Pawlenty fills two top spots with familiar faces
(AP) - The round of musical chairs in Gov. Tim Pawlenty's administration landed two familiar advisers in new roles Friday, including the vacant chief of staff post.
Matt Kramer, who has led two agencies under Pawlenty, will become Pawlenty's fourth chief of staff.
Dan McElroy, one of the previous chiefs, will take over the Department of Employment and Economic Development.
And in a third announcement, the Republican governor announced his intention to merge agencies that oversee employee relations and state purchasing.
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Pawlenty has done considerable rearranging of his cabinet during the two months between his re-election in November and the start of his second term, which officially begins on Tuesday.
It's wonderful honor, but I have a sneaking suspicion I'll be consuming a lot of Tylenol.
There are new leaders at other key departments: finance, natural resources and revenue.
Kramer, 45, has been a Pawlenty cabinet member for all but three months of his first term. He oversaw the state's economic development agency before leaving for a short stint in a private sector post. He later returned as a caretaker for the Department of Employee Relations.
Kramer is the first of Pawlenty's chiefs who hasn't served in the Legislature or come from an overtly political background. He takes over for David Gaither, who said last week he would step down after 15 months on the job.
"It's wonderful honor," Kramer said. "But I have a sneaking suspicion I'll be consuming a lot of Tylenol."
The chief of staff position has been something of a revolving door under Pawlenty.
Only McElroy has lasted more than a single legislative session. But McElroy shifted positions after a tumultuous 2005 session in which state government partially shut down.
The 58-year-old will return to the upper ranks of Pawlenty's administration as commissioner of the Department of Employment and Economic Development. Before entering the executive branch, McElroy served four terms in the Minnesota House.
Pawlenty's latest moves leave him with one opening in his cabinet ranks: the Department of Employee Relations. Pawlenty said he wants to combine that agency with the Department of Administration. An acting commissioner to coordinate his proposed merger will be named early next year, he said.
Agency mergers typically require approval from the Legislature.
Jim Monroe, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, the second-largest state employee union, said he'd keep an open mind about it. He said he hopes bureaucrats don't create too many layers that could hamper contract negotiations.
"Adding one, two or three levels can create some problems," Monroe said. He's been involved with similar reshuffling in Maine and Ohio, adding, "I've seen it work and I've seen it fail."
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
