Woodbury State Worker Takes Shutdown in Stride

Liam Powell is busy. Just not at work.

The Woodbury resident and published author is among the more than 20,000 state workers whose jobs have been suspended because of the .

“My wife had the honey-do list already this morning,” he said. “I said, ‘I see this as time to write.’ She said, ‘I see this as a time to get the garage clean.’ I got a reprieve today because of the heat.”

Powell, 43, had a relatively positive outlook on his break as a customer service representative for the state’s Driver and Vehicle Services division. He was recently paid and will be again on July 15, though he was quick to mention: “This is not a vacation.”

“I’m not earning anything today,” he said from his home on Friday, “and that kind of hit me this morning. This is a little more serious than just getting a few days off.”

Powell, who lives in Woodbury’s Colby Lake neighborhood, said he was informed that his job could be suspended in a June 10 letter. His managers were good about communicating the latest developments regarding the shutdown, he said, and gave him a template on how to deal with customers.

He said his situation is much different from others who might be laid off in the private sector or families who rely on one income from the state.

“It will figure itself out,” said Powell, who has lived in Woodbury for the past two decades. “The question is, how long (will the shutdown last)? It’s the state—you never think you’re going to be in this situation.”

Powell has worked for the Driver and Vehicle Services division for the past four years and previously worked as a clerk at the Ramsey County Courthouse. Throughout the budget negotiations, he and his coworkers thought a shutdown was inevitable, especially after seeing a .

“They’re our neighbors. Chances are, we’ve got some of the same DNA in our government,” Powell said.

Still, he doesn’t blame one party or the other for the shutdown.

“It’s really the process more than the sides,” Powell said. “People still campaign after they got the job. You’re in the office—now run it. … It’s more about winning than governance.”

Powell said he’s not looking for temporary work at the moment, but if the shutdown is prolonged he may be forced to. He said he is somewhat lucky that one of his books, The Poet on the Corner, recently became available on Kindle, but he won’t see royalties from that until August.

Another fortunate part of the shutdown is that he will have time to start working on a play, “DMV: The Musical.”

“What better way to spend the shutdown than working on a musical on the DMV?” he said. “It’s taking some of the outrageous calls and making them more outrageous for the musical.”

In the meantime, Powell said he plans to spend more time with his two children (“I want to be Michael Keaton. I’ll watch Mr. Mom,” he said) and get things done around the house.

Overall, the shutdown is “tolerable,” he said, and he counts himself fortunate to have no major bills or a medical condition that requires expensive doctor bills.

There will be changes, though, at the Powell household. His mother lives in Florida and the family generally takes a yearly trip to Disney World.

“This year, we might tell Disney to wait a year,” he said. “My son is 14, and we’ve been there about 10 times. It’s still kind of sad.”

If you are affected by the shutdown, let Woodbury Patch know. Email kris.janisch@patch.com or call 651-269-2432.