GRAND FORKS -- The interim president of the University of North Dakota, the state’s former governor, said he has been told state lawmakers have contacted the state university system to complain about his decision to endorse Doug Burgum, a Republican candidate for governor.

"Legislators have called the university system office and in my opinion threatened retribution, and I think that is so bad," Ed Schafer said. "If we have legislators who, because the political system forces you to choose one person over another, are going to be vindictive on budgets or students or tuition that is the worst kind of politics there is."

In an interview with the Grand Forks Herald, Schafer said he disagreed with an editorial by The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, which called his endorsement "a blatant violation of tradition."

"The whole concept of me stepping on or violating years or tradition makes no sense to me," Schafer said.

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Last week, Schafer told the Herald editorial board that he planned to vote for Burgum and officially endorsed him in a campaign video released Monday on YouTube. University presidents in North Dakota haven't historically supported candidates for public office.

"Why is it that unorthodox?," Schafer said. "I don't get it."

University presidents should get involved in politics and he wouldn't be afraid to call out legislators who use his endorsement as an excuse for retribution against UND or the university system, said Schafer, who served two terms as the state's governor in the 1990s.

"We turn to academia for input on public policy but then say 'Oh by the way, a president shouldn't talk about politics?'" Schafer said. "Maybe if they were more engaged we'd have a better relationship between the government and university system."

There are no policies or laws prohibiting Schafer, who has been UND's interim leader since January, from endorsing a candidate, something he said he made sure of before accepting the job. Schafer said he was careful not to use university facilities or supplies in his endorsement and "made it clear it was just Ed Schafer."

Schafer also received approval to comment politically from North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott, something State Board of Higher Education spokeswoman Billie Jo Lorius verified Tuesday. Schafer pointed out SBHE Vice Chairman Don Morton publically supports Burgum.

Wayne Stenehjem said in an interview Friday with Forum News Service that he was “disappointed” Schafer was supporting Burgum but is happy that he has the endorsement of North Dakota’s two most recent governors: U.S. Sen. John Hoeven and current Gov. Jack Dalrymple, who decided not to seek a second full term in office.

Burgum lost the Republican endorsement to Stenehjem at the party’s state convention in April but has taken the unusual step of running in the June 14 primary for the GOP nomination and right to face Democratic state Rep. Marvin Nelson of Rolla in November.

Schafer told an FNS reporter Monday that Stenehjem would make “a fine governor” – just not right now. Schafer said he likes the business background of Burgum, who grew Great Plains Software in Fargo from a startup and led the company through its $1.1 billion sale to Microsoft in 2001. Burgum has since been involved in downtown Fargo real estate development and investing in other startups.

“There’s a lot of comment out there that you can’t run government like a business, and that’s true,” Schafer said. “But the skills of budgeting, administration and management are transferable to government.”

Schafer, the highest-profile current or former statewide officeholder to endorse Burgum so far, said it was a difficult decision to endorse him over Stenehjem, who served as a state legislator when Schafer served as governor from 1992 to 2000. Stenehjem was elected attorney general in 2000 and has won re-election four times, most recently in 2014 with 74 percent of the vote.

“It’s tough, because jeez, I’ve known Wayne forever and he’s a friend and he’s been a great attorney general and under different circumstances he’d make a great governor,” Schafer added. “But right now, today, Doug’s the right person for the job.”