A Democratic lawmaker has resigned from a position at the University of Minnesota amid questions about how he got the gig and whether it conflicted with his work at the state Capitol.

And the woman who hired him, a former Democratic lawmaker herself, was reassigned this week as well.

State Rep. Jamie Long, a freshman DFLer from Minneapolis, was hired in July as an “energy research project specialist” at the university’s Institute on the Environment. He resigned from the post — a fellowship funded by an undisclosed donor — “earlier this week,” he said Wednesday. Long is vice chair of a House climate and energy committee and an assistant majority leader of the House Democratic-Farmer-Labor caucus.

The woman who hired him, former state Sen. Ellen Anderson of St. Paul, had served as executive director of the institute’s Energy Transition Lab until Tuesday, when she was reassigned “to work on other projects,” according to the U. The lab works with experts to find solutions that could reduce carbon emissions and promote clean energy.

The shakeup was precipitated by a Republican state lawmaker who dug into Long’s hiring via a public records request. That lawmaker, Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, on Wednesday called for an investigation into the situation.

“Rep. Long was able to write his own position description, set his own hours, and tailor his hours to ensure he was fully employed while the Legislature was out of session,” said Swedzinski, who suggested the hiring might have “run afoul of our ethics and campaign finance laws” — an allegation Long denied.

Long denied doing anything wrong. Anderson declined to comment.

HOW LONG WAS HIRED

Months before the fellowship was posted, Long was in touch with his future boss — Anderson — and was even asked to help create the position description.

“Any information you have about what would be optimal for you would be helpful,” she wrote in an April 1 email. That email, and others that mentioned money “to start a legislative fellows program and hire MN Rep. Jamie Long,” were obtained by Swedzinski and shared with the Pioneer Press. The U confirmed their authenticity.

Long wrote back with some suggestions. Among them:

Working four days a week “to allow me to do some legislative work on Fridays so that I could keep a bright line between my two roles.”

“Conduct research on innovative solutions for Minnesota’s clean energy system.”

“Assist in convening stakeholder forums on cutting edge clean energy topics.”

“Provide support for local and regional governments considering options for reducing carbon pollution.”

“Pursue bipartisan strategies for sustainable long-term clean energy outcomes.”

“Prepare a graduate class offering for the fall term, either for the law school or the Humphrey school.”

Most of his suggestions were included in the final job description, though not word-for-word.

Internal emails and documents suggest Anderson had Long in mind when crafting the position. In June, she alerted him to the position being officially posted and told him to apply. That wouldn’t necessarily be a violation of U hiring practices, according to Jessica Hellmann, director of the U’s Institute on the Environment, which encompasses the Energy Transition Lab — the entity Anderson had overseen.

Nonetheless, in a July 10 email, a fellow administrator told Anderson to not rush “finding and vetting the best candidate for your open position” and be “thoughtful and intentional to ensure you hire the best candidate.”

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‘It’s devastating’: Harassment of COVID public health workers is widespread and ‘unprecedented,’ officials say. Later that day, Anderson said she had interviewed three candidates and that Long was her top choice. In a highly redacted email, Anderson explained: “All of these assets make him (Long) by far the best choice for our work engaging and educating legislators and other decision makers.”

The fellowship ultimately paid $33.65 an hour and was funded by a grant the university received on Feb. 27 from a donor whose identity was redacted from school records released to the public. For a work schedule of four days per week, Long was expected to “conduct research on Minnesota’s clean energy system” and develop a “Clean Energy Legislative Fellows Program.”

LONG DEFENDS HIMSELF

In a statement announcing his resignation, Long said: “Unfortunately, with a politically motivated data request targeting my work, it’s become clear that my presence may be a distraction from the mission of the Energy Transition Lab.”

In an interview Wednesday, Long said he did nothing improper and cast the issue as an attack on climate science.

Long insisted he applied for the job like anyone else and described the position not as lobbying, but as simply disseminating scientific research on climate and energy policy.

He said he first contacted Anderson during the legislative session to ask about possible jobs at the institute she ran.

“My background professionally is energy policy,” said Long, an attorney by education who worked for several members of Congress on energy and environmental issues last decade, according to a résumé he supplied to the U. “I need additional employment to support my family. It was natural for me to look in that field. The university is a place that’s dedicated to spreading knowledge.”

Although he was communicating with Anderson about the possible gig while the Legislature was in session, he said in no way did it color any action he took as a lawmaker.

As vice chair of the House Energy and Climate Finance and Policy Division, he said nothing related to the U’s institute came before the committee.

“I’m sure I voted on the university budget (on the House floor), but I don’t see that as a conflict,” he said, emphasizing that the standard for a conflict of interest is “personal benefit.”

He disputed the suggestion that Anderson created the job specifically for him.

“I went through a public hiring process,” Long said. “I was not confident I would get the job.”

When asked to comment on the correspondence that suggests Anderson may have been designing the job’s duration and hours to accommodate Long’s schedule, he responded: “I met with Ellen to inquire about openings … and when there was an opening, I applied.”

ANDERSON DECLINES COMMENT

Anderson went to the University of Minnesota after two decades of work in state government.

She served in the state Senate from 1993 to 2011, where she chaired several key committees and authored legislation that created Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Standard.

She chaired the Public Utilities Commission from 2011 to 2012, and she was a senior adviser on energy and the environment to Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton from 2012 to 2014.

In 2014, she was named executive director of the Energy Transition Lab. That ended Tuesday.

“As of September 10, Ellen Anderson is no longer ETL director and instead has been assigned to work on other projects,” according to a statement from Hellmann, Anderson’s superior. “As of September 10, IonE AD Melissa Kenney has assumed supervisory responsibilities for Energy Transition Lab staff.”

The U won’t say why they made the change. Hellmann said state law governing personnel matters prohibits it.

In a brief telephone exchange, Anderson declined to comment. The Pioneer Press emailed her several questions Wednesday, and she had not responded by deadline.

GOP CRITIC

Swedzinski said he dug into Long’s hiring after receiving a tip “from an individual who has wanted to remain anonymous.”

He said the issue of climate and energy policy was irrelevant to his concern about Long’s hiring.

“My big concern is whether there are any ethical questions, and was this donor money specifically to hire Rep. Long?” he said. “I have no clue. Is this person a campaign contributor?”

Swedzinski, a farmer from Lyon County in southwest Minnesota, has been skeptical of recent Democratic-backed plans to boost clean energy to combat climate change, arguing they carry too high an economic price and suggesting they might not curb global warming. The latter suggestion is disputed by climate scientists, who have shown that a transition to non-fossil fuels can reduce climate change. He said the view of an overwhelming majority of scientists that humans are causing global temperatures to rise is “up for debate.”

“I think we should get away from the issue,” he said. “I think it’s about legislators leveraging their positions for a job, to write their own job descriptions for positions.”