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Politics & Government

Roseville's Coleman, Other State Employees Happy to Be Returning to Work

Senior curator of Minnesota Historical Society Library praises governor; says problem isn't solved.

Patrick Coleman and some of his state government co-workers had planned to spend the evening Thursday commiserating about their employer’s 14-day shutdown.

Instead, they brought their families and their dogs to Coleman’s home on Lake McCarron in Roseville to celebrate their expected return to work, after Gov. Mark Dayton and the GOP leadership announced the settlement that is anticipated will bring the lengthy standoff to an end.

“I’m just happy to get back to work,” said Coleman, the senior curator of the Minnesota Historical Society Library. “Last (Wednesday) night, I had dinner with friends, and invited them to visit me at the History Center. I lost my head for a moment. I thought I was still working. They just looked down at the table.  It was a very embarrassing moment.”

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Coleman said he is proud of Dayton. “He realized something had to be done.  This could have gone on for another couple of months without anything changing. It just would have been that much time lost. This was a noble thing to do.”

John Gostovich, who works in the Minnesota Department of Transportation, agreed with that observation. 

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“I don’t think the governor had any other options,” he said.  “I’m sorry there wasn’t more give and take in the negotiations process.  It seemed like the governor was much more concerned about what the shutdown was doing to not only Minnesotans who were out of work, but also about how Minnesota is perceived nationally and internationally.  Republicans … were much more concerned with holding the line and with social issues.  I’m glad the policy stuff is out of the package.”

Both Coleman and Gostovich are concerned that structural problems with the budget are unresolved.

“I’m a little worried that we will end up in the same spot in a year-and-a-half because – I hate the phrase ‘they kicked the can down the road,’ but they kicked the can down the road. They didn’t fix this.  That’s what I’m worried about,” said Coleman.  “So it’s not over yet.”

 



 

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