In a clear statement that more money for transportation will be a key priority, Governor-elect Tim Walz has chosen former Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher as his commissioner to head MN-DOT. Kelliher was House speaker in 2008 when several Republicans broke ranks to override then-Governor Tim Pawlenty’s veto of a gas tax increase. She says about the Walz administration’s planned push for another increase: “I think we have to think about this as a plan over four years to be able to build the support for, and I’m hopeful that in this first term we can do that.”
Governor-elect Walz says ten years ago “it appeared like the opposition to the gas tax was there because it was an ideological purity point. That proved not to be true for many legislators. It was about what was best for their district. And I need to make the case to those legislators that it’s best for their districts.”
Senate Republicans strongly oppose a gas tax increase but aren’t commenting on Walz’s choice to head MN-DOT.
More from Kelliher and Governor-elect Walz in their Tues afternoon news conference: