by James A. Bacon
Love ’em or hate ’em, you have to say one thing about Gov. Bob McDonnell and his Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton: They’re willing to crack heads. The latest evidence is the Friday announcement that the governor had announced the replacement of 10 of the 12 board members of the Virginia Port Authority as well as its chair, John Milliken. Citing the port’s lagging economic performance, McDonnell installed his own slate of board members, all of whom are seasoned business people, many with backgrounds in transportation and logistics… and a track record as contributors to Republican candidates and causes.
The appointments will take effect at a swearing-in ceremony at Tuesday’s board meeting. “We’re the only port on the East Coast that has not recovered to pre-recession levels,” said Connaughton Friday, as quoted by the Virginian-Pilot. “We are in real strong competition, and we need people on that board who are proven business leaders with experience in trade and in transportation and with finance and business practices that’ll help us recover and take us to the next level.”
“We were looking at the numbers and they’re very clear. Every other port on the East Coast has gotten back to pre-recession (cargo) volumes with the exception of one, and that’s us. This is not meant to be negative on the current port board members, but most of them just don’t understand” the business, the Daily Press quoted Connaughton as saying. The Secretary expects new board members “to question everything, to be aggressive and really, really challenge the [port authority] staff.”
I have not had a chance to analyze the performance of Virginia’s ports , so I will take Connaughton at his word that the VPA has been under-performing competitors like Savannah and New York. And, for purposes of argument, I will accept the governor’s appraisal that the ports need a change of direction that only a new board can bring about. Give McDonnell and Connaughton credit for being willing to rock the supertanker in order to spark change.
However, the move does set a potentially dangerous precedent. It has been traditional practice in Virginia for one governor to retain the appointees of previous governors until their terms expire. In a state with a one-term governor, the practice encourages continuity between administrations and minimizes disruption. As a Democratic business executive friend of mine pointed out, if Democrats perceive McDonnell’s action as a partisan maneuver, they might institute their own clean sweep the next time a Democrat takes the governor’s office. And why stop at the VPA? Why not clean house at other key institutions like the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, say, or … the University of Virginia.
My friend also wondered if there is a hidden agenda. Is McDonnell looking mainly to improve the performance of the VPA, or does he want a board that will prove cooperative should he try to privatize the ports? Others will be asking the same question.
Update: Doug Koelemay, the Northern Virginia district member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, added some insight into Connaughton’s action while I was interviewing him for another story. Connaughton served as director of the Maritime Administration in the Bush administration, Koelemay noted. The transportation secretary knows maritime and port issues as well as anyone on the VPA board. “He feels comfortable with what he knows. He doesn’t have the hesitancy to act that someone else might.”
