Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minnesota), April 22, 2008, Tuesday

Copyright 2008 Pioneer Press

Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minnesota)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

April 22, 2008, Tuesday

SECTION: STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS

HEADLINE: MnDOT gets rolling with new leadership: Seasoned federal highway engineer, manager takes over agency shaken by I-35W disaster

BYLINE: Bill Salisbury, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

BODY:

Apr. 22--Flashy he is not, but Minnesota's new transportation commissioner brings a truckload of road-building experience to his new job.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday appointed Tom Sorel, the current head of the Federal Highway Administration's division office in Minnesota, as head of the state Department of Transportation.

Sorel, 51, is the first engineer to head MnDOT in 22 years. He has held a variety of federal highway engineering and management positions for 30 years.

"I believe he's going to be a great fit for the needs and opportunities and challenges that are in front of MnDOT," Pawlenty said at a Capitol news conference.

He succeeds Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau, who was removed from her second job as transportation commissioner Feb. 28 by the Senate. On a straight party-line vote, Democratic senators refused to confirm her appointment as head of MnDOT, which ousted her from that post. She continues to serve as lieutenant governor.

The department was enveloped in political controversy during her tenure.

As a high-profile Republican, Molnau was an easy target for the Democrats who control the Legislature. While they didn't blame her for the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge last year, they said that tragedy symbolized the administration's failure to adequately fund road and bridge repair and construction.

Sorel won't face similar complaints, because the Legislature in February enacted a 10-year, $6.6 billion transportation funding program over Pawlenty's

veto. That effectively put the major transportation debate behind state policymakers.

Sorel said he's never worked on political campaigns but has plenty of experience in working with elected officials on transportation policies.

When Sorel was asked about his political affiliation, Pawlenty interrupted and said, "He declines to answer. ... We didn't ask him, and I don't know."

Sorel, who starts his $108,393-a-year state job next Monday, characterized himself as a "servant leader with a passion for transportation and innovation."

He said he has two primary goals.

"I really hope to rebuild public trust and confidence in MnDOT and the transportation community as a whole," he said. "My second prime objective is to regenerate a spirit of innovation and creativity in the state of Minne-sota."

Born and raised in Plattsburgh, N.Y., Sorel earned a civil engineering degree from the State University of New York in Buffalo and a master's degree in business administration from Thomas College in Maine. He also has what may be a useful certificate of conflict management from the Cornell School of Industrial/Labor Relations.

At the Federal Highway Administration, which provides financial and technical support to state and local governments, he held a variety of posts, including:

--Major projects team leader at the agency's Washington, D.C., headquarters.

--Director of planning and program development and technology services chief in Albany, N.Y.

--Federal liaison for transportation during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

He has worked in Minnesota for three years and led the federal transportation response to the I-35W bridge collapse.

In Salt Lake City, he helped develop that city's light-rail transit system. Although the Metropolitan Council, not MnDOT, is responsible for the Central Corridor LRT in the Twin Cities, that didn't stop reporters from peppering him with questions about the line.

Sorel said it would be premature for him to discuss the Central Corridor, but he added he was open to considering all transit options.

Key Democratic lawmakers praised Sorel's appointment. State Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, said Sorel has impressive experience and credentials.

Murphy predicted the Senate is likely to confirm the appointment, although it may not get the job done before it adjourns for the year on or before May 19.

U.S. House Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar, a Chisholm Demo-crat, called Sorel a "good choice."

"He brings experience and expertise to a position where it is truly needed," Oberstar said. "As a commissioner, he has the potential to rise above the governor and push to do what is right for Minnesota."

Pawlenty said other finalists for the commissioner's job were Bob Johns, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies, and interim MnDOT Commissioner Bob McFarlin, who had been Molnau's top aide and the department's public face since the I-35W bridge collapse.

"It was a very close call," Pawlenty said.

He praised McFarlin for the constructive tone he set since taking over the department. "I'd like him to stay on, but that's between him and Tom Sorel," the governor said.

NAME: Tom Sorel

AGE-BIRTHDATE: 51; Oct. 25, 1956.

HOMETOWN: Plattsburgh, N.Y.

EDUCATION: Degree in civil engineering from State University of New York in Buffalo. Master's of Business Administration from Thomas College in Maine. Certificate of conflict management from Cornell School of Industrial/Labor Relations. Associate certificate in project management from George Washington University.

EXPERIENCE: Various positions with the Federal Highway Administration since 1978. He has led the division office in Minnesota since 2005 and served as the U.S. Transportation Department's liaison for federal transportation issues during the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

FAMILY: Wife, Laurie. One son.

To see more of the Pioneer Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.twincities.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

LOAD-DATE: April 22, 2008