Charges of patronage & waste at Penn Pike

A Pittsburgh TV station WTEA.TV has quoted former governor Dick Thornburgh as saying the Pennsylvania Turnpike is "one of the last outposts of patronage" in the state. The WTEA Team 4 program Nov 24 reports:

"Election Night in Philadelphia: A victorious Mayor John Street has two old political friends at his side - Gov. Ed Rendell and Congressman Bob Brady. When Brady's son was looking for work last May, he went to another Rendell pal - Joe Brimmeier, of Pittsburgh, the new man in charge at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Brimmeier put Robert Brady Jr. on the payroll as assistant director of operations, making $72,000 a year. In July, Brimmeier hired the son of another powerful Democrat - longtime turnpike Commissioner James Dodaro, of White Oak. Daniel Dodaro is now an operations auditor, pulling down $53,000.

Former Gov. Dick Thornburgh: "The fact of the matter is that the Turnpike Commission is one of the last outposts of patronage in this commonwealth. The Turnpike Commission persists and remains as a haven for those who want to load up the payroll for political purposes."

Turnpike head Joe Brimmeier calls Thornburgh's statement "disgusting" saying he resents it because "it ruins all of us."

Asked if Brady and Dodaro are the most capable people available, Brimmeier said on TV: "They can do the job that they were hired to do. I personally knew both of them."

The TV reporter: "People who know Brimmeier get hired before those who don't, despite a 1997 legislative report that urged the Turnpike Commission to adopt and implement a merit-based hiring and promotion system."

Brimmeier responds: "Sure. Do we hire somebody that might be recommended by a legislator or by a senator, or by a county commissioner or by myself? Absolutely, we do that. That doesn't make them a bad employee."

The reporter says that with 2,000 employees the Turnpike has 12 times the employees PennDOT has per mile of its roads. And its debt has risen from $65m in 1985 to $2b today and a fifth of toll revenues go to debt service. It claims turnpike debt financed spurs PA-60 and PA-66 north of Pittsburgh which have traffic a third below projections and have little generated of the economic development that was forecast.

The governor Ed Rendell (Dem) is quoted as saying on the program that large debt such as is being incurred for the Mon-Fayette Expressway and the Southern Beltway, currently under construction, can only be justified if the new pikes really do "open the doors to true economic development - new jobs."

Thornburgh (Repub ex-Gov) is quoted as saying: "In my view, there's no reason for (the Turnpike's) continued existence, other than to satisfy the political interests that have supported it over the years."

Brimmeier by contrast says: "Tolling is going to be the thing of the future."

TV reporter: "So there are no plans to ever have the turnpike be a non-toll road?"

Brimmeier: "Absolutely not."

The TV show said the state auditor general is currently auditing the Turnpike. The news hook for the item is a move by the Turnpike to increase tolls. TRnews 2003-11-26