True North

My friend Larry Schumacher had an article on Tarryl Clark in the SC Times Monday. There's one portion of the article that I've got to disagree with. Here's what I'm talking about:

In her first three years in the Senate, Clark has successfully obtained state funding for local projects such as the St. Cloud Civic Center expansion and St. Cloud State University's National Hockey Center renovation. She also helped get a state bioscience zone designation to aid local business recruitment efforts.

I followed the bonding issue pretty closely. I spoke with a number of people about this, including Mayor Kleis, SCSU President Potter, legislators like Dan Severson and Steve Gottwalt and community leaders like Theresa Bohnen and Bernie Omann. I also talked directly with Gov. Pawlenty when he visited St. Cloud the day after he line-item vetoed out $200+ million out of the bill.

I know that Theresa Bohnen played a big role in getting the Civic Center expansion. I know that President Potter played a big role in the gateway project, the Brown Hall and NHC projects. I know for fact that it was Bernie Omann and Steve Gottwalt that invited Gov. Pawlenty north for a bus tour of the proposed projects and how they all fit together.

I further know that President Potter, Mayor Kleis, Theresa Bohnen joined Rep. Gottwalt and Bernie Omann on that bus tour of the projects.

I further know that Gov. Pawlenty talked directly with Rep. Gottwalt that Saturday when Gov. Pawlenty was weighing what to day. I further know that Gov. Pawlenty's staff called Rep. Gottwalt on Sunday with a couple follow-up questions.

That's before I mention the $50 milllion in private investment that will go in to augment the state bonding monies. At the St. Cloud ceremony, I asked Gov. Pawlenty how important the $50 million investment was. His answer was succinct: "It was huge."

Knowing all this, my question is what role Tarryl played in all of this. I don't doubt that she played a role in it. I'm just not willing to give her starring credit for St. Cloud getting these projects appropriated.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it until someone provides me with proof that says Tarryl was a workhorse on these projects.

Comments welcome at LFR.