Editorial: Temporary senator would have been Minn. nice
Published 8:21 am Tuesday, April 28, 2009
If there is one thing both parties can agree on in the wake of the Senate trial between Norm Coleman and Al Franken is this:
Minnesota needs a mechanism by which it can produce a temporary certification for U.S. senator.
In other words, back in January, when it appeared neither Franken nor Coleman would be certified to take a seat, the Minnesota Executive Council — the governor, the lieutenant governor, the secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer and attorney general — would be able to name someone other than Coleman or Franken to the U.S. Senate until the courts determine the outcome of the Franken-Coleman dispute.
It’s a common procedure in many states. What’s uncommon is leaving Sen. Amy Klobuchar with double the workload. And it remains an embarrassment that Minnesota still has a single senator.
In the 2010 legislative session, it would be a good law to have passed.