Continued: Editorial: No pick in Third; Tinklenberg in Sixth

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Paulsen was a fiscal and social conservative in the Legislature, voting for measures that this newspaper opposed. Why he’s casting himself as a moderate in this race is unclear. His conservative credentials are solid; he should have run on them.

Sixth District: Elwyn Tinklenberg

Back when Don Poss signed on as the Blaine city manager in the 1980s, someone asked why he’d want to work in a northern suburb then known mostly for sod farms and mobile home parks. Poss, the project manager who brought in the Metrodome on time and on budget, liked Blaine’s city officials — particularly its young mayor, Elwyn Tinklenberg — and their forward-looking plans.

Today, Blaine’s the home of the National Sports Center, the TPC golf course and neighborhoods that many young professional families call home. Other suburban officials now tour Blaine to see how growth can be done well. Poss gives much credit to Tinklenberg for the transformation, saying he had the vision and good people-management skills to make it happen.

A former Methodist minister and state transportation commissioner, Tinklenberg is the Democratic nominee in the Sixth District, where he is running against lightning rod Republican incumbent Michele Bachmann and Bob Anderson, a Woodbury man with scant political experience who has not been endorsed by his Independence Party.

While Tinklenberg’s been criticized for not running a feistier campaign, he would be a tonic for partisan-riven Washington. He’s an accomplished, level-headed politician who put in his time at the local and state level and has achieved much through consensus-building. Tinklenberg’s deep expertise in transportation — a key issue for this north suburban district — has already proven a valuable asset. He had the foresight to push for Hwy. 610 — a critical area artery — and the Northstar commuter rail, set to open next year.

Bachmann has little to show for her two years in office — three minor bills, one of which recognized the state’s 150th birthday. The incident earlier this month when she went on MSNBC’s “Hardball” and accused Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama of possibly harboring “anti-America” beliefs and calling for the media to investigate her colleagues to see who was “pro-America or anti-America” just adds to the list of bizarre incidents and statements that undercut her credibility as a political leader.

Bachmann is a culture warrior for the far-right; clearly, that’s been her priority. This north-suburban district is hard hit by foreclosures and the economic downturn. It deserves a U.S. House representative who’s practical, focused and results-oriented: Elwyn Tinklenberg.

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