State Senator Tom Tiffany of Hazelhurst has defended Governor Walker’s transportation policy after a former cabinet official criticized Walker’s roads policies.
Former Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he left the Walker administration because he disagreed with Walker’s policies, including a suggestion that money could be saved by reducing lanes. Gottlieb said that approach would increase the likelihood of crashes and congestion along with other points.
Tom Tiffany sits on the budget-making Joint Finance Committee. He disagrees with Gottlieb’s statements…
“…We had an audit done by the Legislative Audit Bureau that showed the Dept. of Transportation in his tenure was really not doing some of the things they need to do in terms of performance measures, they weren’t accurately measuring traffic counts, things like that, that are critical for building transportation infrastructure. It was disappointing to see his comments….”
Tiffany says Gottlieb didn’t fit into Walker’s reform plans…
“…It’s clear he wasn’t interested in reforming the Dept. of Transportation…It’s not surprising he wouldn’t be a good fit with the Walker administration because he was in favor of the status quo…”
In the newspaper article, Gottlieb said Walker hadn’t been honest about transportation. A Walker campaign spokesperson said the funding problem started under then-Governor Jim Doyle, who shifted money from transportation to schools, totaling $1.3 billion.
Walker’s opponent for Governor, Tony Evers, said Gottlieb’s statements reflect that from his view enough is enough concerning Walker’s policies.
