[Speed Gibson,
Wednesday August 22, 2007 at 2:58pm]
Not so fast
As is entirely appropriate given what's happened, the future of Carol Molnau as Minnesota's Commissioner of Transportation has been called into question. The DFL almost certainly will remove her (IMO) if a Special Session called, but this is only due to a defect in the Minnesota Constitution that puts no time limit on Senate confirmations.
Carol Molnau is our elected Lieutenant Governor and appointed Commissioner of Transportation. She's a politician, not an engineer, which has prompted some commentary. I say, Commissioners should generally be politicians, Deputy Commissioners the engineer, doctor, accountant, etc as required.
That's the main reason I reluctantly wrote that Health Commissioner Diane Mandernach should be replaced, when she made a professional judgement call, apparently correct for the profession, but politically naive and embarrassing.
This is especially important these days given how ruthless the DFL has become, the party that sacked perhaps the most able but again impolitic Commissioner of Education in Minnesota history. Commissioner Yecke never saw it coming.
To find a Commissioner who is politically adept, good on camera, and a competent, proven professional just isn't possible or practical in most cases. We need two people, and it should be allowed that the Deputy is paid considerably more than the Commissioner or even the Governor.
This doesn't excuse Carol Molnau from scrutiny. If she is the number cruncher some allege, that may be troubling in that she isn't focused enough on the politics, her first responsibility. It is Governor Pawlenty's job to decide is Carol should stay on or move on as head of MnDot.
UPDATE: I see that Health Commissioner Diane Mandernach has stepped down, apparently at the Governor's request.
Carol Molnau is our elected Lieutenant Governor and appointed Commissioner of Transportation. She's a politician, not an engineer, which has prompted some commentary. I say, Commissioners should generally be politicians, Deputy Commissioners the engineer, doctor, accountant, etc as required.
That's the main reason I reluctantly wrote that Health Commissioner Diane Mandernach should be replaced, when she made a professional judgement call, apparently correct for the profession, but politically naive and embarrassing.
This is especially important these days given how ruthless the DFL has become, the party that sacked perhaps the most able but again impolitic Commissioner of Education in Minnesota history. Commissioner Yecke never saw it coming.
To find a Commissioner who is politically adept, good on camera, and a competent, proven professional just isn't possible or practical in most cases. We need two people, and it should be allowed that the Deputy is paid considerably more than the Commissioner or even the Governor.
This doesn't excuse Carol Molnau from scrutiny. If she is the number cruncher some allege, that may be troubling in that she isn't focused enough on the politics, her first responsibility. It is Governor Pawlenty's job to decide is Carol should stay on or move on as head of MnDot.
UPDATE: I see that Health Commissioner Diane Mandernach has stepped down, apparently at the Governor's request.