"It went very smooth," said Anderson. Anderson, former Eagan mayor, accepted the self-dissolving post with the Pawlenty Administration after losing her re-election bid as state auditor to Democrat Rebecca Otto.
by T.W. Budig
ECM Capitol reporter
She's worked her way out of a job.
Department of Employee Relations Commissioner Patricia Anderson will officially complete the task this week of dismantling her agency and transitioning its functions to other state agencies.
"It went very smooth," said Anderson.
Anderson, former Eagan mayor, accepted the self-dissolving post with the Pawlenty Administration after losing her re-election bid as state auditor to Democrat Rebecca Otto.
On Saturday (May 31) the balance of her agency will be transferred to the Department of Finance.
COMMISSIONER PATRICIA ANDERSON
Anderson portrayed the elimination of Employee Relations as less a cost savings measure than a bow to functionality,
"There are some positions that have been cut - including my own position obviously," she said.
Some overhead savings will be seen, Anderson explained.
More improvement
"It's more of a function of improving what we do by moving and aligning some of the HR (human resource) functions even closer to Finance," she said. "We'll really be able to see the picture more wholisticaliy," he said.
Short-term, anyway, the new agency will be called the Department of Finance and Employee Relations - that may change by the fall, Anderson said.
"They call it FINER - that's what the big joke is," she said. "They're FINER than they were," said Anderson, laughing.
The upcoming months for Anderson will be a time to work on personal matters, consider future options.
"I'm going to take some time off for the first time in my life," said Anderson, speaking Wednesday (May 29).
"Because I have a million things going on personally," she said.
Anderson remarried in February - Doug Gallwas, her new husband,is a financial planner and money manager. "Not political," Anderson judged her spouse's affinity for politics.
"He certainly understands the political world and has opinions, mostly about federal reserve policy," she said. "He's not a political person in the sense I am," said Anderson.
The couple's February wedding was small - immediate family, she explained.
But they're planning a large wedding reception this summer.
Beyond this, Anderson has one son graduating from school and another coming home from basic training in June.
Moving to Dellwood
"And I have houses to sell, and we're moving - we've already purchased a new house," said Anderson of the couple's new home in Dellwood in the northeast suburbs. "So I'm trying to deal with all of this," she said.
Anderson concedes it would be hard for her to walk away from politics.
"I think that's true," she said. It's "very likely" that in one form or another she will re-enter the public arena, Anderson explained.
Don't expect Anderson to be appearing at the door as a candidate for the Minnesota Legislature, though.
"No," she said. "I think most of them (lawmakers) are underpaid," said Anderson. "And they spend six months in session and then they spend six months campaigning," Anderson opined.
"I'm not that type of person - I've always been in more of an executive role, " she said. "I think I would feel very frustrated to not being the leadership, to feel like I couldn't get anything done," she said.
Lots of future options
But if Anderson shut one political door, she's not shutting others. "I'm 41 and I think I have lots of future options," she said. "I would not close any door on whether I would run again for another public office," said Anderson.
Anderson does not take her loss as state auditor personally, she has explained.
Failures of the Republican Party on the federal level were the epicenter of a consuming wave that rolled out from Washington down to the state level, she opined.
She and other state Republicans were caught up in that.
"They (the voters) were angry with the ethics problems in Congress," said Anderson, adding the Republican Party had also strayed from its principles.
"And I tend to think the (Republican) party deserved what it got at the federal level," opined Anderson.
Anderson will be attending the Republican State Convention this weekend in Rochester and offered a thumbnail critique of the likely Democratic U.S. Senate candidate that will face Republican incumbent U.S. Senator Norm Coleman this fall.
"Frankly I think (Attorney Mike) Ciresi made a big mistake dropping out (of the DFL U.S. Senate race)," said Anderson.
She views Ciresi as a tougher political opponent for Coleman than satirist Al Franken, who is conventionally seen as the likely winner of the DFL Party endorsement.
"I think Franken is a blessing for Norm Coleman," Anderson said.
Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Ron Carey opined that Anderson is still an active force within the party. "She was very beloved among our delegates in her term as state auditor," he said. "That carries a lot of cache with a lot of our delegates," said Carey.
"So she's a very viable person for future endeavors and we'll see what opportunities come up," he said.
(Photo by T.W. Budig, ECM Capitol Reporter)
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