Susan Gaertner: The MinnesotaBrown interview

My semi-regular series of interviews with DFL gubernatorial candidates continues today with Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner. My previous posts have included Tom Bakk, Paul Thissen, Mark Dayton, Matt Entenza and John Marty. I’ve now interviewed a little over half of the probable pool of candidates for the 2010 DFL gubernatorial nomination.

I met with Gaertner at the Itasca County DFL headquarters in Grand Rapids during her visit to the area on Thursday, July 9. Itasca is one of the few counties in the state that maintains a year-round headquarters for party events, social clubs and youth meetings (Disclosure: I’m on the Itasca DFL Board of Directors). Gaertner is the sixth candidate I’ve talked to but has the distinction of being the first DFLer to enter the race, with her exploratory bid beginning well before the conclusion of last year’s election.

The interview

As stated, Susan Gaertner is the Ramsey County Attorney. Ramsey is a diverse county, most notably including St. Paul and many Twin Cities suburbs. And if you’ve never heard of her yet, Gaertner doesn’t think that’s a bad thing.

“My candidacy is an opportunity for the state to have a fresh start,” said Gaertner.

Her status as the top prosecutor for one of the state’s largest counties makes her more qualified to be governor than most legislators, she said. Her jurisdiction includes 500,000 residents. She manages a budget of about $35 million a year, 320 employees and collects and distributes $62 million a year in child support payments for families in her area.

“I have insight and experience in administering government programs, but also can keep in mind what it’s all about.

She points to her East St. Paul upbringing, a stable middle class family life in a blue collar neighborhood. Her father was a social worker, her mother received a college education when few women had the opportunity.

“Most dads in our neighborhood worked at Whirlpool or the breweries,” she said. “These were good jobs. You could pay for health insurance, maybe even have a little cabin up north. There was stability in people’s lives. … (My family’s perspective) gave me a strong sense of public service to assist the neediest members of the public. The government needs to be there for those less fortunate than our family was.”

Middle class neighborhoods like the one Gaertner grew up in have been strained by the economy and rising costs of health care. She said her best argument for her campaign is her ability to do the job.

“I’m an executive, a strong leader, and I’m in the best position to start on day one,” said Gaertner. “It will take a lot of tough decisions to get out of the hole we’re in and I’m ready to start making them.”

Gaertner’s argument that her background is what qualifies her for the office is based on the unique nature of county government in a major metro area.

“County government is in the middle,” said Gaertner. “The state legislature is somewhat removed from the effects of its legislation. I have to make $1 million in cuts for 2010. I have to decide which child protection cases go forward and which ones don’t, which cases might be prosecuted. These are decisions with direct consequences. That’s an important perspective to bring to government office.

“As an executive,” she continued. “You’re by yourself. No one’s calling an assistant county attorney when they’re mad, they call me. I’m on the letterhead and that means I’m used to being accountable.”

Gaertner is hoping to make the same leap that former Hennipen County Attorney Amy Klobuchar made: metro county prosecutor to statewide office holder. Followers of Minnesota politics remember that Sen. Klobuchar cruised to victory in 2006 in what some saw as a surprisingly large landslide. The significance of that victory is not lost on Gaertner.

“Part of Amy’s success, besides her being a good candidate, is that people trust prosecutors,” said Gaertner. “They operate in an environment in which nothing less than the highest ethical standards are observed. I think that’s what people would like to see in highly placed elected officials.”

Gaertner, like many candidates, plans to honor the endorsement of the 2010 DFL convention delegates. That puts her in the position of cobbling together a coalition of delegates in a divided field to get her to the 60 percent required for endorsement. The eventual endorsee may also face a divided and potentially contentious primary election.

“I’ve been traveling and picking up support along the way,” said Gaertner. “People who want to win will see my appeal in the primary and general election to independents and moderate Republicans. I don’t think the people who go through the process (of becoming a delegate) will be swayed (by big names or money).”

On policy, Gaertner described differences between her policy platform and those of her DFL opponents as being “shades of green.” Boilerplate issues like economic stability, health care reform and education funding will be on her table.

“One thing I don’t do is go from area to area pandering to pet projects,” said Gaertner. “I want an economic strategy for the whole state.”

For her, that means “a couple of big things that might not have immediate results” but that would have huge results in the long term health of the state.

“First, education,” said Gaertner. “Countless studies show that when you invest well in education you get economic outcomes. We need to make strategic investments that prepare our students to compete in a global economy.

“Second,” she continued, “We need to restore structural balance to our budget. We need to meet people’s needs to the extent that doesn’t slow our economy.

“We need to disengage health care from employment,” she further added. “Small businesses want to provide health care but can’t afford to. We need to take the burden off of businesses and share it as a community.”

Capitalizing on green technology for job creation and tourism expansion also make Gaertner’s list.

Gaertner said her approach to managing the Iron Range’s unique tax structure and the Iron Range Resources agency is largely the same as her standards for her county office.

“It could benefit from enhanced accountability and transparency,” she said. “I’m not talking about picking on (IRR) — there are other agencies that could use this too. But my goals is to create a sense in state government that we are accountable to the whole state and are invested in everyone’s success.”

But if Susan Gaertner wants you to know one thing about her candidacy it’s that she believes herself ready to deliver the needed leadership for the next four perilous years of state budget management.

“It’s hard to predict what the 2011 budget situation will be,” said Gaertner. “We have an idea but no exact idea, to some extent it might be irresponsible to predict. I have the experience to make the tough decisions. In Ramsey County the culture is to be tight with a buck and focus on accountability and outcomes. It’s about value. People will pay taxes if there’s a value in how the money is spent. This is the culture I grew up in. This is how I do business. This is what you can expect from me.”

My analysis

If candidates were selected in a political vacuum Gaertner might well be a front runner. Unfortunately for her no one has figured out how to get the politics out of politics. As such Gaertner finds herself mentioned in the middle of the pack most of the time because of her relative lack of name recognition. She deserves consideration.

Of all of the candidates I’ve talked to Gaertner exceeded my expectations the most, and that bar keeps getting higher as the number of these interviews increase. In fact, I’ll be honest. I hit the wall at some point during this interview. No disrespect to all of the candidates I’ve talked to, but there’s a repetitive nature to these kinds of posts. Green energy is good. Pawlenty’s unallotments are bad. Jobs and health care, yada-yada-yada. Gaertner is talking about these things, too, but her focus in this campaign seems to be to explain why she has the temperament and management style to be an effective governor, rather than try to outgun people on the issues. Increasingly, as the field becomes muddier and muddier, Gaertner’s approach might take root. (Though, to be fair, all of the candidates I’ve talked to have mixed in less direct variations on this theme, too).

My favorite moment came when I asked if there was any particular policy position that would separate her from “your average DFL candidate for governor.”

Her response: (long pause) “Good question.” (long pause). “No. There are minor differences, largely differences of emphasis. My campaign is about communicating about who I am and why I can and should win. My campaign is about leadership.”

It was at this time that I saw Susan Gaertner the candidate who deserved more than passing consideration. It was almost dinner time and she was facing a three hour haul back to White Bear Lake from Grand Rapids. She wasn’t there to try to out health care or out job create anyone, just to offer her experience and perspective as a potential top state officer. While the governor is constitutionally bound to a relationship with the legislature, there is no hard and fast evidence that legislators make the best governors.

Gaertner was brutally frank about using her status as a potential Ramsey County bookend to the success of Amy Klobuchar. The role of a tough, woman prosecutor in a winning political formula might be true, and she was all business in explaining it as such.

I’ve heard in some circles that some delegates might be angry over Gaertner’s role in prosecuting protesters during last summer’s GOP convention in St. Paul. I have to admit I didn’t ask her about it, partly because I forgot but mostly because the issue just doesn’t carry any significance outside metro protest circles. It doesn’t mean anything on the Iron Range. I can’t imagine any evidence that she used her power in an unusual or inappropriate way emerging for 2010. Most likely the issue will be forgotten.

Gaertner wanted to demonstrate two things in her talk with me: She’s a leader and represents a fresh alternative to the other candidates. In that, she succeeded. The road to victory for her, however, is long and difficult.

Summary:
Susan Gaertner is a sharp, refreshing candidate who could struggle to break out of the pack because of her lack of name recognition and local government background. If she succeeds in visiting every corner of the state before precinct caucuses and impresses future delegates, she could catch fire and become an extremely tough nominee for the GOP to beat. However, the curse of gender and identity politics means that if House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher runs, much of the oxygen could be sucked out of Gaertner’s campaign. Regardless, Gaertner deserves the attention of future delegates.

UPDATE: Post changed to correct East St. Paul from West St. Paul. This would be like mixing up Grand Rapids and Eveleth … an unforgivable mistake on my part.
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Check out my recent book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range,” winner of the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award. It’s a humorous, heartfelt look at life as an under-30 in an industrial rural place. It’s also the endeavor that justifies my very long (and totally free) posts about governor candidates.