Elwyn "El" Tinklenberg (born February 26, 1950) has been an American government official and candidate for public office. He was Commissioner of the
Minnesota Department of Transportation, a city council member and mayor, and a two-time candidate for the
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nomination for
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
from
Minnesota's 6th District.
Tinklenberg was born in
Princeton, Minnesota
Princeton is a city in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Mille Lacs and Sherburne County, Minnesota, Sherburne counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, at the junction of the Rum River and its West branch. It is 50 miles north of Minneapolis and 30 m ...
and grew up on a farm in
Pease, Minnesota, a small, Dutch farming community in central Minnesota. He earned his undergraduate degree at the
University of Minnesota Duluth
The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 Academic major, majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a ...
in 1973. Afterward, he enrolled at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...
. He completed his Master of Divinity at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in 1977. He served as a
United Methodist
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...
minister in
Blaine, Minnesota
Blaine is a suburban city in Anoka and Ramsey counties in the State of Minnesota, United States. Once a rural town, Blaine's population has increased significantly in the last 60 years. For several years, Blaine led the Twin Cities metro region ...
, from 1977 to 1986 before being elected to the Blaine City Council and then Mayor of Blaine. He was appointed Minnesota Transportation Commissioner in 1998.
Career
Blaine mayor
In the 1980s, Tinklenberg was elected to the
Blaine City Council, and in 1987, he was elected Mayor of Blaine, serving until 1996. Tinklenberg was a crucial player in the construction of the
National Sports Center
The National Sports Center (NSC) is a multi-sport complex located in Blaine, Minnesota. Its site includes a soccer stadium, over 50 full-sized soccer fields, a golf course, a meeting and convention facility, and an eight-sheet ice rink, the Sup ...
in Blaine, a multi-sport complex that includes a soccer stadium with a track, over 50 youth soccer fields, a golf course, a meeting and convention facility, and an eight-sheet ice rink, the
Schwan Super Rink.
Minnesota Transportation Commissioner
In 1991, Tinklenberg headed the North Metro Mayors Association, which worked to improve the transportation systems and business opportunities of its member communities. During that time, he gained a reputation as an expert of transportation and infrastructure issues, which led to his appointment as Transportation Commissioner by then Governor
Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...
in 1998. In that role, Tinklenberg worked with Ventura to support aggressive construction and improvement of highways statewide. He worked with the
Minnesota State Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decen ...
to create bipartisan support for a regional commuter plan for the
Minneapolis-St. Paul area. This plan included the construction of the
METRO Blue Line (the state's first light-rail line) and the
Northstar Northstar may refer to:
* Polaris, a star
Arts and entertainment
* Northstar (band), an emo band from Alabama
* Northstar (rap group), a rap group affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan
* "Northstar", a 2019 song by XXXTentacion from the album ''Bad Vi ...
commuter rail line.
In 2002, Tinklenberg oversaw the implementation of the
Mn/DOT
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state ...
511 service, an integrated internet and phone system for travel information. The 511 service is used by Minnesota travelers to receive information on conditions and amenities. According to Mn/DOT, it is 10 times faster than its predecessor.
After Tinklenberg announced his plans to leave Mn/DOT in 2002, the
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
published an editorial praising his record and service. The editorial noted that Tinklenberg told Minnesotans "not necessarily what they wanted to hear but what they needed to hear. His frequent explanations helped lift the interwoven issues of roads, transit, housing and development to the top of the state's agenda."
House campaigns
Tinklenberg has been a candidate for the
Minnesota's 6th congressional district
Minnesota's 6th congressional district includes most or all of Benton, Carver, Sherburne, Stearns, Wright, Anoka, and Washington counties. Many of the Twin Cities' northern and northwestern suburbs are included within the boundaries of t ...
twice: in 2006 he was a candidate, but was not nominated; and in 2008, he was nominated but lost the general election.
2006 campaign
Tinklenberg was one of two
DFL candidates for the
sixth district seat in the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
in the
2006 election. A former
United Methodist
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...
minister and manager of the Divisions of Public Services for
Anoka County, he ran on a platform that supported jobs, education, transportation and as a socially conservative Democrat who opposed legalized abortion and supported a Federal Constitutional Amendment to ban gay marriage. He had been selected to receive support from the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and had received the early endorsement of several important labor unions.
Tinklenberg's opponent for the DFL nomination was
Patty Wetterling
Patricia Lynn "Patty" Wetterling (born November 2, 1949) is an American advocate of children's safety and chair of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Her advocacy particularly focuses on protecting children from abduction and ...
. Another candidate, Scott Mortensen, dropped out in March 2006. Tinklenberg originally entered the race only after receiving assurances from Wetterling, the DFL's 2004 candidate, that she would not run. Wetterling changed her mind after struggling to gain momentum in her campaign for the open Minnesota
Senate seat and after getting encouraged by constituents who wanted a DFL alternative to Tinklenberg. On May 13, 2006, Tinklenberg dropped out of the race and endorsed Patty Wetterling after losing the DFL endorsement.
Michele Bachmann
Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
was the Republican candidate for the
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
Sixth District seat, which was vacated by
Mark Kennedy so he could run for the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. The Minnesota Sixth District covers the northern suburbs of the
Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...
and extends northwest across rural areas to include
St. Cloud. Bachmann, the Republican nominee, won the election.
2008 campaign
On September 28, 2007, Tinklenberg announced his plans to again challenge Bachmann for the seat in 2008, along with two other announced candidates, Bob Olson and Bob Hill.
Following Tinklenberg's entrance into the race, Hill dropped out.
Tinklenberg received strong support from unions, receiving endorsements from all of the labor organizations that become involved in the election. Throughout the Senate District conventions in March and April, both Olson and Tinklenberg campaigns claimed having a lead in the delegate count.
Closer to the Sixth District DFL Convention, Olson's critiques of Tinklenberg grew sharper. Tinklenberg was accused of supporting the use of taconite tailings in transportation aggregate. Tinklenberg contended that, indeed, he did support the use of western Iron Range taconite tailings in transportation aggregate through a University of Minnesota
Natural Resources Research Institute
The Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) is a United States (U.S.) based research institute founded by the Minnesota state legislature within the University of Minnesota Duluth. NRRI is a non-profit, applied research organization, establi ...
program, which was backed by the
Environmental Protection Agency. The University's research concluded that taconite tailings from the western side of the
Iron Range
The term Iron Range refers collectively or individually to a number of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada. Much of the ore-bearing region lies alongside the range of granite hills formed by ...
were safe for use in road construction, unlike the by-product from the eastern side of the Range, which had been linked to an increased risk to cancer. Tinklenberg reiterated that he would only support the sustainable use of western Iron Range taconite tailings as long as the research showed it to be a safe practice.
Tinklenberg was also accused by congressional opponents, including Bob Olson of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, of not complying with lobbying registration regulations. Through his work as a transportation consultant, Tinklenberg had been hired as an adviser to a number of counties and municipalities. Because his work required him to have contact with state legislators, Tinklenberg was required to register as a lobbyist in the state of Minnesota. On February 27, 2008, Eric Zaetsch, a local liberal blogger, filed a complaint with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board. The Board found Tinklenberg to be in full compliance with the law.
On April 26, 2008, Tinklenberg received the endorsement of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (Minnesota's Democratic Party), garnering 72% of the delegate support on the first ballot — 12% above the required 60% threshold. Olson immediately withdrew, and Tinklenberg received the unanimous support of the Convention.
On the evening of October 17, 2008, Tinklenberg's opponent, Bachmann, appeared on ''
Hardball with Chris Matthews
''Hardball with Chris Matthews'' was an American television talk show that was hosted by Chris Matthews. The program premiered on the now-defunct America's Talking network in 1994 (as ''Politics with Chris Matthews'') before moving on CNBC, and t ...
.'' She said she was "very concerned that
bama
Bama or BAMA may refer to:
Places
* Bama, shortened form of Alabama, a state of the United States of America
** The University of Alabama, the public university serving the state, often known as simply ''Bama''
* Bama, one of the colloquial Burm ...
may have anti-American views," and called for the news media to "do a penetrating expose" on "the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America?" Tincklenburg's total fundraising before the Bachmann appearance was approximately $1 million, under $720,000 of which was from individuals. Prior to Bachmann's remarks, Democrats had already planned to spend $1,000,000 against the Republican incumbent after Tinklenberg had reached the milestone of raising $1,000,000 on his own. Nevertheless, Bachmann won re-election, by just under 3
percentage points.
2010 campaign
Although he had set up a website for a 2010 run for the seat, Tinklenberg announced that he had withdrawn from the race to allow the campaign against Bachmann to be conducted in a unified manner by DFL supporters.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinklenberg, Elwyn
1950 births
State cabinet secretaries of Minnesota
Minnesota Democrats
Living people
University of Minnesota Duluth alumni
Northwestern University alumni
People from Mille Lacs County, Minnesota
Mayors of places in Minnesota
Candidates in the 2008 United States elections
21st-century American politicians
People from Blaine, Minnesota
Minnesota city council members
People from Princeton, Minnesota
Candidates in the 2006 United States elections
20th-century American politicians
American United Methodist clergy