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| Washington County Republicans quick to throw Hegberg under the bus |
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| Wednesday, 09 July 2008 | |
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It’s hard to imagine Republicans throwing Gov. Tim Pawlenty under the bus. But if the philosophy of the ruling majority of Republicans in the local county commissioner district in Washington County were to be applied, Pawlenty might have tire tracks over his political body today. That’s a bit how Dennis Hegberg must be feeling these days. He has that bus feeling. Just a week ago, Hegberg lost the endorsement of his party during a special meeting of Republicans from the First District. He has served on the county board since 1989, but lost a first ballot endorsement to challenger Eric Langness of Forest Lake, who is in the middle of a four-year term on the ISD 831 School Board. Hegberg’s downfall was his support of the quarter-cent sales tax that will support transit programs in the metro area. The new sales tax in Washington County went into effect on Tuesday, July 1. It passed the county board on a 3-2 vote this spring. It was enough to rally the number of Republicans to hand the party backing to a relative newcomer as opposed to a party loyalist and county board veteran of nearly 20 years. The same test did not surface, of course, for Gov. Pawlenty in past years. As a state representative and in his early days as a first-term governor, Pawlenty was hard right when it came to almost any transit program. He was in lockstep with the likes of the then State Sen. Michele Bachmann of Stillwater. Together, they helped hand setback after setback to transit programs such as the Northstar Commuter Rail program. As time elapsed, however, and Gov. Pawlenty saw more studies and evaluated the pros and cons of the issue, his position changed radically. He became a Northstar proponent and today sees benefits in transit programs. The wildly successful Hiawatha train system from Minneapolis to the airport may have helped Gov. Pawlenty change his thinking. He is now on board with the Central Corridor rail system between Minneapolis and St. Paul and most likely recognizes that the state can’t simply build highways to solve all of its transit needs. And he didn’t get tossed under the bus for his beliefs and a change in opinion. Hegberg? That’s another matter. There has never been a question of his support for transit and finding multiple forms of transportation to move people. His interest is not new. In 2000, he traveled to Hong Kong for a one-week study of the transportation system there that incorporates a vast network of trains and buses. As a conservative nearly 10 years ago, he recognized the need for a broad based transit program. He knew then that he may be going against the grain of what some of the party faithful truly believed when it came to mass transit. In recent years, he has pushed for bus service for the Forest Lake area, banking that the new transit center here can serve commuters heading to St. Paul on the Rush Line Corridor. With the solid success of the Minneapolis bus service from the transit center now a fact, Hegberg is hopeful funding can be found to keep the service alive once the new Minneapolis bridge is open this fall. One avenue could be dollars from the transit sales tax program. By joining the program, the county will provide a minor infusion of revenue and will be at the table to help decide how those funds are used. But at the steep tax of 25 cents on every eligible $100 purchase, it’s enough to get a guy tossed under the bus. Langness can’t be blamed for going after and securing the Republican backing. He is staking his campaign on the theme that Hegberg’s sales tax vote shows he is out of touch with his district. If that party vote is a measure, he may be right. And give him credit; he and his backers outhustled those in the party who back Hegberg. But the young school board member will have some explaining to do on some of his school board votes. For example, he was a strong proponent of the district’s signing on to a state teacher compensation program, dubbed Q Comp. Under the program, state dollars are provided to help train and compensate teachers for extra training and achieving positive classroom results with students. Langness made the motion in June of 2007 to enroll the school district in the program. What many often miss is that the Q Comp program is not fully funded. In its first two years, the program will require a local property tax levy of just over $1 million to fund Forest Lake’s share of the cost. However, in the true style of a gifted politician, School Board Member Langness last December did not vote in support of the property tax levy that will be collected by the district in 2009. An odd twist, some might say. Or, it could be said that Member Langness supported the Q Comp program before he voted to not support the local funding for the program. It’s still too early to conclude how the party backing will impact this county race. A third or fourth candidate in the field could add more uncertainty and force a primary election. That could throw the contest up for grabs. The irony is that the county commissioner seats in Washington County do not carry politician affiliations, much like school board seats in communities like Forest Lake. If there is an opportunity to throw a fellow party member under the bus to further a political objective, there is no thinking twice, unless the guy getting run over is Gov. Pawlenty. Social Bookmarking ...       |
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