As Gov. Jesse Ventura prepares to leave office, he ends a term that saw one of the most dramatic four-year shifts in Minnesota's financial picture. Ventura inherited a $4 billion surplus, and leaves office with the state facing a $4.5 billion deficit. Will he be remembered as the man at the helm when the state's economy took a nosedive? Or as a competent CEO who left a lasting stamp on state government?
St. Paul, Minn. — Four months after his surprise victory, Gov. Jesse Ventura delivered his first State of the State address. He told Minnesotans his term would not be business as usual.
"The legacy of this administration will be provoking people out of their apathy. It's not my job to make people feel comfortable," Ventura said.
Ventura laid out his vision for the state: the best public education system in the world, smaller state government and a simpler tax system. He also had a more specific request.
"I want to ride a train by the year 2002," Ventura said.
So how well did he do? The Hiawatha light-rail line between Minneapolis and the airport is under construction, but Ventura won't be able to ride it until 2004.
State spending has gone from $21 billion over two years to $27 billion. The quality of the state's education system is hard to measure, but a report card released by the Ventura administration gives it a grade of 6 on a scale of 1 to 10.
