Jan 9, 2008 11:29 pm US/Central
Molnau Talks About Collapse, Staying In Office
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ―
Despite the public criticism and scrutiny she's faced since the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, state Department of Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau says she'll take her chances with a DFL-led Legislature that plans a vote to fire her next month.
"No one here at MnDOT's done anything wrong, nor have I," she said. "My plan is to stay here and do what I need to do."
Molnau made the comments in a Wednesday interview with the Star Tribune that covered everything from her thoughts about the investigation into the bridge collapse, to her thoughts about Sonia Morphew Pitt, the emergency management director who was fired for being absent following the Aug. 1 tragedy that killed 13 people.
"Should have there been better (supervision)? Perhaps," Molnau said of her department's oversight of Pitt. But she defended MnDOT's actions, saying Pitt's case is not symbolic of any internal problems in the agency.
Molnau, who has been commissioner since 2003, hasn't been confirmed in that role during Gov. Tim Pawlenty's second term. She can keep the job unless the Senate votes to remove her. Even if she loses her post as transportation commissioner, Molnau would still be lieutenant governor.
In the Star Tribune interview, she wouldn't speculate on her chances of surviving a Senate confirmation hearing.
But, she said, she has received more encouragement from the public than criticism.
"I fill up with gas, and somebody says, 'I just want to you know we're supporting you."'
Molnau told the newspaper she believes federal investigators have a "pretty good idea" why the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed. But she said she hasn't asked them about the cause because she wants to await the official findings.
"We don't know why it fell," she said, adding that she doesn't believe MnDOT could have done anything to prevent the collapse, even though the bridge had known structural problems.
Molnau has said before that she has no plans to step down from her post. She reiterated that when she met with the governor about the issue, Pawlenty had no push one way or the other and left the decision up to her.
Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung said the governor and Molnau met a few months ago and "discussed the possibility of her resigning and concluded she would remain as transportation commissioner pending the Legislature's confirmation decision." McClung did not respond to a question about whether the governor currently supports Molnau.
Molnau said she has not received recent assurances from the governor but assumed she still had his support.
Molnau also talked about the days after the collapse, saying she and Pawlenty were in daily contact in the weeks that followed and generally agreed on how to respond to the crisis.
Molnau said she lowered her profile in the days immediately after the tragedy because she found her appearance at one public event put the focus on her and it "became very political."
In the months that followed, Molnau's actions and the agency's operations in general were criticized by lawmakers and others. One poll showed that 35 percent of Minnesotans approved of her response to the disaster, while 56 percent approved of Pawlenty's response.
"I don't think it's necessarily fair. I think it's what happens. ... Someone is always held responsible by someone," she said. "I don't blame people."
The collapse also highlighted MnDOT's inspections and studies of the bridge, which had been identified as having serious structural problems. Molnau said she was not involved in her agency's decision in early 2007 to conduct more intensive inspections of the bridge, rather than follow a recommendation to strengthen it with steel plates.
"I did not make that decision," Molnau said, attributing it to an engineer and others who "were the people most qualified" to make the decision.
She said that MnDOT would know by now if the National Transportation Safety Board had found any shortcomings in maintenance that jeopardized the bridge.
"If the NTSB felt that there was something that we were lacking, that would help other states, that would be made public immediately," she said.
She said she believed maintenance of the bridge had been adequate, but added, "I'm not a speculator. I am waiting for NTSB's final report."
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