Interim Minnesota DOT head seeks to repair standing with Legislature

Bob McCarlin hasn't decided whether he'll seek post on permanent basis.

The Associated Press

2/29/2008

ST. PAUL — The interim leader at the Minnesota Department of Transportation hasn't decided whether to seek a more lasting appointment to the commissioner's post.

Longtime agency executive Bob McFarlin is serving as acting commissioner now that the Senate has ousted Carol Molnau from the department's corner office. Gov. Tim Pawlenty hopes to name a permanent replacement by mid-March.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, McFarlin said his primary task is to repair the agency's standing with the Legislature. He's already met with the top senator and House member on transportation issues.

"My message is it's a new day now," he said. "We want to rebuild relationships, rebuild trust and reduce animosity."

He said he will seek legislative input when fashioning a plan for spending billions of new transportation dollars, which the Legislature authorized over Pawlenty's veto.

McFarlin was a key assistant to Molnau, but he says he'll bring his own ideas, approach and style to the top job.

"I'm going to work my darndest to establish my own identity in the period I have," he said. "But my job right now is to represent this agency. It is not about me. It is not about trying to set myself up for anything in the future."

A key senator said McFarlin doesn't have the engineering background he wants in a new commissioner.

Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Steve Murphy will preside over confirmation hearings and make a recommendation to the Senate, which has the power to confirm or reject Pawlenty's pick. Murphy said he and McFarlin agreed to work together for the time being, but he expects someone else to get the top job.

"The public has demanded for quite a while now a professional at the top of that department," said Murphy, DFL-Red Wing. "To me that means having the correct credentials — you know, being an engineer, having experience in that field, right on down the line."

The 50-year-old McFarlin has 13 years of experience in the agency but he has been around transportation and politics his whole life. His father was a bridge engineer and a three-term state legislator.

McFarlin started with MnDOT as director of public affairs in 1992 and rose to chief of staff. He left the agency in 1999 for stints as an administrator with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities board and as the president of a consulting group.

He came back to the Transportation Department as Molnau's assistant for policy and public affairs in 2003. His responsibilities have included working with Pawlenty's office, heading a commuter rail task force and serving as the agency's public face during last year's Interstate 35W bridge collapse.