Feb 2, 2008 4:33 pm US/Central
Poll Finds Molnau Gets Low Marks As MnDOT Head
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
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Molnau, who's also lieutenant governor, has come under heavy criticism since the fatal collapse of the Interstate 35-W bridge in Minneapolis last August.
CBS
A new poll finds that Minnesotans who know of Carol Molnau disapprove of the job she's doing as state transportation commissioner by a margin of nearly 2-to-1.
The Minnesota Public Radio News/Humphrey Institute poll finds that just one in four surveyed approve of Molnau's job performance as transportation commissioner. Forty-three percent say they disapprove of the job she's doing. Nearly one-third of those surveyed say they don't know.
Molnau, who's also lieutenant governor, has come under heavy criticism since the fatal collapse of the Interstate 35-W bridge in Minneapolis last August. She declined an interview request from MPR to respond to the poll. Molnau did not immediately respond Saturday to an interview request from The Associated Press.
DFL legislative leaders also blame Molnau for financial and personnel problems at MnDOT. Several lawmakers have called on her to resign, but Molnau has said she has no plans to quit.
Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, said the state Senate will effectively fire Molnau if she doesn't quit.
"It's a foregone conclusion. She's not going to be commissioner much longer," Murphy told MPR.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty's spokesman, Brian McClung, said the poll shows that MnDOT needs to improve. McClung said the Republican governor will continue to stand by Molnau, but will work on improving the public's perception of MnDOT.
"We understand that Minnesotans want to see improvement at MnDOT, and we certainly take those poll numbers to heart," McClung told MPR.
The poll found that even with the 35W bridge collapse and the attention to roads and bridges, only 8 percent of the 917 people surveyed said transportation is the most important problem in Minnesota. The economy and jobs, health care, taxes and education all ranked higher in the poll.
The poll also finds that Minnesotans are split on a nickel-a-gallon gas tax increase to pay for roads and bridges. Forty-nine percent support it, and 49 percent oppose it. The other 2 percent are undecided.
Pawlenty last year vetoed a roads-and-transit spending bill that would have raised the state gas tax.
The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. Telephone polling was done from January 20 to 27.
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According to a Gov. Tim Pawlenty's Web site, Molnau was born and raised
on a farm in Carver County. She attended Waconia public schools and the
University of Minnesota.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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