Political strategy and open government collided this week in a sometimes-heated debate among Dakota County board members about whether a legislative work group meeting should be open to the public.

The weekly meeting is attended by up to three county commissioners, but never more, because that would constitute a quorum and trigger open meeting laws, including posted notice and access for the public and the media.

Commissioners Kathleen Gaylord and Will Branning, neither of whom is part of the work group, had asked to open the meeting so they could attend. The current process, Gaylord said, is unnecessarily secret and leaves other commissioners out of political strategy discussions.

But other board members, including Nancy Schouweiler and Liz Workman, had a different take.

"You lose something the minute you have to notice a meeting and the press can attend," Workman said. "You don't have the free flow of conversation that can take place in those kind of meetings."

The county established the legislative work group in 2006 to increase Dakota County's involvement in state and federal legislation. A 2006 study recommended a work group format rather than a public committee of the whole, in part because "the concern is that the open participation requirements of a committee may inhibit the ability to hold strategic and tactical discussions."

Schouweiler, the appointed chairwoman of the legislative work group, said this week that the informal nature of the meetings gives the board and staff a chance to bounce around ideas about who should be asked to author bills or lend support to an issue.

The meetings are held weekly at 7:30 a.m. at varying locations during the legislative session, based on where the county board will meet later.

Commissioners don't make policy decisions at the meeting but receive updates on the progress of legislation that would affect the county and talk about strategy to support the county's agenda.

Schouweiler said she wondered why commissioners who don't attend the meetings hadn't come to her for more information. But Gaylord and Branning said they just wanted to be included in the discussion.

"I can see I'm fighting a losing battle," Gaylord said. "I acquiesce to the majority of the board."

Katie Humphrey • 952-882-9056