Governor wonít run for anything but President

Posted 8/8/01

Governor wonít run for anything but President

By T.W. Budig
ECM capitol reporter

Whatever political path lies ahead for Gov. Jesse Ventura, it will never point toward Capitol Hill.
In an exclusive interview with ECM Publishers, Inc. on Monday (July 30), Ventura ñ still coy about seeking a second term as governor ñ flatly said he would never run for U.S. Congress.

Saying heís probably too bullheaded and cantankerous to fit into a legislative body, his experience is in the executive branch of government anyway, Ventura explained.

ìThe only job Iíd go for out there is president,î he said, looking beyond the governorship.

And thatís with the peopleís support, he added.
Ventura brushed aside the lingering question of whether heíll seek a second term as governor. Itís too early to start talking about an election thatís months away, he said.

He believes campaigns should be kept to the year of the election ñ not beyond. ìI hope I will never stoop to that level,î said Ventura of political earlybirds.
However he decides, the wishes of his family will be part of the decision. ìI think you and your family come before your (political) party,î said Ventura. Asked if he would wait until the last possible moment and file on the last day of filings if he filed for reelection, Ventura said he might file on the first day of filings.
Admitting a certain bias, Ventura called First Lady Terry Ventura the best first lady ever. But Terry has never been fond of being in the public eye, though perhaps has gotten more use to it, Ventura said.
Media scrutiny puts pressures on the family, he explained.
While itís generally conceded by pundits that the administration fared well last legislative session ñ Ventura points to property tax reform as a major accomplishment ñ he dismisses the notion of achieving a legacy.
ìIt was just another day at the office,î he said of the close of the special session ñ a legislative extra inning that Ventura still singles out as regretable and unnecessary.
He has by no means exhausted the things heíd like to get done as governor, said Ventura. For one thing, heíd like to see further reductions in license tab fees, he said.
And things have a way of cropping up, he explained. ìThey (goals) find you around here,î he said.
Ventura also mentioned renewing the pitch for unicam. Reworking an observation by Winston Churchill on the inherent messiness of democracy, Ventura asked why not try to achieve efficient government.
ìWe can always go back to being inefficient,î he said.
Briefly looking back over the past session, Ventura said no one should mistake that somehow House Republicans and he ñ the fiscal two-against-one punch last session ñ have achieved anything like a formal pairing.
It was a momentary philosophical alignment, explained Ventura.
ìThey (Republicans) gave me more trouble in the end than the Democrats,î said Ventura.
Heís not aligned with either the Republicans or the DFL, explained the Independence Party governor.
He characterized House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R, Kenyon, as someone who carries his emotions on his sleeve. Ventura characterized Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, DFL, Erskine, as calculating, diplomatic.
On the issue of transportation, Ventura said he ìabsolutelyî considers Northstar Commuter Rail funding a priority for next session.
The administration has slated some $115 million for commuter rail in its capital bonding bill.
Though editorial writers and lawmakers have lamented the modest gains transportation made last legislative session, Ventura said the administration offered a complete transportation package two years ago and lawmakers balked at it.
ìThe Legislature generally takes two sessions to focus in on everything,î said Ventura.
Now well into the last half of his first term, Ventura foresees no major staffing changes within the administration ó the story of its stability is in how few commissioners have left, he said.
Ventura said he still enjoys being governor, though added it takes a certain temperament to savor the job.
One pearl of wisdom he took away from last session ñ donít believe the political rhetoric.
The administration accomplished goals pols said couldnít be done, he explained.