I must admit that I very often see Gov. Mark Dayton as a man of basic good intentions without the intellectual tools to effectively govern; instead, he is governed by close corporate and political handlers who prepare his messages and roll him out to the podium. Many do not see this image, but they may have partisan and/or financial investments in most outcomes. I do not.

I believe it is most appropriate to view Dayton as a sincere, somewhat scattered, earnest man of soul and fairness. He is not suited to the traditional executive suite. Therefore, much of his image is crafted by others to meet such expectations. Dayton is not the visionary thinker who plans big things. He is better suited to the smaller things that reach his personal value
system and penchant for equity and common sense.

Case in point: After getting far too far down the bureaucratic road, the University of Minnesota’s absurdly unfair and (yes) malicious scheme of bundling student season tickets [forcing students to purchase football passes in order to buy basketball tickets, for example], came to Dayton’s desk and conscience. He did not require an executive panel or administrative report to settle this egregious scheme.

Dayton, CEO of Minnesota, simply wrote to University President Eric Kaler, telling him this was just not appropriate. Dayton stopped this viral outbreak with one letter. Of course, the University now must form yet another review panel to seek other options.

Yes, many other governors would have done the same thing, perhaps earlier in the process. However, the forces of simplicity and fairness within Dayton made a properly human decision to stop the nonsense.

This story is a tiny capsulized example of just how amok bureaucracy may run and how simply it sometimes can be restrained.  As an aging football marching band member of the 1960s, I salute the governor: Yay, Ra-Ra, Dayton!