Accessibility menu
State Representative Tim Mahoney
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4277
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
NEWS COLUMN
FOLLOWING THE LEADER
Too often, people don't associate the commissioners of state agencies with their boss, Tim Pawlenty. But it's important to understand that when these department heads cover up cancer trends on the iron range, change state websites to fit right wing ideologies, consistently let public relations trump scientific facts, fire whistle blowers for wanting to release information about harmful contaminants in the air we breathe and the water we drink, and drive our transportation system into the ground, they're simply following the leader – wherever he may go.
State government isn't a game. But this governor's administration, with all its players, is whistling to the governor's tune of "no new taxes" at every turn, following him blindly over the cliff. The song sounds good at first, but its implications are disastrous. On August 1st a bridge fell into the Mississippi River. This summer was a tragic illustration of what happens when state agencies, like the Minnesota Department of Transportation, put their boss's political future ahead of the taxpayers they serve.
It's time for Minnesotans to realize that our state agencies are being run by political hacks subscribing to Washington ideologies rather than qualified professionals committed to quality performance. They're being bullied into doing so by a self-centered politician who understands his role as governor as solely a stepping-stone for higher office, rather than an opportunity to serve the people who elected him.
The Department of Transportation is broke. Weeks away from bouncing checks, MnDOT Commissioner Carol Molnau, who also serves as the Lt. Governor, won't admit it. But it is. MnDOT doesn't have the money to address the over 1,100 bridges statewide that are in the same or worse condition than the I35W Bridge that fell. Nor does it have the funds to finish ongoing and high priority projects like the Wakota Bridge – which now won't be finished until 2012. This on top of mounting highway traffic on aging roads and bridges, a lack of efficient snow removal, and more. With the 14th largest metropolitan area in the nation, our state deserves better.
Even though the Department is struggling to meet the many infrastructure and road maintenance needs throughout our state with an annual budget shortfall in the hundreds of millions, Carol Molnau and Tim Pawlenty are still desperately clinging to their claims that everything is hunky dory. Some may call that disillusionment. I call it lying. And that's the kind of deception we can expect from departments when their boss lets his desire for higher office trump effective performance and responsibility to the taxpayers.
The same was true when Commissioner of Health Diane Mandernach changed content on the Department's website at the request of the governor's office because Tim Pawlenty received complaints from constituents who were uncomfortable with scientific facts. Mandernach changed web content to brighten the state's image when it came to sexual violence, ignored social issues, and even linked abortion to breast cancer. Department of Health employees charge that this happened on other issues as well.
But Mandernach's protection of the Pawlenty administration reached new heights when she deliberately covered up the deaths of dozens of miners from a rare form of cancer caused by asbestos. She resigned – but not before covering the governor's political tracks and driving the Department of Health into the ground because her boss cared more about politics and public image than strong public health policies.
Mandernach's supervisor, the person calling the shots, was none other than Tim Pawlenty. In fact, he is the only common denominator in the string of incompetence displayed by Minnesota's failing state agencies.
Senator Pogemiller said it best last week when he stated simply, "The buck has to stop somewhere, and my belief is that the buck stops with Tim Pawlenty."
I agree with Senator Pogemiller. Sooner or later, the governor is going to have to answer to Minnesotans for what he has done, without passing the blame off on his department heads. The blame lies in his office, with his veto pen and his bully pulpit.
So let me ask you this Mr. Governor, when will you accept responsibility for your actions? When will you admit that the problem is in your office and the commissioners across the street are just following your orders? When will you explain to Minnesotans what you have allowed to happen on your watch?
But more importantly Mr. Governor, when will you lead with an eye not on your next office, but on the office you now hold?
Please contact me by phone at (651) 296-4277 or via e-mail at rep.tim.mahoney@house.mn.
News Items
- DFL Legislators Introduce the “Contraceptive Equity Act” - (Posted: 2012-03-07 00:00:00)
- DFL Jobs Initiatives to be Heard in House Jobs and Economic Development Committee - (Posted: 2012-02-29 00:00:00)
- REP. MAHONEY, DFL LEGISLATORS BUILD ON DFL JOBS PLAN WITH NEW INITIATIVES - (Posted: 2012-02-01 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.