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Panel OKs
legislative probe of MnDOT: Republicans express doubts that inquiry will
be nonpartisan
Dec 20, 2007
Pioneer Press
By
Jason Hoppin
I-35W
BRIDGE COLLAPSE, Dec. 20, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
delivered by Newstex) --
The state Legislature launched a $500,000 investigation Wednesday into
the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, a move some lawmakers said was
needed after questions were raised about the independence and diligence
of ongoing probes into the Aug. 1 disaster.
Although it was pitched as a bipartisan inquiry, some Republican
lawmakers scoffed at the move as a "witch hunt" targeting Minnesota
Department of Transportation Commissioner and Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau, who
has been under fire since the collapse. Thirteen people died and 100
were injured when the bridge fell.
"For the most part, we see this as politically motivated (and) at
taxpayers' expense," said Senate Minority Leader David Senjem,
R-Rochester. "We have grave concerns about why we're doing this."
Senjem's comments came during a sometimes testy hearing Wednesday before
a Senate panel, where topics veered from Watergate to the 1996 explosion
of TWA Flight 800. A joint House-Senate committee looking into the
bridge collapse sought the investigation, which was approved by the
Senate panel and will be spearheaded by a Minneapolis law firm with
assistance from a former National Transportation Safety Board member.
While the investigation has the support of some Republicans on the joint
committee, others are expressing skepticism. Sen. Steve Murphy, DFL-Red
Wing, co-chair of the committee, said steps are being taken to guarantee
investigators' neutrality, including having a bipartisan panel of
lawmakers oversee the work.
Others seconded Murphy's statements.
"If this starts to look partisan, then we're not doing our job," Sen.
Kathy Saltzman, DFL-Woodbury, a member of the committee, said this week.
The investigation will examine whether MnDOT policies, practices and
decisions contributed to the Minneapolis bridge collapse. It also will
probe whether changes at MnDOT are needed to improve the safety and
condition of the state's roads and bridges. The committee could issue
subpoenas with a two-thirds vote.
It will not determine the specific cause of the collapse, which is being
investigated by the NTSB. But it will examine a $2 million state
contract with an engineering firm to assist the NTSB as it pores over
sections of the bridge in its search for a cause.
The 400-employee federal agency has a reputation for thorough,
nonpartisan investigations. But Murphy is suspicious of the contract
because it potentially puts MnDOT in a position to influence the outcome
of the inquiry.
An NTSB representative said such arrangements are not unprecedented.
"It's not a common practice, but it's not unusual," spokesman Terry
Williams said.
Nevertheless, Murphy's concerns were piqued when U.S. Transportation
Secretary Mary Peters last month commented at a meeting of state
transportation officials in Washington that MnDOT's inspections and
maintenance record would not be a factor in the collapse.
"It certainly seems that something is afoul," Murphy said at the
hearing. "This is information that we're not privy to ... and quite
frankly this is information that the secretary of transportation
shouldn't have been privy to."
A spokesman for Peters has said she didn't say anything then that the
NTSB hadn't already made public.
If maintenance and inspections were a factor in the collapse, it would
go to the heart of a long-running and frequently partisan state Capitol
debate about whether MnDOT is properly funded.
Robert Stein, a lawyer with the Minneapolis firm Gray Plant Mooty, will
head the legislative investigation. He served as dean of the University
of Minnesota Law School from 1979 to 1994 and was executive director and
chief operating officer of the American Bar Association for 12 years.
Stein said he would use a team of lawyers to sift through documents,
interview witnesses and seek guidance from experts such as former NTSB
member Lee Dickinson, who now works for a private consulting firm. Stein
said he has handled complex investigations before, including into rules
violations surrounding the Golden Gophers athletics department during
his time at the U.
While many lawyers in the firm have donated to Republican candidates, it
once employed Amy Klobuchar, and its employees donated several thousand
dollars to the Democrat's successful 2006 U.S. Senate campaign.
It also employs Tom Johnson, a Democrat who served as Hennepin County
attorney and a Minneapolis City Council member, as well as former DFL
lawmaker Bob Tennessen. In 1990, Tennessen played a role in bringing to
light allegations that Republican gubernatorial candidate Jon Grunseth
went skinny-dipping in a pool with friends of his then-14-year-old
daughter's.
But not all the firm's movers and shakers are Democrats. Stein said one
of the firm's name partners, John Mooty, once served as chairman of the
state Republican Party.
"The firm is really a nonpartisan firm," Stein said.
Jason Hoppin can be reached at jhoppin@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5311.
Newstex ID: KRTB-0190-21813412 |
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