Discover Politics

On a Monday afternoon, I caught up with Matt Entenza while he was hot on the campaign trail. Entenza served in the MN House of Representatives from 1994-2006 when he left to pursue an ultimately unsuccessful campaign for Attorney General. Many see Entenza as the clear front runner for the DFL nomination for Governor based on his strong leadership for the party at the capitol, especially from 2003-2006. Although early in the campaign, Entenza had much to say about his approach moving forward and his take on the current state of our state.

Governor Pawlenty took it upon himself to deal with state’s budget deficit by using the line item veto and unallotments at the end of the last legislative session. Is that an appropriate action? What would you have done differently?

(Entenza) Well, the Governor’s actions were unprecedented and many people view it as inappropriate. The citizens of Minnesota want cooperation and Gov. Pawlenty didn’t do nearly enough to attempt compromise or cooperation. Before you decide that cooperation and bi-partisanship are not an option you should attempt every possible avenue and the Governor failed to do that.

MN Democrats insist that the next Governor will inherit problems caused by Gov. Pawlenty’s administration. Do you agree? How will you deal with them?

(Entenza) I think the biggest void left by Gov. Pawlenty is the lack of a clear strategy for bringing MN forward. I’d like for every Minnesotan to know what my goals are as Governor and what I’m doing to reach them. Where Governor Pawlenty has always been adversarial with the legislature, I’d take a lesson from former Governor Arne Carlson and always try a bi-partisan and cooperative approach.

MN Democrats have solid majorities in both houses and yet they struggled all session with in-fighting and lacked a united cohesive message. How could having a Democrat in the Governor’s office change that? What would you do to help unify the party in MN and utilize the majorities Democrats currently enjoy?

(Entenza) The Democrats in MN had trouble getting a cohesive message out, but for some issues, like the budget, it’s difficult to do when you have no support or cooperation from the Governor. I would work more closely with the legislature to negotiate, compromise and get our work done together. Democrats need to do a better job of really hammering home clear and consistent principals of the party like economic development, clean energy, healthcare reform, etc… I think MN Democrats would also be better served by partnering with the Obama administration on issues like health care.

Where do you fall on the Democratic spectrum of candidates? Far left or more towards the center? Do you think Democrats have a better shot at the Governor’s office if they nominate a moderate?

(Entenza) I don’t know how to answer the second part, but I’m a progressive. I’ve always been a progressive and I could not pretend to be anything else.

If you were in the Governor’s office during the last session, how would you have viewed/handled the debate over loan forgiveness to the city of St. Paul for the Xcel Energy Center?

(Entenza) We have to realize that the city of St. Paul is an economic engine for the entire state and that the facilities at the Xcel are used by residents statewide. If the city of St. Paul suffers economically, the whole state suffers.

Give me the top 3 things your campaign stands for? What can you do in your first 3 months in office to further those goals?

(Entenza) 1) better access to health care 2) economic development 3) more jobs in MN. Let me be clear about the last one; I want the next generation of energy production to be centralized in MN. MN is a prime spot for all types of new green energy production and those industries are looking for places to develop right now. The very minute I get into office I’ll be reaching out to those companies and convincing them that MN is the perfect spot for them. We want to be a national leader in this new technology and we want those jobs, careers and businesses right here in MN.

Governor Pawlenty seems to enjoy solid support from greater MN. How will you address this in your campaign? Can you count on the metro support that Mike Hatch had in the last election?

(Entenza) I won’t count on support from anywhere; I’ll earn it by campaigning. Democrats have to take responsibility for campaigning poorly in greater MN. I’m from rural Minnesota (Worthington) and I have a strong connection to the greater parts of the state. So I feel confident about making a good connection with out state MN. I think Tim Walz did a great job of that and I’d follow his example.

Who is your toughest opponent for the party’s endorsement? How is your candidacy different?

(Entenza) As I’m traveling around the state campaigning, it’s obvious that the person to beat changes depending on where you are. Every region has ties to one candidate or another, so it’s far too early to answer that question.

What will Republicans point out as your biggest weakness in a campaign for the Governor’s office? How will you respond to this?

(Entenza) It doesn’t matter who the Democrat is, republicans will attack anyone on their record on taxes. Even if they’ve never held elected office at all before, they will be attacked for their “record” on taxes. Republicans are obsessed with taxes. I think it’s important to point out that when I was in the House and we had surpluses, I voted for tax cuts. Cutting taxes when its responsible is a great idea and can provide for economic growth, but Republicans make it the key to their entire strategy all too often and we know that doesn’t work. If it did, Mississippi would have the most successful state economy.

- Justin Bell interviewed Matt Entenza earlier this year for Discover Politics. This interview is republished from that occasion.