Sen. Berglin hired by Hennepin County, is this a problem?

Sen. Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis, the Legislature’s foremost champion of health care services, has been hired by Hennepin County as a health policy program manager.

She said she expects to begin working for the county later this month  --  provided a state budget agreement is reached by then.

“I will be available to work on the budget issues until the budget is resolved,” she said.

Beyond that, she didn’t comment on how she would coordinate the job with her Senate duties or whether she may even leave the State Capitol after eight years in the House and 30 years in the Senate. Her south Minneapolis district awarded her a 10^th term in the Senate last year.

The question is: is this a problem? I believe the answer is yes, it is a clear conflict of interest and she should resign the legislative position. I do not know how she can represent two government bodies, in two distinct employers, both relating to her work with Health and Human Services. If their ever has been a conflict of interest it is Berglin holding two government positions. She needs to resign one of them.