Kevin Goodno is no stranger to controversy. He's been in the center of tussles over Minnesota welfare reform, so much so that the former Moorhead legislator once had protesters chain themselves to his office door in the Capitol in St. Paul.
So on Wednesday when he accepted the job of commissioner of the Human Services Department, he did so knowing exactly what he was getting into. Goodno may be young (40) but he's experienced and tested. He's confident because his work in the Legislature prepared him for the immense challenges facing the largest state agency.
Gov.-elect Tim Pawlenty has made an excellent choice. In his dozen years in the state House of Representatives, Goodno demonstrated a rare combination of intelligence, ability to work hard and willingness to take on tough issues. His commitment was rewarded by relatively rapid advancement, including the chairmanship of the Health and Human Services Finance Committee, where he helped hammer out realistic, if sometimes controversial, welfare reform.
In his last session, he was primary House negotiator for a budget-balancing bill and assistant majority leader.
Pawlenty, the majority leader, knows that in Goodno the state will have a competent and fair human services commissioner. Moreover, Goodno's roots in Moorhead and out-state Minnesota ensure the department will be sensitive to the needs of rural counties and small cities. The governor seems to be making a sincere effort to bring geographical diversity to his cabinet, and Goodno fits that pattern.
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None of it will be easy. The state is facing an estimated $3 billion shortfall, and human services certainly will have to share in the budget-balancing act. And Goodno's critics already are lining up.
Some of them are so outrageous they should be marginalized. For example, a member of the Minneapolis-based Welfare Rights Committee said Goodno has done nothing to help people of low-income families. While that contention is debatable, the committee's Trishalla Bell added, "... he has the same evil mind as the rest of the caucus," referring to House Republicans.
Anyone who knows Goodno knows he does not have an "evil mind." That sort of characterization by an advocate for poor people will not open doors to the new commissioner's office.
What Goodno does possess is comprehensive knowledge of an increasingly stressed social welfare system. What he does have is a measure of compassion that is leavened with the realities of limited state resources. What he does have is the talent to develop a balance that recognizes the state's limits while delivering basic services to Minnesotans who really are in need.
It's a big job. We believe he's up to it. Congratulations to Goodno and to the governor-elect for making a good appointment to one of the most important agencies in state government.
Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum management and the newspaper's Editorial Board
