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It has long been held that a crisis brings out an individual’s true character. The reality of this axiom was made evident with the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge; particularly when in came to how our current Transportation Commissioner responded and how her predecessor in the job responded to this tragedy.
The two individuals I am referring to are Lt. Governor Carol Molnau, who also serves as the State’s Transportation Commissioner and Mr. Elwyn Tinklenberg, the former Transportation Commissioner under Governor Ventura.
Within hours of this tragedy and while public safety crews were hard at work comforting the injured, still looking for possible survivors and beginning the gruesome and dangerous task of recovering the missing, Mr. Tinklenberg stood in front of the television cameras blaming the bridge disaster on the people of the Department that he once led. His key assertion as the cause was a lack of funding for the Transportation Department. I could hardly believe my ears. In addition to his lack of sensitivity for the victims and their families by his inappropriate timing, Mr. Tinklenberg seemed like a very poor candidate to bring forth that message. Could Mr. Tinklenberg really be making this claim?
Is this the same man who just a few years prior, was Governor Ventura’s point man for the construction of the Hiawatha light rail line, a project that cost the taxpayers over $700 million to construct and carries only a small fraction of the people that used the 35W bridge? It couldn’t be the same Commissioner of Transportation that diverted millions of gas tax dollars from road and bridge funds to augment the construction of light rail?
Is it the same man who as Commissioner tried to award a $30 million project management contract for light rail without a competitive bid?
I’m afraid it is the same man. It is also the same man that led the charge for Governor Ventura’s effort to reduce automobile license tab fees, which led to a significant reduction in dollars for what…..transportation funding.
The same man who now makes his living lobbying the state and federal government to spend more taxpayer dollars on trains not highway lanes, or bridge maintenance. While there are certainly legitimate public policy disagreements on how best to proceed with bridge reconstruction and how to pay for it, Minnesota’s current elected officials, of both political parties, have handled this tragedy admirably. Mr. Tinklenberg, however, is a self righteous, self centered individual who only cares about lining his own pockets at the expense of the taxpayer.
In contrast is our current Commissioner of Transportation and Lt. Governor Carol Molnau. She serves a dual role, as a dedicated hard working Commissioner Monday through Friday and on evenings and weekends, fulfilling more ceremonial responsibilities as Lt. Governor. Not only does she sacrifice family and personal time, by serving in two capacities, she also chose to forgo the higher Commissioner’s salary of $108,393 and accepts only the pay of the Lt. Governor’s which is set at $78,197.
But the real story is that Lt. Governor Molnau has fought a long battle to increase road funding starting with her years in the Legislature, as Chair of the House Transportation Finance Committee and during her tenure as Commissioner.
In the last 10 years road construction spending has increased from $368 million to $760 million, much of the increased spending was spearheaded by Lt. Governor Molnau at the behest of Governor Pawlenty.
In the 2007 Session, Molnau again led the charge for an additional $1.7 billion investment in transportation that would have accelerated more than two dozen high priority highway projects. In the end, the Legislature deadlocked and there was no additional funds for state highway projects, but it wasn’t because Commissioner Molnau didn’t try.
At the time of the bridge collapse, the Lt. Governor was in China on state business. Upon receiving the notice of the tragedy she immediately returned home. In front of a bank of television cameras and a herd of reporters she defended her Department and the hard working employees of the Department of Transportation, only concerned about doing the best she could for the state and our citizens. There was no blame on any of the Department employees, or on any of her predecessors. Molnau will work tirelessly to discover the root cause of this tragedy and to see that the bridge is rebuilt in the best manner for our citizens. She will also see that the victims are remembered.
In this terrible crisis, it was easy to discern the true character of these two individuals.
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