By Post Editorial Board Govs. Cuomo and Christie delivered a post-Christmas lump of coal to their states when each vetoed an identical Port-Authority-reform bill that had passed unanimously in their respective state legislatures. The governors chose instead to endorse the recommendations of their own reform panel. Some of these recommendations are welcome — e.g., hiring a CEO to replace the politically appointed executive director, ensuring that voters know what’s been happening in closed-door meetings, and selling off much of the PA’s real-estate portfolio. This latter is especially critical, because real estate symbolizes the Port Authority’s drift from its primary mission in favor of unrelated projects that too often end up as overpriced boondoggles. Unfortunately, just like the legislation the two men vetoed, the panel’s recommendations go only so far in reining in the bloated agency. Here it’s telling that the panel declined to limit the two governors’ control as much as the legislation would have. From the start we have endorsed these bills, not because they solve the PA’s problems but because they represent modest steps in the direction of transparency and accountability. If New York and New Jersey legislators are serious, they will override their governors’ vetoes to make these bills law. And then get to work on new reform legislation that would cut the Port Authority down to manageable size by taking it back to its original mission — transportation and infrastructure.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 14:50:52 +0000
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