New Met Council chair shrugs off critics, sets a forward-looking agenda

Not too long ago, a friend sent Adam Duininck a newspaper clipping. The story said the Metropolitan Council, the regional planning agency that Duininck chairs, is too big, too unwieldy and not accountable to the people it purports to serve.

It was dated 1972.

Duininck laughs when he shows it to a visitor (on his phone, of course, he is a millennial). "This is the same conversation we've been having for 50 years."

That debate flared anew last week with the revelation that the price of the proposed 16-mile Southwest light-rail line from downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie had soared by $341 million to almost $2 billion. The news shocked the project's backers, including Gov. Mark Dayton, and provided fresh ammunition to critics of the Met Council, who have long faulted it for being unresponsive to local concerns on a range of issues, including transit and affordable housing.

Now, the fate of the Southwest light-rail project is largely in the hands of Duininck, a 34-year-old Willmar native who has never held elective office or run a state agency. Yet throughout all of it, the baby-faced Duininck has maintained an affable front — he seems positively unperturbed.

The debate eclipsing the body he now leads "doesn't really bother me," he said in a recent interview, during which he sported a natty plaid suit. "Most of it stems from not understanding what we do, how we work and the first-rate staff we have."

Hostility toward the Met Council has escalated to the point that last month four suburban Twin Cities counties hired a lobbyist to enforce an obscure federal rule that would require the election of council members. "Really, should we just appoint some group to decide what all the policies are?" Scott County Administrator Gary Shelton said at the time. "I don't think so."

Duininck, in typical fashion, says he's open to suggestions.

"He truly does listen, and that's a rare quality," said John Gunyou, chair of the Three Rivers Park District.

Duininck is a person of intriguing contrasts. He's a farmboy hailing from a family of road builders who is now enthralled with mass transit after trips to the Netherlands.

His lineage is almost entirely Dutch, and he says trips to Holland, with its expansive transit system, and pedestrian- and bike-friendly culture, have proved a huge inspiration.

"Minnesota is heading that way," he said.

Dayton's decision to make him head of the Met Council surprised some — although Duininck has been a member since 2011, and he'd chaired its Transportation Committee.

Duininck has limited management experience and didn't finish college. He's an unabashed supporter of organized labor. And he is married to Dayton's chief of staff, Jaime Tincher, a link that exposes him to allegations of cronyism.

In an interview, Dayton said he chose Duininck from four finalists because he received "unanimously strong to rave reviews from people who worked with him. He's a people person and committed to public policy. … We really needed more outreach from the chair, which had been hampered by it being a part-time position, because of feelings of disconnect between the Met Council and local and city officials."

The governor added that he expected criticism about Duininck's connection to his chief of staff. "I'm disappointed that in this day and age two very capable people cannot each have their own careers, or careers that overlap," he said.

Duininck's supporters are ferociously loyal, and even council critics concede that he's a nice guy.

Sen. Dan Hall, R-Burnsville, voted against Duininck's appointment last week at the Senate State and Local Government Committee, saying other applicants were better qualified. Indeed, that list included a retired CEO, a member of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents and an executive at a medical device company.

Duininck's appointment "is like making the manager of a Burger King CEO of General Mills," Hall said. Still, he was confirmed (with three Republican votes), and approval by the full Senate is expected.

Some of the council's detractors are loath to criticize Duininck. "I think a lot of the criticism leveled against him has been unfair," said Shelton, the Scott County administrator. "From my perspective, he's done a bang-up job. My problem is with the council's structure, not with him."

It remains to be seen whether Duininck can parlay that initial goodwill into sound public policy and a functional management strategy at an agency with an annual budget of nearly $1 billion and some 4,200 employees. His goal is to "elevate the stature of the council" and "reinvigorate" members' commitment to the body's mission, which includes implementing its far-reaching Thrive MSP 2040 plan, a blueprint for transportation, water resources, parks and housing for the next three decades.

"Throughout my professional life, I've always been the youngest doing what I do," Duininck said. "I've always been growing into a role," as opposed to being a seasoned veteran.

Duininck claims he is not one to plot his career like some do, although those who know him are not surprised he was drawn to public life. In high school he was voted Most Likely to Go into Politics.

Alan Welle, one of Duininck's teachers at Willmar Senior High School and a student council adviser, said a field trip to the Capitol in St. Paul "made a real impression on Adam." So he isn't surprised that his protégé is now heading the Met Council: "The way he presented himself as a leader, I kind of knew it would happen."

Duininck worked construction for the family firm, Duininck Inc., ultimately coming to the Twin Cities. He liked working outdoors and learning a skill, but he also attended the University of Minnesota, majoring in comparative literature and political science. He sandwiched his education around "asphalt season."

He was hired as the legislative and political director for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49 and learned valuable lessons trying to bridge differences between the union and employers. "Lots of productive things can happen when labor and management come together," he said.

Before his Met Council appointment, he was executive director of WIN Minnesota, which raises money for DFL causes.

"This notion that I was appointed because of who I'm married to is something I completely reject," he said. "She's a very successful person and committed to public service the same way I am. We're both idealists, and we care a lot about the community we live in."

The couple has two children, James, 3, and Carolina, 1, and live in a modest 1,000-square-foot home in Minneapolis' Standish neighborhood "near the Cardinal [tavern] and Matt's bar," as Duininck puts it. A sports fan, he recently attended the Minnesota United FC home opener. When he wants to relax with his wife, they'll go to dinner and maybe a show at the Turf Club or First Avenue. He tries to take the bus to work, or bike, but his punishing schedule makes it difficult.

His term as Met Council chair lasts four years. After that, Duininck says, "anything's possible."

Janet Moore • 612-673-7752