Norman Wartman is bAAAAck at MDX, and other PERSONNEL developments

Norman Wartman one of the original members of Miami Dade Expressway Authority is back. This guy was a non-stop generator of ideas, a one-man thinktank, an unabashed enthusiast for tollroads, scourge of the rail fantasists, impatient with more timid no-can-do timings-not-right colleagues, and talk about outspoken!

Florida DOT still suffers injury from his tongue-lashings for their derelictions at the tollroads in his home town.

Sample from an intro to a spiel on why a new toll entity was needed in Miami: "All over America about 95% of motorists on tollroads pay their tolls and about 5% violate. We've had the same numbers in south Florida except that under FDOT's management 95% violated and 5% paid tolls."

Stirrer Wartman quickly accumulated opponents, and much too soon - in perhaps 1997 or 1998 - he was gone from the MDX board.

We fear his reappointment means Wartman has "matured" and been transformed into half a diplomat in his decade on the outer. No governor would appoint the mid-90s Wartman to public office any more than he'd order up a hurricane for his state.

Hotel/tourism prof

Also appointed to the MDX board by the governor of Florida is Shelly Smith-Fano, a business professor specializing in the hotels and tourism at Miami Dade College. Her official bio shows she is busy on a bunch of civic organizations, and tourism and hotel groups.

Wartman replaces early retiring MDX chair Daryl Sharpman and Smith-Fano replaces a board member whose term expired.

TxDOT PR

Out at the Dallas office of TxDOT public affairs is Mark Ball, retiring after 27 years there - a big loss to the organization's press relations.

NTTA PR

Sherita Coffelt formerly assistant PIO took over as public information officer (PIO) at North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) from Sam Lopez, Lopez going sideways into a new position of manager of Project Communications focusing on new TRs.

TOLLROADSnews 2008-05-08