Minnetonka's Callison poised to become Hennepin County's top figure

If the votes line up Jan. 6 as they appear to be doing, Hennepin County Commissioner Jan Callison will be the first new board chair in almost two decades.

Callison, a former Minnetonka City Council member and mayor, has been a centrist board member and a calm, steady presence since 2008, most notably serving as chairwoman of the fiscally focused Ways and Means Committee.

Last week, Mike Opat announced he would not seek another term as chairman of the seven-member board, a position either he or Commissioner Randy Johnson has held since the mid-1990s.

Callison, 61, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Harvard Law School, immediately was identified as the commissioner most likely to win election on Jan. 6, when the board begins a new term.

Not one to make emotional speeches, Callison tends to hew to the facts, often working as a fulcrum for focus when passions and positions clash.

"I view local government and county government as being practical and pragmatic," she said. "We're here to deliver services in the best way that we can."

She also publicly revealed Tuesday that she learned a year ago that she has Parkinson's disease. Callison said the disease hasn't affected her daily life and she doesn't expect it to hamper her work at the county.

Opat said he's supporting her as chair, saying she is the colleague "best suited" for the work. "She's organized and she takes the job seriously," he said. "She's here every day working."

Board Members Marion Greene and Linda Higgins also said they are supporting Callison. Commissioner Randy Johnson declined to say whether he is running or whether he will support Callison or another candidate. Commissioners Peter McLaughlin and Jeff Johnson didn't respond to requests for comment.

The board's chair becomes a notable metrowide figure and works closely inside county government with its professional staff. Callison would organize meetings and set topics and agendas for briefings. In county government the chair is more like a collaborator-in-chief than a fire-breathing partisan or bombastic boss. Callison's runs for public office have been made without party affiliation.

She said she looks forward to serving as a more prominent public face of the county in dealings with constituents.

"I hope that I will be open," she said of her aspirations as would-be chair. "I hope that I will be collaborative."

Callison said the Parkinson's diagnosis means she takes a "low dosage" of daily prescription. She said she has intensified an exercise routine that includes walking, running, using an elliptical machine and participating in an occasional triathlon with one of her three grown children.

Parkinson's is a degenerative nerve disease that can cause rigid muscles, tremors and changes in speech and gait. There is no cure, but symptoms can be relieved with treatment. Actor Michael J. Fox, whose Parkinson's was diagnosed in 1991, is arguably the best-known figure with the disease. In an interview, Callison said she was revealing it now because she'd taken time to wrestle with the diagnosis and determine what it means.

"While this new reality is sometimes hard to accept, it hasn't changed my life in any negative way," Callison said in a note to her board colleagues. As she considers the board, Callison said the issues will be the same whether she is chairwoman or not — lots of challenges, not enough resources. A point of tension in recent years has been striking the right balance between suburban needs and desires and what Minneapolis wants.

"Minneapolis is clearly an important part of Hennepin County, so we have to listen to what they have to say," Callison said, calling the city an "important partner" before adding, "That's not to say they're our only partner."

She would be the second woman to serve as chair of the state's largest county. Nancy Olkon was the first in the early 1980s.

In her spare time, she spends time with her two young grandchildren and three grown children who, Callison's website points out, went to public schools. Callison is a regular reader of the Economist and just finished two of Barbara Tuchman's books about World War I.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747