Posted 1/3/01 An examination of Venturaís performance By T.W. Budig ECM capitol reporter Gov. Jesse Ventura is now entering the latter half of his term. And while heís never far from the headlines, a fair question might be how does Ventura stack up? What has he achieved as governor? Certainly Ventura has broken new ground in regard to the outside income afforded the chief executive. And whether beneficial or not, heís added a great deal of color to the sometimes monochromatic decor of state government. Ventura deserves credit for the sales tax rebates and tab fee reductions. And the administration has proposed telecommunication reform and other initiatives. Still, the administration has yet to make a truly distinctive, discernable mark. The state has seen record tax cuts and rebates over the past two years, but the giving Ventura full credit for these happy events begs the question what he can do with scrofula. Ventura has shown audacity ñ the unicameral initiative last session would have been truly historic had the outcome been a single house. Yet the initiative also illustrates the administrationís ñ or at least the governorís ñ curious lack of follow-through. When the unicameral initiative momentarily regained its feet late last session, Ventura was at the White House at a meeting on trade. In a scene still vibrant in state political folklore, Ventura afterward depicted himself at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as close to the cell phone, ready to make decisions. But the decisions were being made back in St. Paul. This is a little unfair. No one knew the session would be record in length. But if the unicameral initiative was so central to the administration, what was Ventura doing at the White House? Bill would have understood had he taken a raincheck. A big question now is whether the administrationís tax reform package ñ an ambitious, creative proposal demanding strong guidance ñ will meet unicamís lonely fate. The administration has already shown hesitancy in pressing its tax reform package. House Speaker Steven Sviggum said a week before Christmas that the governor had never once spoken to him about tax reform. Now the governor doesnít have to talk to anyone about it, of course. But common sense suggests he might want to make a phonecall or two. The administration released the details (not the numbers) of the tax package to the media late afternoon on the Friday before Christmas. The timing of the release invites speculation. One can picture administration officials hunched-shouldered and snickering as the thinned ranks of media in the Capitol basement scurried to get quick comments from holiday-bound lawmakers. Itís an amusing scenario if the bait thrown out hadnít been the policy hallmark of the administration. Details of the tax package should have been spelled out long ago. Ventura will likely talk taxes and school funding during his State of the State address on Thursday, Jan. 4, and the speech will be duly reported. The extent to which the holiday-weary public will pour over the governorís words is open to conjecture. And if Venturaís tax proposal has the slightest chance of success ñ and perhaps the administration already believes it doesnít ñ the governor must get the public behind him. Itís probably too late. For many people, the legislative session will soon become a background buzz. Unless issues are truly pressed, theyíre soon lost. Ventura scores high in public opinion polls and whatever the sins and omissions the pols see in the governor remain invisible to most the public. But at the midpoint of his administration, itís hard to see what Ventura has accomplished that a moderate DFLer or Republican might have done as well. Perhaps the 2001 Legislative Session will yield an answer. ©Post Review