Three years ago Steven Bosacker completed one of the toughest government assignments imaginable. As chief of staff to Jesse Ventura, he helped forge a remarkably sound policy direction for a celebrity governor with a short attention span; kept a talented, autonomous cabinet unified and on task, and negotiated with a Legislature eager to see a third-party governor fail.
All of that makes Bosacker ready for a harder job. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak last week nominated him to replace John Moir as city coordinator. That would be city manager in a saner place. But Minneapolis' absurd municipal structure requires that the coordinator answer equally to the mayor and 13 City Council members, and to oversee only nine of the city's three dozen bureaus and sub-bureaus. That's a job description straight from hell. Still, it's an important position at an important moment for the Upper Midwest's largest city.
"He's a brilliant choice," said former Met Council Chairman Ted Mondale, who worked with Bosacker in the Ventura years. "He gives this obtuse, crazy structure a chance to succeed."
Bosacker lacks the financial expertise of Moir, who fell into budgetary disagreements with the mayor. But, as Ventura's chief administrator, and, before that, as a mediator among the University of Minnesota's contentious president, deans and regents, Bosacker displayed a quiet, diplomatic talent for distilling lots of viewpoints into a single, unified direction. And, as several former colleagues pointed out, he is incredibly disciplined, organized and fastidious. "He makes the trains run on time," said one. Another said, "He'll help bring focus to Rybak, who's a little like water on a hot griddle."
Among Bosacker's ambitions: tighter, results-based management for all city departments; citizen feedback from the new 311-call system as part of that effort, and further movement by Minneapolis toward the transit-density model that makes European cities so attractive.
"He's not satisfied with where we are now, and I'm very happy he's not," said Rybak.
Minneapolis owes Moir its gratitude for the budget discipline and financial planning he helped to establish. It owes Bosacker a chance to succeed in a job that no sane person would have intentionally designed.
What they're saying
"Steve Bosacker seems like he's very organized. He has an impressive resume. I've been impressed with his work so far."
Robert Lilligren, Minneapolis City Council vice president
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