Fired by Minn. Senate, Anderson takes Dayton offer

Published 10:11 am Tuesday, January 31, 2012

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Former state Sen. Ellen Anderson says she has accepted a job offer from Gov. Mark Dayton that came after Republican lawmakers rejected her confirmation to lead the Public Utilities Commission.

Anderson tells Minnesota Public Radio News on Tuesday (http://bit.ly/AsvDLN ) that she will serve as a senior advisor to Dayton on energy and environmental issues. Dayton said a day earlier that Anderson would earn the same salary she’d been drawing at the PUC, which was just over $88,000 a year.

The GOP-controlled Senate voted on party lines Monday to reject Anderson’s confirmation. Republicans say Anderson was biased against traditional energy sources, but Dayton bashed the vote as purely partisan.

Anderson is a former DFL state senator from St. Paul. She says the responsibilities of her new position have not been totally defined.