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Home | Politically Connected | The I-35W bridge collapse
New MnDOT chief gets panel's backing
New transportation chief Tom Sorel gained a solid thumbs-up from the Senate Transportation Committee and is expected to sail through the confirmation process - unlike his predecessor.
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Minnesota bridges rated: An interactive map of bridges that are "structurally deficient," "functionally obsolete" or have gusset plates like those on the I-35W bridge.
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The last time the Minnesota Legislature held a confirmation hearing on a transportation commissioner, she was fired.
This afternoon, Tom Sorel took his turn in the hot seat in front of the Senate's transportation committee and won unanimous support for endorsement.
Before the hearing, committe chairman Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, said: "I have not talked to one person who has had a bad thing to say about Tom Sorel."
That's a far cry from Feb. 28, 2008, when the full Senate voted 44-22 not to confirm Carol Molnau in the position she'd held for five years. After the vote, Murphy told reporters that Molnau "has done an awful job as commissioner. Period."
After Bob McFarlin, Molnau's right-hand man, finished a two-month stint as acting commissioner, Sorel took the helm of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and names soon began dropping off the organizational chart. McFarlin left the department entirely in June; deputy commissioner Lisa Freese and communications director Lucy Kender also departed.
Sorel "has brought a new energy to that department that has been lacking for a long, long time," Murphy said. He praised Sorel's personnel moves and said the employees he has talked to are "really, really happy to be working for a person who appreciates their talents."
Even the state's highway construction industry, which has battled with MnDOT over contracts for the Interstate 35W Bridge and the Wakota Bridge, is taking a positive tone.
"To date, we're pleased with what we've seen in terms of the direction he's setting for the department," said Tim Worke of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota. "He's been very accessible."
Sorel got to know Minnesota contractors in his previous job running the state's Federal Highway Administration office, so his approach "hasn't been a surprise to us," said Worke.
"We had a fairly reasonable relationship with Lt. Gov. Molnau when she was there," he said, but his group's members felt that MnDOT "needed someone with a strong managerial and a strong engineering background," particularly in the wake of the 35W bridge collapse.
Murphy and other legislators expressed similar sentiments in voting against Molnau, who like Freese and McFarlin wasn't an engineer. Both Sorel and his deputy, Khani Sahebjam, are.
Sorel added the job of ombudsman to MnDOT's top ranks -- not to solve a specific problem, he said, but to increase transparency, offer another way to resolve disputes and improve access to his office for contractors and others.
"The big thing with our members is active communication," said Worke.
Time for questions
Commissioners are appointed by the governor and may serve without Senate confirmation, as Molnau did during the first year of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's second term. If a confirmation vote fails, however, the commissioner is ousted. Molnau has continued in her role as lieutenant governor.
Although MnDOT is somewhat insulated from the state's budget crisis because much of its revenue is separate from the general fund, Murphy said his committee will be hitting Sorel with "some pointed questions."
Still, he expects Sorel to win the approval of both his panel and the full Senate.
"I don't see any problem with him getting confirmed at all," said Murphy. "From where I sit, I think the guy's done a stellar job so far."
A confirmation vote by the full Senate could come as soon as Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jim Foti • 612-673-4491
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