Pawlenty reveals some snapshots of his tenure

A year after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, Gov. Tim Pawlenty was miffed at the perception that the disaster had been caused by poor state maintenance -- a perception that could point a finger at his administration.

So the morning after he saw the governor of Pennsylvania on TV, Pawlenty wrote to remind him that the official cause of the collapse had been attributed to the bridge's poor design and not inadequate maintenance. Pawlenty asked Gov. Ed Rendell to "avoid furthering misinformation or misperceptions" and not join "individuals" who continued to insist maintenance played a key role.

The letter is one of the more revealing snapshots contained in nearly 50 boxes of documents, personal memos and CDs of radio interviews that Pawlenty --now likely running for president -- donated to the Minnesota Historical Society and that were made public on Tuesday.

Although the papers are certain to be sifted through by researchers, much of the material has long been public and little appeared to cast Pawlenty in a negative light. Among the items is a letter to Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, in July 2009, with a handwritten note saying "you are awesome," for voting against DFL budget proposals. There is also a plea to Twins star Joe Mauer to help promote state tourism. "Enclosed is a story board describing how you would be portrayed at Target Field in your uniform and gear," Pawlenty told Mauer.

"We understand that if the governor does run for president, there's going to be a lot of interest in this material," said Bob Horton, the state archivist. "We wanted to make sure we got as much as we could so that there wouldn't be any questions down the line on ... not collecting material that someone wanted to see.

"My impression is that it's pretty much the equivalent of what we've seen from [Gov. Jesse] Ventura and more than we've received from [Gov. Arne] Carlson," he added.

The documents appeared to shed little new light on the watershed moments of Pawlenty's eight-year tenure -- the bridge collapse, the 2005 state government shutdown or the perennial battles with DFLers over budget bills. The files contained few e-mails, and the folders on the bridge collapse, a seminal moment for the governor, were spread over less than three files.

Another letter, written by Pawlenty to acting state transportation director Bob McFarlin, lauded McFarlin for his "strong, honest leadership" that was "a tremendous asset as you helped lead MnDOT through the challenging days following the I-35W bridge collapse." Neither the governor's letter, nor McFarlin's letter announcing his resignation, mentioned that McFarlin had replaced former Commissioner Carol Molnau, who lost her MnDOT job in the wake of the collapse.

Documents on the 2005 state government shutdown included a look at state agencies and how they would keep vital functions going. The 431-employee state Department of Education, according to the governor's documents, would operate with fewer than 30 employees during the shutdown, at a cost of $34,395 a week.

The documents offer few less-flattering items regarding the shutdown that had been made public elsewhere.

Alex Conant, a spokesman for Pawlenty, said the files represented an accurate look at the former governor. "Hopefully, Governor Pawlenty's record of fiscal responsibility and government reform will be a model for the future," he said.

The files do reflect many light-hearted moments, such as a picture of First Lady Mary Pawlenty with dolphins at the zoo, a picture of Pawlenty playing hockey and a broadcast of the governor's radio appearance at the Spam Museum in Austin.

At another point, Pawlenty took the director of the Minnesota Council on American-Islamic Relations to task after the director asked Pawlenty to retract his comments on the controversial plan to build an Islamic center near ground zero in New York City. "Your letter claims that the goal of the proposed mosque is to assist in the healing process by promoting unity and mutual understanding. Clearly, that plan is not working," Pawlenty wrote.