Pawlenty to chair National Governors Association

In today’s Pioneer Press, veteran political reporter Bill Salisbury reports on Governor Pawlenty’s upcoming appointment as chairman of the National Governor’s Association.

Being elected to chair the NGA is an impressive achievement. Moreover, it demonstrates the positive qualities Governor Pawlenty’s Republican and Democrat gubernatorial peers recognize in him as a genuine leader.

Salisbury writes:

“The (association) is one of the premier public policy organizations in the country, and I really enjoy and appreciate the chance to serve people and hopefully make a positive difference in public policy,” Pawlenty said in an interview Thursday.

As chairman, he will be the spokesman for the nation’s governors on Capitol Hill, at the White House, in business and foundation board rooms and with the Washington press corps.

The job also will give Pawlenty a national platform to promote himself. But he insisted that’s not why he’s taking the post.

“With the exception of a small group of reporters who follow this stuff, 99.9999 percent of Minnesotans and Americans don’t know or care, understandably, who the NGA chair is,” he said. “It’s not a particularly high-profile political opportunity, but it is a great public policy opportunity.”

Click here for the complete article.