links between the Legislature -- now with both bodies coming under DFL control -- and the Republican governor. Both Ingison and Merriam came out of the DFL -- Ingison as a fiscal analyst for the DFL Senate and Merriam as a veteran DFL senator.


Ingison, who served both former Gov. Jesse Ventura and Pawlenty as budget director before Pawlenty named her commissioner in 2004, was considered scrupulously nonpartisan as commissioner.


Merriam, meanwhile, was the administration's highest-ranking DFLer. With a huge constituency of outdoors enthusiasts, the DNR post can be a lightning rod for controversy -- and Merriam had his share. Some DNR employees said morale faltered because he was so detail-oriented.


But leaders of many state conservation groups praised Merriam on Thursday, saying he restored order and fiscal accountability to the agency. "I'm disappointed," said John Schroers, president of the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance.


Pogemiller also said that Hanson and Einess have "good working relationships" with DFLers and that they "are well-liked and collaborative. Their word is good."


But he would not comment on Salomone's departure, other than to say that "it's not unusual for a governor to make changes in a second term."


Pawlenty, too, offered no praise for Salomone. Instead, he described Ingison and Merriam as "tireless public servants whose leadership has greatly benefited our state."


Pawlenty spokesman Alex Carey said Pawlenty had no extended comment on Salomone because he was not leaving the administration.


Bridge-builders


Charlie Weaver, head of the Minnesota Business Partnership and Pawlenty's former chief of staff, said he had hired Einess to do fiscal policy for the governor's office because of his tax smarts. "He's a bridge-builder with a lot of knowledge about tax revenue," Weaver said. "He'll be taken seriously and with respect by Republicans and Democrats."


Hanson, who also has served as Pawlenty's director of legislative and cabinet affairs, is considered a consummate behind-the-scenes player. "He knows all the players, is thoughtful and has worked closely with Democrats," Weaver said.


Hanson has longstanding ties to Pawlenty, having served as legislative director to the House speaker when Pawlenty was majority leader.


"They have a relationship that goes back 12 years," Carey said. He credited Hanson and Einess with crafting much of Pawlenty's solution to the projected $4 billion shortfall that materialized shortly after he took office.


Incoming House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, said that even though Hanson is a Republican, "he came from the House and we consider him a great choice."


She said she has known Hanson for more than a decade. "He's easygoing, smart, very easy to work with and has a good relationship with DFLers," she said.


'Important signal'


Succeeding Hanson as Pawlenty's liaison to the Legislature is Laura Bordelon, a senior policy adviser to Pawlenty who came from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.


A low-profile but key post, the director of legislative and cabinet affairs has a reach that extends far beyond the title. All policy experts in the governor's office report to the director, who often does the behind-the-scenes negotiation on troublesome issues.


"You need someone who knows everything, but who doesn't seek the spotlight," Weaver said, describing Bordelon as "smart, mature, thoughtful and not easily rankled."


Kelliher called Pawlenty's choices "really solid," saying, "It's an important signal about how he intends to reach out to those of us in the legislative branch."