Selects experienced private sector leaders Myron Frans and Mike Rothman

St. Paul-Today Governor Mark Dayton announced his appointments to lead two key state agencies, the Departments of Commerce and Revenue. In naming Myron Frans Commissioner of Revenue and Mike Rothman the new Commissioner of Commerce, Dayton continues to appoint experienced professionals, who share his commitment to excellence in government.

Myron Frans, Department of Revenue:

Mr. Frans has nearly three decades of tax law experience as well as strong managerial expertise. As Commissioner of Revenue he will support Governor Dayton's goal of a fair and equitable tax system.

"I am very pleased that Myron Frans has accepted this call to public service," said Governor Dayton. "I regret that he cannot join our Administration on a full-time basis immediately. However, I respect his need, as the CEO of a successful and growing business, to conclude those responsibilities properly. In the meantime, he will advise me on a voluntary part-time basis, and the Revenue Department will be very capably managed by former Commissioner and now Deputy Commissioner, Dan Salamone.

"I am honored to be asked to serve in Governor Dayton's cabinet and honored to serve the people of Minnesota," Frans said. "I look forward to working with Governor Dayton to make Minnesota's tax system more fair, and to improve our enforcement systems. Our state faces serious budget challenges, and I look forward to helping find solutions that are more progressive and more transparent"

Frans will not begin his new position full-time immediately, and in the interim former Commissioner and now Deputy Commissioner Dan Salamone will manage the department.

Mr. Frans has been a tax attorney in private practice for 27 years, most recently as a senior tax partner at the law firm of Faegre and Benson LLP in Minneapolis. Prior to joining Faegre and Benson, he was a tax partner at Gray Plant Mooty Mooty and Bennett, PA, also in Minneapolis. Mr. Frans began his tax practice in 1983 with the firm of Miller and Chevalier, in Washington, DC. Mr. Frans has been active in the American Bar Association, the Minnesota Bar Association, where he served on the governing Tax Council for a number of years, and the Hennepin Bar Association, where he served on the ethics committee. In addition to his tax expertise, Mr. Frans has management experience as President of Leeds Precision Instruments in Golden Valley, Minnesota. He as managed this local manufacturing and distributing company since the fall of 2009. Under Mr. Frans' leadership Leeds Forensic Systems, a subsidiary of Leeds Precision, earned the Governor's International Trade Award for success in building global markets in October 2010.

Mike Rothman, Department of Commerce:

Mr. Rothman brings a distinguished record of consumer protection to the Commerce Department, and his experience dealing with the insurance industry will be an invaluable asset as commissioner.

"Mike Rothman brings a dedicated commitment to leading what has been, from many reports, a troubled agency," said Governor Dayton. "He is charged by me with restoring a consumer response and protection ethic to the agency, and to making it again a consistent and responsible regulator of business practices.

"It is an honor to work on behalf of the people of the State of Minnesota," said Rothman. "I am committed to ensuring that businesses have the economic opportunity to succeed in a responsible manner, and to taking care of the rights of all Minnesotans. I look forward to working with Governor Dayton, and public and private leaders to promote job creation and get Minnesota working again."
Mr. Rothman was most recently an attorney with the firm of Winthrop and Weinstine, P.A., in Minneapolis, MN, where he was co-chair of the Insurance and Financial Services practice group. He brings a unique blend of government and litigation expertise. Rothman's litigation experience began when he worked on the insurance insolvencies of Mission Insurance Companies and Executive Life, two of the largest in U.S. history. He has represented clients at the trial and appellate levels in both federal and state courts, as well as in mediations and arbitrations. Rothman has also taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School in Insurance Law and Regulation. He is a founding board member of the Minnesota Urban Debate League, and sits on several other community advisory boards and organizations. He lives in Minnetonka with his wife and their three children.