Overheard at the Capitol: Dems on Zellers? Personable, sincere, not Tom Emmer

PIM spent some time phoning up a sampling of DFL House members to get their first-blush reactions to the election of Rep. Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove) (pictured)as House minority leader last week.

For starters, comity should not be an issue. Practically everyone mentions liking Zellers personally. Other words and phrases that popped up in describing him:

• Classic Chamber of Commerce Republican.
  
• Has a temperamental edge to him.
  
• Personable.
  
• Earnest.
  
• Person of faith.
  
• Family person.
  
• Fairly competent guy.

"He emphasizes that he grew up in North Dakota," notes one of Zellers’ DFL colleagues, "but he was a political operative and media guy before he came to the House, and I think those instincts remain with him. He’s going to present a different face from [former Minority Leader] Marty Seifert. Marty was known for his wit and his one-liners. Kurt will probably take a much more down-to-earth, KSTP-1500-talking-points kind of approach.

"Will he be good at fundraising? I’d guess not particularly. I’ve never known him as someone who was focused that side of things. I think he might be a decent recruiter [for the party] if he’s willing to put in the work. But I think [Republicans'] best face is women, and I’m not sure that’s where Kurt would go."

But another DFL rep begs to disagree, praising Zellers’ steadiness and predicting good things on the fundraising and recruitment fronts. "From a partisan standpoint," notes this member, "I really hoped they would pick [Rep. Tom] Emmer [R-Delano]. He’s much more ideological and divisive. He would have alienated donors. He probably would not have picked moderates to run in moderate districts. It would have been better for us if he were in charge."