|
|
ECM Capitol reporter talks with the GovernorBy T.W. Budig Taking solace though no smoke from a frazzled cigar, a relaxed Gov. Ventura talked Jan. 14 about bonding, political rivals ó the upcoming session. Ventura presented a $845 million bonding proposal Monday that in size handily beats the ten-year average and approaches the billion dollar status of the 1998 bonding bill that he has enshrined as an icon of bloated government spending. But Ventura sees no parallel. ìThe difference between my bonding bill and the billion dollar bonding bill is that mine was done without passing pork,î he said. Contained within Venturaís bonding proposal is some $120 million for the Northstar Commuter Rail Line which the governor sees as helping to whisk passengers all the way from St. Cloud to the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. House Republican opposition to rail transit cuts deep, but Ventura argues not pursuing commuter rail is letting federal monies slip by. ìThey (Republicans) donít like getting federal money, I guess,î said Ventura. ìThey seem to be very adverse to this,î he joked.
But the Senate capital investment chairman has said the Senate will probably not support the full $120 million in bonding ó Republicans remain cold ó so the Administration may have a fight on its hands. ìIíll go after it,î said Ventura of the $120 million. ìBut whether we succeed, I donít know,î he said. ìUltimately, if we fail, it will be the State of Minnesota that pays the price if we donít get that line,î said Ventura. ìTheyíll tell you everything moves great until you get to 494,î said Ventura. Discussing the upcoming session which begins on Jan. 29, Ventura said the tags of ìVentura taxesî or ìJesse taxes,î terms DFLers and Republicans have applied to the proposed tax increase found in his balanced-budget package, will prove political liabilities. ìLetís see in three or four weeks what they can come up with,î said Ventura. Itís easy to nitpick a proposal apart ó harder to come up with one, he said. Ventura questions the House Republican approach to the projected $1.9 billion projected budget deficit, saying Republicans have so narrowed the field of possible spending cuts by pledging not to touch K-12 classrooms or other spending areas that little is left to cut. ìWhere are you going to get $2 billion out of the remaining twenty to twenty-five percent of the budget,î he said. As for the criticism of the Administrationís balanced-budget package by Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe,DFL, Erskine, Ventura quipped that future references to the senator be made as ìCandidate Moeî because Moe sounds like a gubernatorial candidate. (Moe has been considered a potential gubernatorial candidate by pundits, but has never stated he plans to run.) ìWhen youíre out here seeing Ford Motor Company laying people off, and you see all these other industries laying people off, then government should lay some people off too,î he said. Heís tried to spread the pain of the budget crunch around state government to lessen it, he said. While saying heís ìleaningî towards seeking reelection, Ventura remains elusive about his political future. ìëLeaningí doesnít mean youíve made a decision,î said Ventura. ìI like the challenge (of being governor), unless something else comes along. Itís a long time between now and the end of session,î said Ventura. The governor has said he would not make decision on seeking a second term until after the legislative session. ìThey all promised me that theyíd fix the bicameral system,î he said. ìWhat did they do? Nothing. Nothing,î he said. In recent days ó at least to the eyes of some pundits ó the governor has seemed unusually serene and relaxed. Suggesting the comments on his alleged new found tranquility are crafted to suggest heís otherwise bad tempered, Ventura did say that getting the budget-balancing package and bonding proposal finished has been a relief. He also speaks of the rejuvenating effects of not conducting media interviews for 30 days. ©ECM Post Review |