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Beating the Clock
Stadiums, Senate Slumber Parties and Road Trips with Phyllis Kahn; the 2006 Session in Review with Sen. Geoff Michel, Rep. Ron Erhardt and Rep. Neil Peterson
The temperatures outside may have been hot and humid, but inside Senate District 41 GOP’s session wrap-up the evening had an air of satisfaction as Sen. Geoff Michel and Reps. Ron Erhardt and Neil Peterson covered a year of major legislative accomplishments before a capacity crowd. In a low-key, mostly question-and-answer format, the three legislators spoke of their impressions of the brisk three month session.
Sen. Geoff Michel. With the State Senate having convened in the wee hours of Sunday morning, Michel admitted that “I’m still trying to wake up” from what he jokingly described as the Senate’s  “all-night slumber party” which closed the eyelids of more than a few veteran senators—including an adjacent seat-mate. And while Michel was able to rouse his fellow legislators to vote in the dead of night, the first-term senator lamented the chamber’s “bizarre” and “disorganized” process for ending the session.
Still, there was much to cheer as for the first time in four years the session concluded on time and, armed with a $1 billion surplus, Michel boasted of the contrast with when he first took office as the state faced a $4.5 billion deficit. Unfortunately, Minnesota’s largesse wasn’t enough for many DFL senators who proposed another $1 billion in taxes while bottling every single Republican bill in committee. “The DFL has run the Senate for 34 years and we have to change who is running that ship.”
Rep. Ron Erhardt. From what originally was only a bonding session, Erhardt spoke of how the session evolved into not only dealing with the high profile stadium issues but also tackled a number of financial concerns. The marriage penalty was finally divorced from the books by the House and the Alternative Minimal Tax found itself greatly reduced. But Erhardt expressed the most pride in the $202.5 million of tax relief coming to Minnesota taxpayers over the next three years. 
Transportation may have gotten the short stick of the session as Erhardt chided rural legislators and the Senate for gutting the House and Governor’s various bonding proposals, significantly reducing the finances for roads. But, some money in the bonding bill that passed will go towards local roads and infrastructure.
Of course, the Twins stadium dominated headlines and likewise much of session review. Erhardt, a stadium opponent, spoke of famed Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman doing “Sid Hartman sort of things” such as calling legislators “cowards” and starring down Rep. Phil Krinkie, a noted adversary of the Twins bill. While walking off the floor, Hartman confronted Erhardt, angrily noting that “If you think the stadium needs a roof, pay for it.” Erhardt returned to Hartman later, stating “Sid, we’re passing around a hat for the roof. Care to chip in?”
Rep. Neil Peterson. Calling the second year of his first-term a “view from under the bleachers,” Rep. Neil Peterson said that many of his legislative ambitions “gathered some yeast - they began to grow” in 2006. From funding for the arts and the homeless to experiences on the bonding committee, Peterson called the session “a great year.” 
Camaraderie formed on bonding committee trips with DFLers Phyllis Kahn and Alice Hausmann, one perhaps tested during the stadium debate when Hausmann lashed out at Peterson, calling him a “hypocrite” to which the former Bloomington Mayor could only produce a perplexed expression to understand the outrageous allegation. For as the Mayor of Bloomington, Peterson watched as the North Stars left town, deeply impacting his view that the state should pass the necessary legislation to keep the Twins in Minnesota.
Peterson’s embrace of the Twins stadium didn’t extend however to the Vikings efforts to be included. Calling the team’s attempt to link themselves to the baseball legislation “the Conjoined Twins,” Peterson noted “this doesn’t fly” as the Vikings had not spent the session in committee and such were not subject to the scrutiny the Twins bill had received. Peterson defended the final bill, noting that the state owns the naming rights to the team and the first right of refusal should any new ownership wish to move the team.
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