politics

Donations to politicians continue to create trouble for PBS&J, the big employee owned engineering firm headquartered in Tampa FL. There's news today that the company's chief financial officer says in a  Securities and Exchange Commission filing that they cannot file their annual report because of an ongoing internal investigation into possible illegal behavior by staff.

A close political race for state governor in New Jersey, and accusations that incumbent Gov Jon Corzine was reviving his 2006 plan for monetization of the Turnpike produced a commitment to freeze tolls during his next term. "No toll increases, no leasing of the turnpike...Off the table. Not happening, period." That's how Gov Corzine spoke today after tolls became a furore that he judged threatened his re-election.

A lot of the campaigning for the next governor in New Jersey is about who will get the most windmills erected and taxes contained and jobs saved, but incumbent Gov Jon Corzine is making a major pitch for enhancing tollroad capacity, showing up at two big groundbreakings in recent days, playing for the cameras.

July 2 Corzine and leading officials were at Hightstown for ceremonies to celebrate a start on widening the NJ Turnpike Exits 6 to 9.

Tolling should be a simple service business, providing and maintaining a road for motorists in return for fees from users. It should be rather mundane, boring even. After all pavement is hardly the most exciting of mankind's artifacts, and its upkeep hardly more than a lot of chores.

But as anyone currently living in Boston MA, or Orlando FL or West Virginia knows the toll business is nothing like that.

Orlando Orange County (Toll) Expressway Authority's board of directors voted unanimously this week to confirm toll increases provisionally voted at the February meeting. The toll hike occurs amid a storm of controversy in the interim after revelation of abuses by Allan Keen, a former chairman, and the use of major OOCEA consultant/contractor PBS&J to hit on vendors for political campaign contributions for Republican candidates 2003 to 2006.

New York City's Metro Transport Authority (we abbreviate) is playing a bargaining game of political poker with the state legislature - gimme subsidies or we'll hike tolls and transit. The poker game has been played in Boston for months now, public transit and toll officials proposing toll and fare increases, then playing off the negative public reaction to pressure the pols to cough up subsidies. Pols beating up on the authority, demanding reforms... on and on.

Central area congestion charging took a serious blow with a decisive rejection of a package of congestion charging and extravagent new public transit in a popular vote in Manchester, Britain's second metro area. Just over half of 2m eligible voters have voted in eight Manchester area constituencies and the proposals went down to defeat in all eight, with the overall margin 79% against, 21% in favor.

There are fears that legislative meddling in the the proposed toll increases approved by the board of the Massachusetts Turnpike could trigger default orders and calls against about $500m in borrowings. This week Turnpike CEO Alan LeBovidge issued a statement in which he said that the Turnpike's liabilities under three shaky swap contracts have "skyrocketed" to $447m. And the numbers change every day, most often upward.

The Illinois Tollway board voted today to implement the Governor Blagojevich's Congestion Relief Program, Phase Two which includes difficult "Green Lanes." The plan was announced by the Governor's office last month without any known feasibility study, and the Tollway has now taken on the job of making it work.

Dave Aronberg, a Democrat state senator and minority whip seems to be "doing a Carona" - flipping from support of privatization when it isn't controversial to strongly opposing it once a particular project attracts criticism. Aronberg is introducing two bills in the state senate:

- to impose a two year moratorium on signing toll concession/lease agreements on existing facilities

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority's scheduled meeting this week has been deferred for three weeks apparently to keep unpopular news of toll or tax increases until after the Nov 4 elections. Governor Deval Patrick is a close associate of Democrat presidential candidate Barrack Obama.

State house majority whip Keith McCall and Pennsylvania Turnpike CEO Joseph Brimmeier are set to announce Friday "a new Turnpike access point in northern Carbon County,"  McCall's constituency to quote an announcement today. McCall was one of the fiercest opponents of a longterm lease of the Turnpike, so the deal has all the appearances of a political pay-off.

They are huge billboards on private property just off the Turnpike's right of way, impossible to miss driving in on the Turnpike from east or west to the state Capitol - one east, one west and a third smaller one just off I-83 on the spur route into central Harrisburg.

Turnpike Commission CEO Joe Brimmeier has declined a challenge from the lease representative Jim Courtovich to debate the lease in public forums. He said in a hand delivered letter to Pennsylvania Transportation Partners that he wouldn't debate because the state legislature would decide the issue.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist has vetoed corrupt legislation pushed through the legislature by House speaker Marco Rubio - legislation he admitted would protect the gasoline franchise on the Turnpike of a patron and supporter Max Alvarez.

A bombastic and one-sided opinion by an appeals court judge has got toll authorities in central Florida some hellish publicity in the local media. Judge John D Galluzo of the 18th Circuit (Seminole and Brevard counties) has dismissed all sixteen unpaid tolls and violation penalties against a firefighter Christopher Baird.

The news is hardly out that Gary Suhadolnik is leaving and the Cleveland Plain Dealer declares a Democrat pol looking for a job is "the front-runner to take his place." The anointed pol is George Distel, a five term state representative for Ashtabula in the northeast corner of the state. Distel is not eligible to run for re-election this November because of term limit laws.

A Pennsylvania politician Scott Conklin from the middle of the I-80 corridor (Dem, Centre Co) says it's "time to be realistic" and to "find something practical" to address his constituents' concerns about tolling I-80. He's filing a bill in the state house to provide a tax credit of up to $500 per year for toll bills on I-80 as verified by E-ZPass electronic toll accounts.

New Jersey transportation commissioner Kris Kolluri said today that the key to unlocking the value of the state's tollroads is a realistic and predictable future toll rate regime free of political interference.

The Asbury Park Press, the leading newspaper on the Jersey shore has taken discussion of Governor Jon Corzine's protracted policymaking on the future of the state's tollroads to a new level of passion by portraying him on their frontpage as a sleazy salesman under the headline "Hocking the Highways". (see nearby) There was a subhead "Broken promises of New Jersey's toll roads".