YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES
Contributors in Minnesota: Jennifer Brooks, Baird Helgeson, Mike Kaszuba, Patricia Lopez, Jim Ragsdale, Brad Schrade and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger. Contributor in D.C.: Kevin Diaz.
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The gov's back from vacation (with a tan and a touch more gray in his hair) and working on flood issues
Posted by: Rachel E. Stassen-Berger under Gov. Tim Pawlenty Updated: March 19, 2010 - 1:38 PM
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is back in Minnesota and headed to the flooded areas of the state, looking tanner than usual and with a touch of gray in his hair.
After he participated in an executive committee meeting, where the state's constitutional officers quickly approved a 30-day extension of the State of Emergency for flooded and flood threatened counties, he took a few questions from reporters.
Since he hasn't been available to Minnesota reporters all week, Hot Dish asked why he flew back from Florida Sunday night to line item veto and sign the state's borrowing bill. He wasn't very forthcoming with answers.
Reporter: "Why was it important for you to fly back from Florida to do the bonding bill?"
Pawlenty: "They presented me a bill that was at the $1 billion level. We had indicated to them previously that a billion dollar bonding bill was unacceptable. That, we said we needed a bonding bill that would be affordable, that would be prioritized and balanced and when they presented a bill that was still at a billion dollars it, of course, needed to be trimmed."
Reporter: "And why did you fly back to do that?"
Pawlenty: "Because that's what I needed to do."
The governor was out of town for much of the three-day period that ended Monday at midnight in which he had to sign, veto or line-item veto the $1 billion bill. He flew back to Minnesota Sunday, on a commercial flight paid for by his political action committee, and slashed more than $300 million out of the bill and signed the rest. The signed and line-itemed law was filed on Monday. The governor had a political event in Florida on Monday.
Meanwhile in Pawlenty follicle news: the governor is letting his gray hair show more than usual. Note the salt in the pepper in this photo from ECM's Tim Budig:
By contrast, here's a head shot of the governor's very dark locks from December:
Question: Which hair color do you prefer?
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