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No one can ever accuse Minnesota politicians of participating in the types of shenanigans that occur in Illinois, Louisiana, or New Jersey, but to be so naïve as to think that horse-trading, log rolling, and political payoffs don’t take place in Minnesota is just wrong.
There are many deals made in the State Capitol hallways, spoken and unspoken. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Some are inconsequential, some not so harmless. But one recent job offer bears greater public scrutiny.
This saga begins with the transportation funding bill of February 2008. After a 20-year impasse on a gas tax increase, the Legislature moved quickly at the start of the 2008 session to pass controversial legislation containing an $11 billion road and transit funding package with a 40% gas tax bump in addition to an excise tax, license taxes, and sales tax hike.
From the outset Governor Pawlenty voiced his opposition to the bloated transportation spending package. He had vetoed a previous gas tax increase and this legislation was certain to meet the same fate. With the Democrats holding significant majorities in both the Senate and the House, all that was necessary to override Governor Pawlenty’s veto was five Republican votes in the House. With passage of the bill early in the 2008 session, the stage was set for an override showdown. OnFebruary 25, 2008 six Republicans voted to override the Governor’s veto and the tax-laden transportation funding bill became law.
There was outrage among Republican Party faithful that GOP lawmakers might go against their Governor and their party on such a key vote. Of the six Republican House members that sided with the Democrats against the Governor, two chose not to run for re-election, two were defeated at the polls, and two won easy re-election.
Of the two who chose not to run, one stepped aside with little fanfare, seeming to willingly accept responsibility for her transgressions. No one suspected that a little more than a year later she would receive an almost $90,000 a year job offer: a plum position with Anoka County—a metro county that would gain tens of millions in additional transit funds with the passage of the bill.
Last week former State Representative Kathy Tingelstad of Coon Rapids was appointed Anoka County’s Chief legislative lobbyist with an annual salary of $87,500 per year. Not exactly Madoff money, but with healthcare, vacation, and an Anoka County credit card, certainly a step up from the $31,140 a year she made as a legislator.
Any skeptic would say this hardly amounts to a payoff. But consider that the Anoka County Board made this appointment without a job posting or candidate search. Was a position with Anoka County a done deal from the day that Representative Tingelstad pushed the “green” button? Or did Representative Tingelstad truly believe that Anoka County needed millions in additional transit funding each year?
There is nothing illegal about what Representative Tingelstad did or the Anoka County Board’s action. However, it is hard to believe this deal wasn’t hardwired. She was looking for a paycheck after she left the legislature and the Anoka County Board seemed more than willing to give her one.
Rather than chose to support her party, her caucus, or her Governor, Representative Tingelstad looked toward future employment.
This type of behavior isn’t the norm in Minnesota, but unfortunately it does happen. No one is beyond temptation, but in this case the desire for future employment may have been too much to resist.
The villain in this case is not Representative Tingelstad, but rather the self-serving Anoka County Board members who dangled the carrot in front of her in return for her vote. One solution to this problem would be legislation to prevent former legislators from accepting jobs at the public trough. But if this were the case, the Anoka County Board would be looking for a least a half dozen new employees.
This column originally appeared in the St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report. |
