Minn., victims still struggling after bridge fall

THE STATE REPRESENTATIVE: When the bridge went down, Ron Erhardt rushed to the scene, ready to help and desperate for answers.

Erhardt, then the top Republican on the Minnesota House Transportation Finance Committee, knew the tragedy would reverberate at the state Capitol, where road spending plans had hit a dead end.

Within days, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty said he was reconsidering his opposition to a gas tax increase. But he soon recommended a temporary increase offset with tax reductions elsewhere in the budget.

Over a Pawlenty veto in February, the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a $6.6 billion transportation plan funded by higher auto fees, sales taxes and an eventual 8.5-cent bump in the gas tax.

As the override vote neared, Erhardt conferred with other House Republicans ready to break ranks and decided, "We are not protecting the governor's butt any longer. This has got to be done.

The repercussions were swift. Members of the so-called "Override Six" lost committee leadership positions and several were denied party endorsement for the fall election.

Two are leaving the Legislature on their own. Two face primary challengers. A fifth hasn't been hit as hard back home because the bill accelerates a highway project in his rural district.

Erhardt, who won his seat in 1990, filed for re-election as an independent and will face Republican and Democratic challengers in November. The incumbent who routinely attracted 60 percent of the vote expects a tight race.

Erhardt said a few people he met on the campaign trail had a vehement response to his vote. He's not sorry, though.

"You can only fiddle with this stuff so long. People don't like increases in taxes. I don't. But I don't know how else to pay for that," he said.

_By Brian Bakst, Associated Press writer.

___