When will Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau put the well-being of the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the people of Minnesota ahead of her own political status?
The answer is likely never. Molnau is renowned for her stubborn and combative manner. This is hurting Minnesota.
Commissioner Molnau will now just retreat further into her MnDOT office bunker following the critical report released Wednesday by the Office of the Legislative Auditor. The commissioner has hardly been seen or spoken outside of her office bunker since the August bridge collapse.
The Legislative Auditor report was quite direct in his criticism, including:
- MnDOT's Sonia Kay Morphew Pitt filed padded expense claims, utilized her state cell phone for excessive personal calls and scheduled out-of-state travel for personal reasons.
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- Pitt's actions resulted from the lack of proper and adequate supervision within MnDOT.
- Pitt's failure to return to Minnesota following the Aug. 1 bridge collapse when she was MnDOT's emergency management official was poor judgment by both Pitt and MnDOT.
- MnDOT's excuses for Pitt's behavior was not adequate or acceptable.
Following the auditor's report, Molnau released a statement saying MnDOT was improving its employee oversight procedures.
We should hope so!
The question now is will Gov. Tim Pawlenty improve his oversight over his MnDOT commissioner?
It has become increasingly apparent that MnDOT's current leadership is inadequate. If Pawlenty does not have the backbone to remove Molnau as MnDOT commissioner, the Minnesota Legislature should help him out by not approving her nomination.
