The bizarre traffic jam engineered two years ago at the George Washington Bridge by an associate of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie provided dramatic evidence that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was badly in need of
The bizarre traffic jam engineered two years ago at the George Washington Bridge by an associate of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie provided dramatic evidence that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was badly in need of an overhaul.
The authority controls the airports, tunnels, bridges and other facilities essential to the regional economy. Throughout the years, it has become politicized and dysfunctional.
New York’s legislators recently approved a bill that would make a big start toward reform.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he will sign the bill.
But before an overhaul can take place, New Jersey’s Legislature must pass an identical bill. At the moment, the Democrats who control the Legislature are balking, saying the reforms could go further. However worthy their motives, they should step aside and let the package become law.
The authority is big, rich and opaque — a huge nest of political patronage larded with appointees from governors of both states. Its 12 commissioners, six from each governor, have long decided important matters in secret. Few recused themselves when there were conflicts.
Last year, when David Samson resigned as commission chairman, federal investigators were looking into his votes on matters being pushed by his own law firm.
Fixing these and other structural problems is an extremely cumbersome process. Identical measures must be passed by both state legislatures and signed by both governors.
That means more than 330 legislators and two governors all have to agree — one reason there have been so few changes in the authority’s 94 years.
Lawmakers came close last year.
The legislatures in both states approved an excellent bill only to have the governors veto it because — or so they claimed — they wanted to wait for an internal Port Authority report on how to make the organization more transparent and less political.
The latest bill would streamline management at the top.
The governors still would appoint the 12 commissioners, but the commissioners must swear to act in the best interest of the Port Authority and the public. The commission’s chairmanship and vice chairmanship would rotate between the states every two years.
The commissioners would name the authority’s executive director based on management skills, not political connections. There would be a new ethics officer, and more public notice and public hearings before the authority could raise tolls or fares.
With Cuomo, Christie and the New York Legislature now agreed on a course of action, it’s up to the New Jersey Legislature to accept this bill as a fair way to go forward.
— New York Times
