POOR REGENT CAN'T SELL HIS MANSION

U regent not living within his district

When David Metzen was reappointed by legislators to the University of Minnesota Board of Regents in 2003, he pledged to move within the borders of his newly redrawn district.

Almost 2½ years later, he still lives a few blocks outside the Fourth Congressional District.

"My intention was to move; I tried and did the best I could," Metzen said Friday. "My house was on the market for nine months and it didn't sell. ... If the Legislature isn't happy about the arrangements, I'll step down."

Legislators who fought over regent appointments in 2003 were surprised to learn that Metzen hasn't moved.

"What would happen if legislators didn't move into their district? People would be all over it," said Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville. "He should give it up and resign."

But St. Paul DFL Rep. Alice Hausman said that's premature. She said she wants an explanation.

"It's just disappointing; I mean, that goes to basic integrity," she said. "We trusted him, assumed he would do what he said he would do. ... I think he should own up to it and explain it to us."

Metzen, who is the retired superintendent of South St. Paul schools and now runs a consulting business, lives in Sunfish Lake and has been a regent since 1997. He just completed two years as board chairman, playing a key leadership role as the university dealt with tight budgets and a sweeping redesign for the future.

Metzen joined the board as the Fourth District representative, but when district boundaries were redrawn in 2002, his home ended up a few blocks outside the new district. Seeking reappointment in 2003, Metzen failed to win the backing of legislators from his district, partly because they wanted a regent from St. Paul.

Metzen pledged then to find a place to live within the boundaries of the redrawn district. When the entire Legislature voted, he was reappointed for a six-year term, and again Metzen said he would move into the Fourth District.

Metzen said Friday that he still stands by that pledge and that he didn't want anyone to question "my integrity and my word. ... I tried my darndest to sell my house; it stayed on the market and didn't get an offer."

According to Dakota County property records, the house sits on 4 acres and is valued at more than $1 million.

Metzen said he checks real estate listings weekly and that he will move if he can sell his house and find another one. But new home choices for the regent and his wife, Leslie, are limited because she is a judge in Dakota County and must reside there. The county and the district overlap only in a crescent that includes all or parts of Lilydale, Mendota, Mendota Heights, South St. Paul, Sunfish Lake, West St. Paul and Inver Grove Heights.

After he was reappointed, Metzen did buy a small house in South St. Paul that is in the district and in Dakota County. But his son lives there.

Rep. Joe Atkins, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, said that other people in Sunfish Lake have had difficulty selling large, expensive homes and that he thought Metzen did his best. He said he is proud that Metzen was the first regents chairman in memory who represented the Fourth District. He said he hasn't heard any complaints about Metzen's representation or leadership.

"I can't imagine anybody doing a better job," Atkins said. "I just hope his inability to sell his house doesn't make him do anything rash."

Metzen's board tenure lasts until 2009. He has three degrees from the university. When he was an undergraduate, he was captain of the men's hockey team. Source: Star Tribune, August 7, 2005