Penn. Turnpike CEO quits - a trifecta of losses for GOP Gov.Corbett in 2 weeks.

HARRISBURG -- The chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike has announced that he will leave his post at the end of the month, citing health issues. This closely follows the forced resignation of Pennsylvania's Secretary of Health and the head of the state's award winning park system.

Mr. Nutt is the father of Gov. Tom Corbett's campaign manager and political adviser, Brian Nutt. Before accepting the Turnpike job, Mr. Nutt worked for 28 years in various New Jersey transportation agencies, including as executive director of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the New Jersey Highway Authority and the New Jersey Transit Corp.

The Turnpike's growing debt burden also has drawn concerns as the commission seeks to comply with a 2007 law requiring it to make annual payments to the state Department of Transportation for infrastructure projects.

The commission's chief operating officer, Craig Shuey, will serve as acting CEO until a permanent replacement is named.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/politics-state/pennsylvania-turnpike-ceo-nutt-quits-656846/


As I recall learning when Corbett appointed this guy, then 70 year old Nutt had already retired from a career with the NJ Turnpike commission and was living in Vero Beach, Florida. He was planning on making occasional trips to Harrisburg, PA from Florida for monthly Turnpike Commission meetings but still collecting nearly $200,000 in salary. Sweet payoff for the elderly father of Corbett's campaign manager, even if it meant outsourcing a Pennsylvania job to Florida. This man had never lived in PA, never voted in PA, never paid taxes in PA. Corbett never fails to disappoint, does he? So Shuey was really in control, and Nutt was a well-paid figure head, phoning it in.

It hit the fan a little over a month ago, though, when Democratic State Rep., Pete Daley, upon learning that the PA Turnpike was $7 billion in debt, demanded the resignation of both Nutt and Shuey.

http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/Rep-calls-for-resignation-of-Turnpike-officials/43uM1msK3USlJYGahJsMWQ.cspx

“In the same article, Pennsylvania’s auditor general is quoted as saying the Turnpike Commission is ‘drowning in debt’ and faces potential default on its financial obligations,” Daley said. “I was astounded to learn that the commission’s solution to the ever increasing debt has been to continue to borrow money, raise tolls every year and replace human toll collectors.

“When Pennsylvania allegedly faced a several billion dollar deficit, the administration and legislature took steps to cut funding in its budget for such vital needs as education and safety net programs. If Pennsylvania is working to live within its means, shouldn’t the Turnpike Commission be held to the same standard?”

Daley, in his letter, acknowledged that Act 44 of 2007, which requires the Commission to annually make a $450 million payment to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, is part of the debt crisis, but added that aggressive borrowing seems to have exacerbated the situation.

“I am seeking both Mr. Nutt and Shuey’s resignations because of their lack of leadership, inability to manage funds and failure as a fiscal watch dog for the Turnpike Commission,” Daley said. “As I stated in the letter, with their leadership, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is destined to become the biggest boondoggle in the history of our state.”
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Every Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission member, all the state House members & Corbett got that letter, but I don't recall seeing anything about this in the local press. If the Auditor General held hearings on this, I doubt that Mr. Nutt would have been a competent witness. Similarly, if the Democrats are able to secure a majority of the state House this fall, I'm sure they will hold well publicized hearings on this matter.

Don't know much about Shuey, other than that he was lead staffer for the Republicans on the state senate transportation committee for about 8 years, before being recruited in July 2009 as government affairs director at the Turnpike. So here we have another political hack with no management experience in charge of over 2,000 employees and an annual capital spending of over $400 million. He's run the agency further and further into debt. And we also know Corbett wants to privatize the Turnpike. All fits together nicely doesn't it?