Reprinted from

State Auditor Rebecca Otto's motto: 'Live green'
 

The greenest politician in Minnesota may be ... the state auditor.

By Doug Grow, Star Tribune
Last update: February 17, 2007 – 7:15 PM

The greenest politician in Minnesota may be ... the state auditor.

Rebecca Otto, who gets more excited talking about insulation R-values than accounting methods, easily defeated incumbent Republican Pat Anderson in November's DFL landslide.

She thinks her victory was due, in part, to "green values." That's what Otto emphasized in cable TV ads and in literature aimed at college students.

"The environment is an issue that resonates with young people," Otto said.

It should be noted that her defeated foe doesn't believe the environment was a factor.

"I think it's wonderful that she has a greenhouse and a windmill, but that had nothing to do with what happened," said Anderson, who now heads the Department of Employee Relations. "She had a 'D' behind her name and I had an 'R.' That's what mattered this year. She could have had a pink house and she would have won."

The election aside, Otto, 43, does appear to have a personal understanding of such suddenly politically popular topics as sustainability and alternative energy.

More than a decade ago, she and her husband, scriptwriter Shawn Otto, built what they hoped would not only be their dream home, but also a model for other eco-friendly homeowners. What they ended up with is a 3,700-square-foot home they call "Breezy" on 30 acres in Marine on St. Croix.

It's probably not for everyone.

For example, it would be difficult for those of us who live in the city to build an 80-foot windmill, with 24-foot blades, next to the deck.

The unit -- which they purchased used -- generates roughly 80 percent of their electrical needs. The Ottos figure it already has paid for itself with vastly reduced electric bills.

Otto, who spent a couple of years in the state Legislature, recalls sitting in on committee meetings where various experts would explain why wind generators weren't a viable energy alternative in Minnesota.

"I'd sit there listening and finally I'd say, 'Excuse me, with all due respect, I've got one in my yard. It works beautifully.' "

The house also features such things as a passive solar system and a three-ton, two-story fireplace that burns fuel at 2,000 degrees and has a hot water heat exchanger coil.

Everything in the oft-toured house makes economic sense, said Otto. There are a couple of organic gardens and her hybrid car to round out the picture.

All of this may stand as testimony to what is possible. But does it have anything to do with being state auditor?

"I think we need people in the executive branches of government who live green values," she said.

Additionally, Otto said, she is on state boards in which green issues already have surfaced because these days, green and fiscal responsibility often are intertwined.

But above all, she vows that the auditor's office will continue to conduct vigorous audits.

All reports, of course, will be printed on recycled paper.

Doug Grow • dgrow@startribune.com