Editorial: Mystery surrounds GOP's power play

Customer service should be a top priority when consumers plunk down their hard-earned dollars at retailers.

But when conservation special interests are shopping for public dollars to fund their projects, Minnesota taxpayers deserve state officials whose first priority is asking tough questions -- not greeting these groups with a "Hi, how may I help you?"

As the head of an influential but little-known state environmental oversight group, Susan Thornton has asked tough questions and served as a strong, sometimes abrasive champion of accountability when it comes to spending the estimated $25 million generated by the lottery each year for natural resources and environmental research.

That's why the she's-fired/now-she's-not-fired soap opera over Thornton's employment as director of the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) is more than just a political insider drama.

The House Republican leadership's clumsy, secretive attempt to dismiss her in December-- an action reversed this past weekend with little explanation -- should alarm those who believe that transparency, scrutiny and citizen input are critical as dedicated funding ramps up for the environment and natural resources.

(The Legacy Amendment, which now provides another $230 million a year in dedicated funding for these areas and the arts, is served by a different advisory body.)

The sudden suspension-of-termination letter Thornton received late Friday seemed to confirm what her attorney had said -- that the dismissal was done hastily, on shaky legal grounds, and without the involvement of the LCCMR's seven respected citizen representatives.

The letter was signed by House Speaker and Republican Rep. Kurt Zellers and State Sen. Michelle Fischbach. Zellers, as the 2011 head of a body called the Legislative Coordinating Commission, had apparently acted believing that the commission had the authority to fire Thornton.

But the commission's statutory authority was far less clear cut than a Jan. 5 Opinion commentary by Republican Rep. Tom Hackbarth and DFL Rep. David Dill made it out to be.

The LCCMR is not a purely legislative body because it has citizens serving on it, a situation that seriously undermined the coordinating commission's authority to fire Thornton. In addition, it was the LCCMR itself that hired her with a unanimous vote as its director in 2008.

If the LCCMR had hired her, an authority its adopted procedures clearly outline, then it stands to reason that only the LCCMR could fire her. Thornton had previously served as the group's assistant director.

Zellers did not reply to requests for comment, nor did several other Republican legislators serving on the 17-member bipartisan LCCMR panel.

The suspension of Thornton's termination is a better-late-than-never attempt to rectify a bad decision. But critical questions still need to be answered.

The suspension-of-termination language suggests Thornton's tenure is temporary. Clarity is needed about the stability of her leadership and what employment procedures govern staff. Thornton did not respond to requests for comment.

Explanations are also needed from Zellers and the legislators on the panel who were involved. The panel's citizen members have said they were not consulted about Thornton's ouster or the "new direction" in project funding that was given by Hackbarth as a reason for Thornton's termination.

These legislators need to show that they understand this is a unique panel that gives citizens input into how the lottery money is spent. It is not another legislative fiefdom.

Minnesota's influential environmental and outdoors special interests groups have also been noticeably silent about the controversy, though one influential group complained off the record last week that Thornton didn't provide "good customer service" to groups seeking public funding for their projects.

Minnesotans have chosen to put extraordinary sums toward protecting natural resources. Reassurance is needed that rigorous scrutiny of taxpayer dollars will be rewarded, not punished.

* * *