He didn't wait to be introduced. Instead, he offered his hand to the woman absorbed in work at her desk.

"Hi! I'm Tim Penny," he said, shifting a coffee cup from one hand to the other in order to shake hands.

Shirt sleeves rolled up, tie slightly askew, glasses on the bridge of his nose, an easy smile ready to become a grin, the former golden boy of DFL politics in Minnesota stopped Thursday in Austin.

Three months from Nov. 5, Penny said, "We have to get the message out that we have some important work to do."

That work is governing the state of Minnesota.

Penny is the Independence Party's endorsed candidate for governor. The former Democratic U.S. Representative has been out of politics for eight years.

He spent time teaching, writing and consulting.

He spent more time with his wife, Barbara, and their sons, Jamison, Joseph and Marcus and daughter, Molly, than 12 years in Congress would allow.

The "New Richland boy" said had had enough of politics and that a sabbatical was needed.

That self-imposed repose from public service ended in July when he accepted the state Independence party's endorsement to run for governor of Minnesota.

The campaign trail brought Penny to Austin Thursday after he participated in the first televised debate the night before among the four major parties' gubernatorial candidates.

Penny said, "We need to get beyond partisan politics" and called his gubernatorial opponents "good people"

He has raised $130,000 for his campaign to-date, none of it from special interest groups.

"Political campaigns should be more about the message than the money," Penny said.

Penny said he is the "right leader for the moment" and that moment in Minnesota's history demands solving the state budget deficit. He has the "stronger credentials with the budget situation, honestly," Penny said.

He said as governor he would not allow partisanship to interfere with good decision-making.

As the 2002 campaign unfolds, the Independence Party candidate said he would tell the people of Minnesota "what they need to hear and not what they want to hear."

"I think how you campaign has a lot to do with how you will govern," Penny said. "My campaign will be one that reaches out to Minnesota. To best serve the people you must have a relationships with them."

Minnesotans will observe a Penny campaign that does not rely on polling. There will be no negative ads against his opponents. There will be no moneyed special interest groups' influence.

"I only know one way of campaigning," he said.

The specifics of how he plans to govern Minnesota if elected are being shaped, including education.

"We must return control to local school districts, while giving them the necessary resources to get the job done," he said. "We must measure for results and nothing else. We must encourage innovation and creativity by our school districts.

After a quick refueling stop for coffee at a favorite Austin destination for Penny -- Kenny's Oak Grill -- it was back on the freeway. The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities and Independent Bankers Association were waiting for him at their summer conferences. He hoped to return eastward by nightfall for a visit to the Freeborn County Fair in Albert Lea.

Penny said the new politics of the Independence Party are "being taken more seriously today than ever before" and it is a message that is "resonating."

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com