United against building, GOP hopefuls split on pot

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Five Republicans running for Minnesota governor stood united Thursday in their opposition to a planned Senate office building but showed slight separation from one another on the hot-button issue of medical marijuana.

The candidates held a rare joint news conference at the Capitol to showcase their distaste for a government building they said represents misplaced priorities by Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and his partys legislative leaders. The glass-faced structure - given preliminary approval last year - is due to rise in the shadow of the Capitol and cost $90 million when two nearby parking ramps are included.

The GOP hopefuls tried to outdo each other with the superlatives. Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson called it a monument to government; former state Rep. Marty Seifert labeled it opulent; state Sen. Dave Thompson used decadent; businessman Scott Honour went with palatial; and former House Speaker Kurt Zellers opted for wasteful and unnecessary.

The office building has been attached to the broader renovation of the state Capitol. Senators will be forced out beginning next summer and need at least temporary space. Supporters of the new building argue it would open up more Capitol corridors to the public.

But the Republicans noted that the new plan also greatly expands the office footprint of the governor when the Capitol fix is completed in 2017. Dayton and his staff must relocate to a temporary office this summer and the governor wont return for years.

Seifert argued Dayton could still scuttle the project by not allowing his Department of Management and Budget sell the bonds to cover construction. Its not a done deal, he said.

Zellers ridiculed the design and noted that it wont even house all 67 senators in a Legislature that meets only three to five months per year. They said the money that will be paid back through a lease-to-own mechanism could have been better spent on other things.

Its the fact that it demonstrates a focus on St. Paul, said Thompson, referring to the seat of state government. The Democrats have focused on taking care of legislators and taking care of bureaucrats and taking care of union bosses and not taking care of the people.

Dayton spokesman Matt Swenson dismissed the criticism as scoring political points for the next election. He said the once-in-a-generation restoration project commands that leaders are focused on long-term needs. The House Rules Committee has the final legislative sign-off on the plan, but no meeting for that vote has been scheduled.

Meanwhile, the candidates weighed on a controversial proposal to allow marijuana for medical uses.

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United against building, GOP hopefuls split on pot