Democratic not-a-governor-elect Mark Dayton said Thursday that he currently has long lists of names to weed through for his key commissioner spots.
Dayton said he hopes to whittle those names down to short lists, between three and seven people, next week. The following week, he said, he hopes to have picks for some of the top spots.
He said he'll likely start by selecting his Management and Budget commissioner and his Revenue commissioner given the tough budget work ahead.
While he is preparing his possible cabinet, he isn't yet preparing his inauguration.
Dayton said he had some thoughts about that inauguration party but it would be "premature" to plan too much.
Dayton's race in the midst of a statewide recount because his lead over Republican Tom Emmer was less than one-half of one percent. If the recount loser files a lawsuit, the winner's inauguration could be delayed weeks or month.
Dayton said the recount hasn't allowed him to be fully focused on the preparations he would need to make should be become governor.
