Urdahl and Shimanski called out for Transportation vote

West Central Tribune's Op-ed section praised some local legislators, including Senator Steve Dille for his vote to support Transportation in Minnesota.

Dean Urdahl and Ron Shimanski were two Representatives that drew their ire for their lackluster support for Transportation.

It is shameful that these lawmakers talk on their campaigns about the importance of transportation to west central Minnesota and then stick their head in the sand when a key vote comes up.

Minnesota has not made a significant transportation investment for two decades — except to borrow funding by bonding which requires future repayment.

Where do Urdahl and Gimse expect to generate funding for U.S. Highway 12 upgrades?

Indeed, they spend a lot of time talking about what they want to do, but do nothing to support Transportation solutions. The Urdahl case is more shocking than Shimanski. Shimanski has been at the end of the Seifert / Emmer leash since his 06 election.

Urdahl is different. He has stated openly he would support a gas tax increase. He voted for it last May. Only after Governor Pawlenty called him to the carpet did Urdahl suddenly not support a gas tax increase and Transportation.

His vote Thursday in support of Governor Pawlenty's "Red Pen Plan" shows his allegiance to the Governor, while pushing his constituents "under the bus".

We call on Reps. Urdahl, Shimanski, Seifert, and Westrom and Sen. Gimse and Fischbach to put west central Minnesota first before the politics of their party. We ask for their vote as well to override Pawlenty’s political veto on this bill.

Urdahl and Shimanski putting the people before politics? We'll see again as the veto override comes soon.