McCain/Obama/Clinton administrations: Minnesota personnel

We've talked about the running mate odds already. Let's get even more ahead of ourselves and discuss which Minnesota politicians may be snatched to serve in the next administration.

First off, in the unlikely, but unfortunately possible, scenario of a McCain presidency. A lot of high profile current and former Republicans are off the table because they lack experience or have been discredited. It's difficult to see Michele Bachmann or Rod Grams serving in an administration.

• Tim Pawlenty - Conventional wisdom continues to build that Pawlenty is at the top of McCain's running mate list. If the governor does not become McCain's running mate, don't count a Governor Molnau out. Pawlenty could be a cabinet member; particularly but not necessarily the Secretary of Health and Human Services or Secretary of Education.
• Jim Ramstad - I don't know how Ramstad and McCain regard each other, but both have a reputation of bucking the party line in Congress. McCain, while a "maverick," is still a by-and-large conservative. Ramstad is a true moderate, particularly on social issues. Ramstad is retiring from Congress. His appointment wouldn't put a Republican seat in danger (it already is). Ramstad might not be a cabinet level appointment, but still in line for some administration job. Ramstad could serve the administration in a health care capacity or perhaps law enforcement.
• John Kline - Kline may or may not be out of a job come January. The Republican congressman has been a steadfast supporter of the war and is a consistent conservative. Whether or not he is reelected this fall, Kline could be a pick to serve as a higher-up in the Department of Veterans Affairs or perhaps in the Pentagon.
• Norm Coleman - Should Coleman lose election this fall, but McCain wins (an unlikely combination), he might be able to get employed in some capacity in a McCain administration. Perhaps with his 5 years working on foreign relations in the Senate, Coleman could be appointed an ambassador. Perhaps ambassador to the UN, but McCain would probably want someone with more experience and intelligence in that position. If Coleman wins in the fall, he's probably not an attractive enough person to vacate a Senate seat, even if a Republican would be appointed to replace him by a Governor Pawlenty or Molnau.

(Here's a scary scenario. Remember that once upon a time Pawlenty wanted the U.S. Senate seat before Dick Cheney "persuaded" him to run for governor. Should McCain win the presidency with Charlie Crist as his running mate and Coleman win reelection too, but vacate the post when appointed the ambassador to the EU or something. Pawlenty could then resign and Gov. Molnau appoint Pawlenty to serve out the six year Senate term. It's been done before, albeit without good results. Setting that aside, who would a Gov. Pawlenty or Molnau appoint to fill an empty Coleman seat?)


An Obama presidency:

Minnesota Democrats hold more congressional and statewide seats than Republicans, but most are relative newcomers. However, some DFL politicians stick out for an opening in an Obama administration.

• Jim Oberstar - It would be hard for Oberstar to give up his chair of the House Transportation Committee. It looks like he has just gotten started there. That is, except for maybe the possibility to become the Secretary of Transportation. The resulting special election would be competitive, but Democrats would still probably be able to keep that northern Minnesota seat.
• Lori Swanson - Swanson has been tarnished in recent months with allegations of ethical breaches and union busting. At this point, the charges probably don't rise to the level to stop Swanson from being appointed a federal judge. State Democrats would probably be resistant to the idea, since the governor would have the power to appoint a successor for the attorney general.
• R.T. Rybak - The Minneapolis mayor was an early and strong supporter of Obama's. It is not too far fetched to see Rybak serving in the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Betty McCollum - McCollum's departure wouldn't worry Democrats too much. McCollum has been steadily climbing the Democratic caucus leadership ladder since elected in 2000. She may not wish to throw that away. Still, McCollum might be an attractive fit in a number of administration posts within the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Education. McCollum might also be the type of person appointed to the National Endowment for the Arts.

A Clinton administration:

It is doubtful, although an outside possibility that Clinton will be elected the next president. In that scenario one can assume many of the first Clinton administration loyalists would return. Clinton would undoubtedly bring in some new blood out of need and a desire to make her own mark.

Under a Clinton administration, Oberstar, Swanson, and McCollum may all still be potential candidates for appointments despite Oberstar's and McCollum's endorsements of Obama. Rybak would be out of consideration in all likelihood. Two additional names:

• Chris Coleman and Susan Gaertner - The St. Paul Mayor and the Ramsey County Attorney, respectively, have both endorsed Clinton. Coleman has also served as a public defender and prosecutor in Hennepin County. Both are top names for a gubernatorial run in 2010, but one or even both could be persuaded to take a post in Washington, DC. Either could be good fits for a Department of Justice or federal judiciary post.

Swansongate continues

Last week, the Legislative Auditor told a House Committee that he would begin a "preliminary inquiry" into the allegations of wrongdoings in the Attorney General's office. His inquiry would not include the alleged anti-union activities. Apparently, non-partisan lawyers have told the DFL House leadership that such an investigation may constitute an interference in labor relations and violate federal labor law.

Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-St. Louis Park) had been pushing the Legislative Auditor, Jim Nobles, to begin an investigation until Nobles said he would initiate it voluntarily without a legislative committee motion. But here's the question, is Simon carefully doing his constitutional duty by pressing for an investigation into the highest ranking DFLer's alleged wrongdoing? Or, is Simon have a personal vendetta against Swanson and is exacting his revenge with the help of a runaway union leadership and former DFL House leader and Hatch nemesis Matt Entenza?

Some DFLers in the Swanson-Hatch camp believe more in the latter. Adding to the inter-party fighting, Minn Post reporter G.R. Anderson has uncovered an email sent by Rep. Debra Hilstrom (DFL-Brooklyn Center) to other DFL House members. Hilstrom forwards information from former Attorney General Mike Hatch and Swanson mentor that suggests that Simon is being driven to take down Swanson because he was "involuntarily transfered" by Swanson when they both worked in the AG's office under Hatch.

Hilstrom and Simon have reportedly already talked and resolved their differences. Though Simon noted, in part: "I think the implication that my transfer years ago to another division makes me a disgruntled employee is absurd and makes it look like [Hatch and Swanson] have something to hide."

No news yet on when the Office of the Legislative Auditor will release its preliminary findings. Many eyes will be on that report, but it will still be only part of the puzzle since the union-busting allegations remain unresolved.

Editorial on Minnesota AG allegations

The Star Tribune ran an editorial calling for an independent investigation of the allegations involving the Minnesota Attorney General's office. Lori Swanson has been attacked by some current and former staff members who have accused her of ethical wrongdoing and union-busting. The editorial notes that these are only allegations thus far that may, as Swanson suggests, be politically motivated. Nevertheless, they argue and I agree, that because of the power and importance of that office, these serious allegations must be independently investigated. They suggest the Legislative Auditor, who has looked into the Secretary of State's practices around public data, the lawfulness of the governor's JOBZ program, and state lottery agency misappropriation of funds.

I don't know if the Attorney General would accept and cooperate with an outside investigation. I would hope she would. Busy legislators need to first call for such an investigation rather than remain silent. I'm looking forward to hearing a DFL legislator do the right thing and call for an investigation of his or her fellow DFLer, Lori Swanson.

More news on MN AG office disarray

Eric Black seems to be one of the only reporters spending time on this, which is quite disconcerting. Today, more detailed allegations from multiple sources on unethical and union busting practices from Attorney General Lori Swanson and some of her minions. Only Tim Pugmire at Minnesota Public Radio has also given decent coverage to the allegations.

It is also unclear whether state legislators are giving any consideration to holding hearings on these serious allegations. The only lawmaker I know of who has called for investigations is Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Delano). Emmer is seen as an oddball among some of his own Republican colleagues and is unlikely to singlehandedly convince the DFL majority to hold investigative hearings. Though that hasn't stopped him from trying.

I don't know enough about Minnesota legislative jurisdiction to know who would have the authority to hold hearings. The House doesn't have any judiciary committee. There Emmer has focused his efforts on the all-powerful Rules Committee chair and house majority leader, Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm). The Senate does have a judiciary committee, but I don't know what if the Attorney General's office falls within their scope. Reluctance of DFL legislators in investigating the Attorney General are understandable. She's a DFLer and the Attorney General is a constitutional office elected by the people of Minnesota. Still, if their were allegations of ethical lapses and union busting activities by the governor, you can bet they'd be itching to look at that.

Amy Lawler, the lawyer put on leave last week after going public with some of these concerns responded with a letter and attachments 27 pages long. She presents a pretty damning case on a number of fronts on the goings-on in that office. Check out the full letter here [pdf]. After reading this, I don't know how legislators could NOT call for an investigation.

An aside: Isn't 'Amy Lawler' just about the perfect name for a lawyer?

Attorney in AG office put on leave

UPDATE: The Star Tribune is running an Associated-Press piece right now on the lawyer being placed on leave.

Breaking news from the MinnPost.

Eric Black opens:

"Amy Lawler, the assistant attorney general quoted in a MinnPost story Friday about upheaval, fear and retribution in Minnesota Attorney General's Office (AGO), was placed on administrative leave Monday night, in apparent retribution for speaking to MinnPost."

Lawler was told she was being put on leave because she went to the media about an ethics concern when she should have filed a complaint with the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board instead.

What surprises me after reading Black's original story in the MinnPost last Friday was the lack of further media attention. There seems to be a lot of dysfunction in the office of Attorney General Lori Swanson. As far as I can tell, the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press have yet to cover any aspect of this story. Searching on their websites, none of the local news stations have looked at the matter. Not even Twin Cities Public Television public affairs programs Almanac and Almanac at the Capitol. Only Minnesota Public Radio has given the matter attention, running a piece by Tim Pugmire last week.

Trouble in the AG office?

Both the Minn Post and MPR are running pieces about the personnel chaos pre-staging and continuing through a unionizing effort at the Minnesota Attorney General's office. New Attorney General Lori Swanson has not been well received by her employees and there has been some suggestion that some employees were retaliated against for their unionizing efforts.

Most troubling is the alleged circulation of an anti-unionizing, loyalty oath that was passed along to employees. A couple other allegations surfaced of staff attorneys being pressed to create legal cases in politically relevant ways in tight timelines, despite the lack of facts supporting going forward with a prosecution. An assistant attorney-general told reporter Eric Black that "Swanson told her to find someone to sue, draft a complaint and file suit within a week." I'm not a prosecuting attorney, but as I understand it, usually you allow the facts of the case guide you when making a decision whether to draft a complaint.

I voted for Swanson in the 2006 general election, but not in the primary. It's difficult to imagine the same allegations had Steve Kelley been elected Attorney General. Especially with Mike Hatch not in the governor's office and able to protect his protege, I would fully expect an intra-party challenge to Swanson come 2010.