Feb. 28, 2007: Former DFL leader Roger Moe takes 3M lobbying job

By Tom Meersman, Star Tribune

Last update: March 29, 2007 - 10:16 AM

The 3M Co., facing scrutiny from legislators about groundwater contamination in the east metro, has enlisted a new lobbyist - DFLer Roger Moe.

Moe, who was Senate majority leader for 20 years and a candidate for governor in 2002, declined to specify what issues he would follow for 3M, other than to say that tax policy, environmental issues and regulations are all important to the company.

"Basically they've asked me to help them kind of think through some strategies," he said Tuesday.

He registered with the state as a lobbyist for the Maplewood-based company on Feb. 20. The same day, legislators from the east metro began to introduce bills that would tighten the regulation of former 3M compounds called perfluorochemicals and direct more study into the risks of those chemicals.

State health officials detected a chemical formerly manufactured by 3M in the city wells of six east-metro communities in January, and held a series of public meetings this month.

3M spokesman Bill Nelson said that the company hired Moe because "he's a well-respected former legislator and 3M appreciates his insights into the legislative process."

Moe said that he has stayed away from the Legislature for the most part in recent years, but has done some lobbying for groups working on rural education and social services.

Moe registered last month as a lobbyist for the Mall of America.

"I'm probably a little more hands-on now than I have been in the past," he said.