000612.txt For Johnson, it's now another day, another new dollar By Melanie Fonder For The News-Chronicle WASHINGTON - In a new, eight-story building in the heart of the city, former 8th Congressional District Rep. Jay Johnson is set up in his new post as director of the U.S. Mint. "Finally," Johnson said, surveying the U.S. Capitol Dome, where he served only one term, from a rooftop patio outside his office. "But it was worth the wait." After his confirmation to the post languished nearly nine months because of partisan wrangling over more controversial appointees, Johnson said the added time let him catch up on all the history of the Mint and the department's latest projects. "JoLee (his wife) would be watching the Senate on C-Span all day long back in Green Bay," Johnson said this week. "My friends got tired of hearing me say: 'Today could be the day.'" Johnson was first nominated for the job by President Clinton last August, but his nomination was tacked onto federal judgeships that were the center of partisan fights in the Senate. "I was tied to the package and there was nothing I could do about it," Johnson said. Johnson, 56, was officially confirmed by the Senate on May 24. The former congressman will make trips to all the U.S. mints beginning in about two weeks, including San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia, among others. Following those trips, Johnson will immerse himself in the ongoing 50-State Quarter Program and the promotion of the new golden dollar. "The Mint will set all-time high this year in production - over 29 billion coins," Johnson said. Wisconsin's quarter is scheduled for release in 2005, and Johnson seemed a bit glum that a pro football team "probably couldn't be on a coin." "I think a cow would be nice," he said, adding that a theme similar to the state's Sesquicentennial license plates might be well-received. "I don't know if they want a chunk of cheese." What goes on each state's coin is coordinated between the Mint and the governor's office, Johnson said, and most states have welcomed public input. The former television broadcaster views his new job as more about public relations than financial expertise. "Especially in last few years, the marketing aspects of the Mint have been an important part of its success - and if I can add expertise to that - I'd like to do that," he said. Johnson is the first Wisconsinite to serve in the post. He is the 36th Director of the Mint, which was established in 1792. RNC PLATFORM DEVELOPS Gov. Tommy Thompson, who has been tapped by GOP presidential nominee Gov. George W. Bush to write the Republicans' platform for this summer's convention, has been busy trying to prevent nasty party fights in August over abortion. That said, there may be little the governor can do to avoid the likely debate. Members of the Republican Pro-Choice Coalition met with Thompson earlier in the week, but party leaders said that the listening session would not alter the GOP's anti-abortion stance. "With no hearings on the abortion issue, we will be forced to get our views heard in other ways. We have been trying to prevent this controversy in 2000 by opening the dialogue early," said Lynn Grefe, the group's National Director in a release. Party representatives, led by Thompson, will meet with citizens in Dayton, Ohio, on Friday to discuss how the platform should address Social Security, education and health care. Welfare programs, national security policy and natural resources will be the topic of a similar meeting in Billings, Mont. on June 23. LONGTIME SCRIBE RETIRES After covering everything from the Selma-Montgomery march in 1965 to impeachment debates about two presidents, veteran Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Frank A. Aukofer retired last week after 40 years with the paper, 30 of those spent in Washington. "I can honestly say I've never had a slow day in 40 years. I can honestly say I've never gone a day without learning something," Aukofer said at an event sponsored by the Freedom Forum World Center and the newspaper. In attendance were Chicago Sun-Times columnist and conservative pundit Robert Novak and former U.S. Rep. Bob Kastenmeier, D-Wis., among other journalists and Journal Sentinel editors. "Our job is to tell stories - and I've had a great time telling some of them," Aukofer said. Aukofer, 65, was back in the Senate press gallery the very day after he retired - and is likely to make a daily stop in the office. "Oh, I'll be around. I've got car columns to write and I told the Journal if they ever need me, they can call," he laughed. This column by Fonder, a staff writer for The Hill, a Washington-based weekly newspaper that covers Congress, appears every Monday in the News-Chronicle. You can e-mail her with comments at melfonder@yahoo.com.