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Friday, January 21, 2011

ANOKA COUNTY: Don't blame me. I voted primary for Hendriksen. I voted general election for Steffen.

Could the county raise some cash by auctioning the right to drop the handkerchief?



Paul Levy covering north metro for Strib, reports:

In a war of words that has exploded beyond the confines of the Anoka County boardroom, longtime Commissioner Dan Erhart calls new board chairwoman Rhonda Sivarajah "vindictive, controlling, without concern of what's good for the county."

"This is a new day," Sivarajah said from her office. "We're going to strive for transparency in government."

To one first-time commissioner, that transparency translates into "revenge" stemming from a long-time feud between Erhart, a former board chairman who pushed for the Northstar commuter line and a Vikings stadium in the county, and Sivarajah, a fiscal conservative who for years was the board's lone dissenting vote but now heads a new majority.

Erhart, bristling after being replaced as chairman of the influential Anoka County Regional Rail Authority by newcomer Matt Look, questioned the selection of the same four board members to four key committees (finance and capital improvements; management; public works; and intergovernmental and community relations).

Sivarajah, Robyn West and two rookie commissioners -- Look and Andy Westerberg, a former legislator -- are on all four committees. Erhart and Jim Kordiak, the county's longest-tenured commissioners, are on none.

"I'm very disappointed; we're called to a higher standard than revenge," said Carol LeDoux, a third newcomer, who was excluded from the four committees as well, and was named to fewer committees overall than either Look or Westerberg.

It does seem to reek of a "spoils system" attitude, but Erhart had the majority previously.

Read Levy's entire report. I only quote a few lead paragraphs.

I think District 1 voters made bad choices twice, and I anticipated something such as Levy reports would happen. Elections come. Elections go. One Dylan song line, "A lot of people have knives and forks on the table. Gotta eat something."

At any rate, I hope Sivaraja delivers on transparency. Ramsey has done a ton of stuff via its HRA, un-televised. Hopefully Look was not the decisive voice in such non-transparency. Hopefully he will be on the same page as Sivarajah, in not only talking the talk, but in walking the walk, transparently.

___________UPDATE____________
Tony Sutton seems to have less of a problem with the new Anoka County Board than Dan Erhart.

This link.