Dec 15, 2008 10:21 pm US/Eastern
Mass. Transportation Secretary Cohen Resigns
Glen Johnson, AP Writer
BOSTON (AP) ―
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Bernard Cohen (File Image)
WBZ
Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen resigned Monday, having lost the confidence of the Patrick administration as it geared up for a major push to resolve the state's sizable -- and lingering -- transportation woes.
"Thanks to Secretary Cohen's expert leadership, we have begun to reverse decades of neglect and are much closer to realizing our shared vision of a better, more efficient transportation system," Gov. Deval Patrick said in a statement issued after business hours.
"He helped to lay the groundwork by implementing the first ever Mobility Compact to coordinate our transportation network, identifying tens of millions of dollars in cost-savings across agencies and making critical capital infrastructure investments. I am grateful to him for his wise counsel, his support and his dedicated service, both to me as a trusted member of my team and to the citizens of our commonwealth," the governor said.
A Cohen aide confirmed the resignation but said the secretary was unavailable for comment because he was in Lynn attending a public hearing about potential Massachusetts Turnpike toll hikes.
In an interview posted on boston.com, Cohen told The Boston Globe, "I am leaving of my own accord," and said his resignation from the $150,000-per-year post was effective Jan. 2.
Cohen, 62, is a veteran transportation official who previously worked in Philadelphia and New York. He also is brother-in-law to NBC "Today" show co-host Meredith Viera, who is married to Cohen's brother Richard.
The secretary recently was reprimanded by the governor for publicly questioning his belief that economic development could recover the cost of the expansion of commuter rail to New Bedford. Top aides have also criticized his political skills and his office's communications ability.
Earlier in the day, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray praised Massport board member James Aloisi Jr. when asked about reports of Cohen's possible departure and potential replacements.
Aloisi is something of a transportation prodigy, having once worked for Dukakis administration Transportation Secretary Frederick Salvucci, considered the driving force behind the $15 billion Central Artery relocation project. Aloisi later worked for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, whose board the transportation secretary now chairs, as both general and outside counsel.
In that capacity, he helped transfer the Big Dig's $2.5 billion debt to the Turnpike, a switch that has been criticized by Patrick, crippled the agency with debt and left the administration considering a near doubling of some Boston-area tolls to help pay off the debt.
More broadly, the administration is confronted with $8 billion in debts at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and a projected $20 billion infrastructure tab over the next 20 years.
The blunt-speaking Murray said weakness among all stripes of elected officials --from past Republican governors to his fellow Democrats in the Legislature-- has created the problem, not former staffers such as Aloisi.
"The people that are responsible are the people who have been the occupants of the corner office and the occupants of the elected positions at the Statehouse," Murray said after attending a news conference to announce the expansion of WiFi service on MBTA commuter rail lines.
Republicans served as governor from William F. Weld in 1991 through Mitt Romney in 2007. Romney proposed several of the same bureaucratic reforms now proposed by Murray and Gov. Deval Patrick, but he was blocked by legislative Democrats.
Patrick is now being criticized for the projected toll increase, and some lawmakers have talked instead about increasing the state's 23.5 cents-per-gallon gasoline tax. The governor has said he is concerned that may fall short of a comprehensive solution to the state's transportation problems.
"You know, they're the ones that made decisions to legislate and not address the toll issue, which is why we're on the verge of bankruptcies at both the Turnpike and the T," the lieutenant governor said of past elected officials. "They're the ones who put the $2.5 billion of (Big Dig) debt on both these entities. So, at the end of the day, it's the elected officials who make the decisions, and the governor and I have inherited a crisis in all the transportation bureaucracies."
Murray warned: "There are no easy answers here and everybody needs to understand that in the Statehouse."
Cohen skipped the MBTA event, despite being listed as an attendant on a media advisory. An aide later cited "a scheduling conflict" and refused to comment on reports Cohen was considering resigning.
Murray, asked about reports of a rift, refused to tamp down the talk, saying, "We've got real challenges in front of us that are going to require an unprecedented effort by the administration."
He also was unafraid to make the case for Aloisi, although Jeffrey Mullan, a Cohen undersecretary who recently assumed day-to-day control of the department, has also been mentioned as a candidate for the top job.
"Certainly Jim Aloisi is somebody who understands the ins and outs of our transportation system at the federal level, at the state level," Murray said. "And that's why he's been working with our transportation agencies, on the Massport board, because of that expertise and ability to problem-solve."
Patrick sidestepped the question himself, telling reporters Monday afternoon, "Those are rumors. We don't comment on rumors." Hours later, his office issued its statement about Cohen resigning.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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