KELLIHER ALMOST ON TOP
House DFLers say Kelliher's in on-deck circle
The legislator would succeed Matt Entenza as minority leader if the political chips fall into place for him and other DFL heavyweights.
A leader-in-waiting was chosen Saturday by the Minnesota House DFL caucus, which elected Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher to succeed Minority Leader Matt Entenza if he secures the party's nod for attorney general in June.
If Entenza moves on and DFLers take the majority in the fall -- a distinct possibility, since they need a net gain of only two seats -- Kelliher likely would become House Speaker, one of the most powerful offices in state government.
Kelliher, a 37-year-old mother of two, has spent most of her career in the House -- first as a staff aide and then as a member since 1999, representing Minneapolis' Lake of the Isles and Kenwood neighborhoods.
"The major focus of our caucus will be on winning the majority and taking our message of improved education, better health care and more jobs to the people of Minnesota," Kelliher said, after emerging from the closed caucus at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.
Entenza said the caucus was "strongly unified" behind Kelliher, who was given the title of deputy leader. She already held the title of minority whip and was an assistant minority leader.
If and when Entenza steps down as leader after the endorsing convention in June, Kelliher automatically would become minority leader in a "seamless transition," Entenza said.
Republican House Speaker Steve Sviggum described Kelliher and Entenza, who lives in St. Paul, as "very nice people but also very, very liberal Twin Citians. ...The DFL continues to show its colors with very liberal leadership."
Kelliher objects to the label of urban liberal, noting that she grew up on a farm in the Mankato area, where all four of her brothers and her mother still live. "I'm very reflective of where our state has been," she said. Entenza, too, has rural roots, in southwestern Minnesota.
The new leadership arrangement is a bit unusual. Sviggum, R-Kenyon, said he had "never heard of a temporary type of minority leader."
The move was prompted in part by concerns expressed recently by some members that Entenza would be over-extended by attempting to simultaneously run the 2006 legislative session, manage House campaigns and direct his own campaign for attorney general.
Entenza, who is unopposed so far for endorsement, called those fears unfounded. He said Saturday he was "very gratified with the caucus' overwhelming support for my continued leadership."
Kelliher prevailed over two others who had sought the heir-apparent role: Rep. Loren Solberg of Grand Rapids, and Joe Atkins of Inver Grove Heights.
Atkins, thought by some to be a smart choice because he represents a suburban area, withdrew before the caucus vote was taken. Entenza and other caucus leaders declined to reveal Kelliher's margin of victory over Solberg.
Hatch holds the key
In the end, the desired line of succession for Entenza and Kelliher might well be blocked.
The current attorney general, DFLer Mike Hatch, is running for governor and is expected either to be endorsed by the party at its convention or to run in the DFL primary if he is not endorsed.
Yet Hatch also has left open the possibility of running for attorney general again, especially if he loses the endorsement fight decisively at the party's state convention in June.
If that happens, Entenza could either challenge Hatch, who got one of the highest vote totals in state history in his last reelection bid, or, more likely, remain as caucus leader.
Kelliher would not be the first DFL woman speaker from the Kenwood area of Minneapolis. Former Speaker Dee Long, who served in the early 1990s and was the state's first female speaker, holds that distinction.
The legislative newsletter Politics in Minnesota named Kelliher "First Termer of the Year" in 1999 for her bipartisan effort to override Gov. Jesse Ventura's veto of bonding money for the Guthrie Theater.
A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., Kelliher recently earned a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Source: Star Tribune, Janaury 29, 2006
The legislator would succeed Matt Entenza as minority leader if the political chips fall into place for him and other DFL heavyweights.
A leader-in-waiting was chosen Saturday by the Minnesota House DFL caucus, which elected Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher to succeed Minority Leader Matt Entenza if he secures the party's nod for attorney general in June.
If Entenza moves on and DFLers take the majority in the fall -- a distinct possibility, since they need a net gain of only two seats -- Kelliher likely would become House Speaker, one of the most powerful offices in state government.
Kelliher, a 37-year-old mother of two, has spent most of her career in the House -- first as a staff aide and then as a member since 1999, representing Minneapolis' Lake of the Isles and Kenwood neighborhoods.
"The major focus of our caucus will be on winning the majority and taking our message of improved education, better health care and more jobs to the people of Minnesota," Kelliher said, after emerging from the closed caucus at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.
Entenza said the caucus was "strongly unified" behind Kelliher, who was given the title of deputy leader. She already held the title of minority whip and was an assistant minority leader.
If and when Entenza steps down as leader after the endorsing convention in June, Kelliher automatically would become minority leader in a "seamless transition," Entenza said.
Republican House Speaker Steve Sviggum described Kelliher and Entenza, who lives in St. Paul, as "very nice people but also very, very liberal Twin Citians. ...The DFL continues to show its colors with very liberal leadership."
Kelliher objects to the label of urban liberal, noting that she grew up on a farm in the Mankato area, where all four of her brothers and her mother still live. "I'm very reflective of where our state has been," she said. Entenza, too, has rural roots, in southwestern Minnesota.
The new leadership arrangement is a bit unusual. Sviggum, R-Kenyon, said he had "never heard of a temporary type of minority leader."
The move was prompted in part by concerns expressed recently by some members that Entenza would be over-extended by attempting to simultaneously run the 2006 legislative session, manage House campaigns and direct his own campaign for attorney general.
Entenza, who is unopposed so far for endorsement, called those fears unfounded. He said Saturday he was "very gratified with the caucus' overwhelming support for my continued leadership."
Kelliher prevailed over two others who had sought the heir-apparent role: Rep. Loren Solberg of Grand Rapids, and Joe Atkins of Inver Grove Heights.
Atkins, thought by some to be a smart choice because he represents a suburban area, withdrew before the caucus vote was taken. Entenza and other caucus leaders declined to reveal Kelliher's margin of victory over Solberg.
Hatch holds the key
In the end, the desired line of succession for Entenza and Kelliher might well be blocked.
The current attorney general, DFLer Mike Hatch, is running for governor and is expected either to be endorsed by the party at its convention or to run in the DFL primary if he is not endorsed.
Yet Hatch also has left open the possibility of running for attorney general again, especially if he loses the endorsement fight decisively at the party's state convention in June.
If that happens, Entenza could either challenge Hatch, who got one of the highest vote totals in state history in his last reelection bid, or, more likely, remain as caucus leader.
Kelliher would not be the first DFL woman speaker from the Kenwood area of Minneapolis. Former Speaker Dee Long, who served in the early 1990s and was the state's first female speaker, holds that distinction.
The legislative newsletter Politics in Minnesota named Kelliher "First Termer of the Year" in 1999 for her bipartisan effort to override Gov. Jesse Ventura's veto of bonding money for the Guthrie Theater.
A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., Kelliher recently earned a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Source: Star Tribune, Janaury 29, 2006
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