Ambulance Driver

1. Since shown the door in the November 2006 elections, I haven’t spent much time at the Minnesota State Capitol but that does not mean my interest in public policy has waned.

Recently,  the Department of Public Safety was making their budget presentation in front of the House Public Safety Finance Division, the archives of which can be found online. The Department’s presentation was very good and the questions asked by committee members were on-point and probing. Representative Debra Hilstrom (pictured here)  was particularly well prepared and her questions reminded me of something that captured my attention in 2004 while a member of that same committee.

That year I stumbled upon some information that seemed to suggest that the Department was appropriated monies from 911 fees under pretenses that no longer applied. When asked privately about this, the response of Department officials was to tug at their collars, look down at their shoes and try to change the subject. At the time it was safe to conclude that I was onto something. However, after the 2004 elections, I moved off the Public Safety Committee and let the matter drop.

After listening to that committee hearing twice, and spending some time confirming that the situation had not changed since ‘04, I called Deb’s office and left a short message basically saying, “Saw the hearing – got an idea – give me a call.”

For Republicans like me, Rep. Hilstrom can be thought of as  a “Good Democrat.”  She is pleasant, thoughtful, hardworking and easy to work with.  But knowing the pressures and load she was carrying, I did not expect a prompt reply – and none was forthcoming.

Fast-forward to last week. For the third time since leaving office, I ventured to the Minnesota State Office Building. Wandering around for three hours, meeting old friends and sticking my head into places that the public does not know about was both enjoyable and fascinating.

On the Ground Floor level, heading towards a hearing room where I spent hundreds of hours, I saw Deb Hilstrom speaking with a group of people -I lingered.

Deb turned around to head back into the hearing room and saw me. It was obvious that my presence was not a pleasant surprise but she did manage to mumble, “I owe you a phone call.”  About that time Rep. Michael Paymar burst out of the room and asked for the whereabouts of a person whose name I did not catch.

Deb immediately blurted, “Sheisatthecafeteriahavinglunch,I’llgogether.” – and off she went. She did not lope, she did not trot, she wasn’t even merely running. She sprinted, and I mean SPRINTED, down the tunnel towards the MN-DOT cafeteria with her shoes slapping the marble like a drum roll by the U.S. Marine Corps Band .

With my hands in my pockets and watching her rapidly fade off into the distance, I had two thoughts -

• Look at that girl run
• Don’t waste any time sitting by the phone waiting for her to call you back

All of this only goes to prove that my close personal friend, former State Representative Ken Wolf, was right when he said, “There is nothing more useless than a former state legislator.”