By Mike Kaszuba

Five days before he takes office, Gov.-elect Mark Dayton said Wednesday he was racing to appoint agency heads, would stand firm on the need for a $1 billion bonding bill to create jobs and said he would not simply sit on a "pretend throne" and swat away Republican proposals to solve the state's $6 billion budget shortfall. Dayton appeared relaxed as he spoke for a half hour in a temporary office in the Dayton's Bluff area of St. Paul, above a Ramsey County adult probation office. "Dayton's Bluff on Dayton's Bluff," he said, smiling. "I'm right on top of the probation office, where people think I belong anyways." But Dayton was mostly serious in a wide-ranging interview, rebuffing those who predict the new DFL governor would adopt the posture of outgoing Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who battled often with DFL majorities in the House and Senate and vetoed their proposals. When he takes office Jan. 3, Dayton will face Republican majorities in both Houses. "I'm not going to sit on some pretend throne and just say, 'Well, you guys work it all out', and I'll either decide whether to veto or not," Dayton said. "I intend to be engaged and involved." The incoming governor said he would announce a half dozen more agency heads by the weekend – including the Minnesota Management and Budget head – and conceded that in a few instances he had been turned down because of the $114,000-a-year state salary cap. "I'm not going to find any sympathy among the general public for the salary cap of $114,000," he said, however. The former U.S. Senator, who again Wednesday stressed that he was "much better suited" to be governor, said he would insist that his agency heads actively work with legislators and appear at House and Senate meetings. While declining to criticize the Pawlenty administration on the topic, Dayton said simply that "I saw real inconsistency" in previous years. Dayton said he intended to propose a $1 billion state bonding bill early next year, and would fill half of it with many of the projects that Pawlenty had vetoed. He named two projects – involving civic centers in Mankato and St. Cloud – as among those he would consider including. Despite the public displays of goodwill between Dayton and the incoming Republican majorities, the new governor said he expected there to be friction. "I wouldn't be surprised – no," he said, responding to whether he expected his initial budget to be rejected by the Republicans. But he said the Republicans would then have nearly three months to "improve upon" his proposals before the Legislature is scheduled to adjourn in May. Dayton also said that he would leave it to the Republicans to propose a financing package for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium, an issue the incoming governor has repeatedly said he would support under the right circumstances. But Dayton, in preliminary meetings with the new Republican leadership, said that he "felt rebuffed" by the Republicans on the issue. "I'm available to work something out," he said of the Vikings stadium. "And they said, well, it's not a priority. "They're in the driver's seat," Dayton added. "If they're going to wait until, you know, May 22 to bring this up. . .there's nothing I can do about that. "[But] they're going to have to accept responsibility for the consequences," he said. "The Vikings will probably move."