MPR: A Freshman's Education

A Freshman's Education
By Laura McCallum
January 21, 1999

RealAudio 3.0 28.8

Rep. Ann Lenczewski

Personal: Married with 4 children.

Resides: Bloomington

Occupation: Full-time legislator.

Education: B.A., psychology, College of St. Benedict; public policy, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

Elected: 1998. First term.

The 1999 Minnesota House includes 21 freshmen - 14 of them Republicans - who helped their party gain the majority for the first time in thirteen years. Most of the Republican gains came from suburban districts, although one DFL'er won a traditionally-Republican suburban seat. Ann Lenczewski Bloomington is considered a moderate Democrat. She's landed a plum assignment on the House Taxes Committee.

IT FINALLY HIT 38-YEAR-OLD ANN LENCZEWSKI that she was actually a state legislator when she saw her name on the wall of the House Chamber, where members' votes are tallied electronically. The former Bloomington City Council member says she'd never set foot in the House before last week, and was a bundle of nerves for the swearing-in ceremony.

Lenczewski:When my husband and I were driving here that morning, I got off 35E and just kind of, you know, got the first glimpse of the Capitol, and just took a deep breath; kind of like, "Can I do this?" And I know I can. I know I will. It's a huge honor. It's very humbling. I wanted to get through the swearing-in so I could get to work. I do best when I'm working hard.

Lenczewski may be getting more work than she'd bargained for. She'll be in the thick of this session's tax debate. Lenczewski's four committee assignments include the much-coveted Taxes Committee; a coup for a freshman in the minority party. She admits she lobbied hard for the assignment.

Lenczewski: That's my area of expertise from being on the city council, and it's my love, which is probably different than a lot of legislators. I know they pick certain areas because they think it'll benefit their district. That's where they want to be, or it's got power or status or something. I wanted to be on it because I love taxes. I just enjoy them. I'm one of probably not many people who gets excited about debating taxes and tax policy.

Lenczewski, who studied at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, isn't ashamed to say she's a policy wonk. Even with a background in public policy and local government, Lenczewski wasn't prepared for the complexity of House legislation. She got a primer on House File 1, the Republican tax rebate bill, from DFL tax expert Ann Rest. She says she hasn't mastered bill-jargon.

Lenczewski: They're almost reading in another language. And I can see why citizens come here, and they try to figure out something, or even to follow a bill. It must be so difficult.

Lenczewski worries about losing touch with her constituents each time she makes the thirty-minute commute from Bloomington to St. Paul, where she hears more from lobbyists than from citizens. She's not daunted by the fact that House Democrats are in the minority. She's used to that, after being the only DFLer on a seven-member city council. But Lenczewski is surprised by the level of partisanship she's observed in her short time at the Capitol.

Lenczewski: What I noticed even in watching the two parties work together, watching leadership talk to each other, watching within our own caucus, what's different for me is, it's not as civil as I'm used to! What we've done as a city council is, we disagreed, but did it graciously and diplomatically and never questioned motives. You see that happening here.

Lenczewskip has set a few goals for her first session. She wants to help shape the tax rebate legislation. She agrees with Republicans that the budget surplus should be rebated to taxpayers. She plans to work on some local issues affecting her district that involve tax-increment financing and the Mall of America. And she hopes she'll be able to juggle her demanding legislative calendar and a busy home life. Lenczewskip has four small children between the ages of 9 and 2.

Laura McCallum covers the Minnesota Legislature for Minnesota Public Radio. She will chronicle Rep. Lenczewski's first year during the 1999 legislative session. You can reach Laura McCallum at lmccallum@mpr.org.

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