Speaker (and candidate) Kelliher launches panel on Minnesota job creation
October 1, 2009, St. Paul Legal Ledger
House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, in July announced the House Jobs Task Force with the stated intention of crafting legislation for the 2010 legislative session that would increase jobs in Minnesota.
One of the jobs that might emerge from the task force’s efforts could land in the lap of Kelliher herself: the governor’s office.
Kelliher is fighting a large crowd for next year’s DFL endorsement. And she’s not the only candidate to stake a position on jobs: former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza launched a think tank called Minnesota 2020 that has issued a barrage of reports on economic issues.
But as speaker, Kelliher has the ability to draw a lot of attention to her agenda and cement a public image as a leader. According to Hamline University political science professor David Schultz, the Jobs Task Force lays the foundation for burnishing that image.
“She appears to be the first DFLer to be positioning herself on the economy,” Schultz said, “and she is able also to use her speaker’s authority to set the agenda in the House to help her with her campaign and posturing on this issue. This is smart politics.”