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Politics & Government

District 39A Rep. Rick Hansen Replaced on Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council

Hansen said the move is meant to stifle a voice of dissent, others say it comes with the territory when the majority party changes hands.

State Rep. Rick Hansen (D-District 39A) received his walking papers as a member of the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council last week, as Kurt Zellers (R–32B) used his new position as speaker of the house to replace both Hansen and Rep. Bob Gunther (R–District 29A).

Established in 2008 through the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council consists of four members of the Legislature working alongside eight citizens. Members of the council make recommendations regarding how to spend money from the outdoor heritage fund to restore, protect and enhance natural resources in the state. The Lessard Council has recommended more than $230 million in spending decisions over the last three years.

Hansen has occasionally been at the center of infighting on the council according to media reports by the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press, due to what he considers a conflicting interpretation of the advisory body’s mandate. The Star Tribune reported that Hansen has been the only “no” vote for the council’s funding recommendations the past three years. 

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However, Hansen told Patch that the end of his term last week came as a surprise to him.

Hansen said that he didn’t receive any formal notice about Zeller’s decision before news of it began circulating among his colleagues. In fact, he found out about the shake-up from the iPhone of Rep. Leon Lillie (D–District 55A), while standing on the House floor. Lillie showed Hansen the appointment letter he had received displayed on the phone’s screen.

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Hansen was replaced by Rep. Denny McNamara (R–District 57B), while Lillie replaced Gunther. State law requires that a member of the minority party in both the House and Senate be represented on the council. The speaker of the house has the authority to appoint four of the 12 Lessard Council seats.

Hansen said it was not until the day after finding out about the changes to the council from Lillie that he received a letter from Zeller’s office notifying him of the speaker’s decision.

“There has been some media coverage [of possible changes to the council], so that I anticipated efforts to remove me, but I assumed that [my appointment] was for a four-year term,” Hansen said Friday. In his view, the change to the council is indicative of more than just changes in House leadership.

“I believe this has to do with council and interest groups who are very interested in (the Lessard Council), and that I have been an independent voice there,” Hansen said.

Hansen maintained that members are appointed to four-year terms by state statute and had expected his term on the council to end in 2013. In January, the Star Tribune reported that at a December meeting, Lessard Council members recommended that the panel’s four legislators, rather than serving fixed terms, instead serve at the pleasure of House and Senate leadership, making their tenure on the committee open to termination at any time. Hansen objected to the proposed change, seeing it as a means to remove a dissenting voice from the council.

“I think there are many outdoor groups, and some individuals who worked on the campaign (to establish the Outdoor Heritage Fund), who see this money as their money, rather than the people’s money,” said Hansen. “And I see it as the people’s money, and I believe there needs to be more accountability, transparency and effectiveness regarding the recommendations and use of these funds.”

Other council members see the change made by Zellers as standard protocol. With Republican majorities in both the Minnesota House and Senate, former Lessard Council member Jim Cox, whose term expired at the beginning of Jan. 2011, dismissed Hansen’s suspicions about the reason behind the move.

“He [Hansen] knows exactly what’s happened. There’s a new administration,” said Cox. “The claim he’s making is that he should be able to serve a four-year term. When the new administration comes in, they get to pick who’s on this committee. It has nothing to do with the council. For him to make it look like the council had anything to do with it–it doesn’t make any difference, because at the end of the day the legislature decides,” Cox said.

After praising the work of all Lessard Council members, including Hansen, the council’s executive director, Bill Becker, agreed with Cox. “Let me just say that the council doesn’t determine its membership. The changes that you see (right now) are standard, and you can see them in many other places in government."

Although his time on the council is finished, Hansen said that he will continue working on conservation issues. “Whether I’m on the council or not, I still have a voice here at the capitol and want to make sure this (the use of money from the heritage fund) is done right,” said Hansen.

Becker said that the council will continue working in the same way during the upcoming legislative session, stating that he doesn’t anticipate recent changes will have a dramatic effect going forward. “The council is an institution. It’s the sum of its parts, and isn’t swayed or otherwise pressed by any one individual member’s move in any particular direction,” he said.

The council was scheduled to meet Feb. 11 but canceled that meeting Monday afternoon because its roster is currently incomplete. Lessard Council staff estimated it would next meet sometime in mid-March.

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