For all his earnestness, Gov. Mark Dayton often pulls deadpan humor from the wonkiest of situations.
This morning, for example, the governor held a news session to talk about plans growing out of Tuesday’s Jobs Summit.
At one point, he was talking about the important role Minnesota’s community banks and small businesses can have in helping the state recover from its economic doldrums. Tom Borman, a corporate-looking fellow, is a point person for Dayton on the governor’s Small Business Capital Access Task Force.
Not a lot of humor in this.
But Borman is owner and founder of Tradition Capital Bank, a community bank in Edina.
The gov, after extolling to virtues of community banks, looked at Borman and then at reporters.
“Tom looks as much like a community banker as I look like a DFL populist,’’ Dayton said. “Appearances can be deceiving.’’
Later in the same event, Dayton was asked what the odds are that he and the Legislature can work out a redistricting map, which would do away with the need for the courts to draw the map.
Dayton pondered the question, seriously.
“Somewhere between the Vikings winning the division and the Vikings winning the Super Bowl,’’ said Dayton. “But there’s always hope.’’
For those who don’t follow football, the Vikings are 1-6.
