At first glance if there are many problems within NJ Transit and the Port Authority there needs to be a review of policies and procedures and how one man, namely David Wildstein, can disregard them. How did this happen? There were obvious problems with Wildstein's leadership that didn't show up until something went radically wrong.
Superstorm Sandy demanded expert leadership to prevent disaster. Then the lane closing at Fort Lee showed what Governor Christi stated, "...complete stupidity..."
Sunday, October 6, 2013
The Record
WHEN CHRIS Christie has your back (click here) you don't need to sweat the details of ensuring that a third of the state's rail fleet isn't sitting in flood-prone areas prior to a storm of unprecedented severity. And that is good for James Weinstein.
Meeting The Record's editorial board Thursday, the governor defended the executive director of NJ Transit. Saying he had complete confidence in Weinstein, Christie said that an underling at NJ Transit authorized the ill-fated placement of rail equipment prior to Superstorm Sandy without sending the decision up the chain of command. Christie said the employee was demoted, but not fired because of civil service rules that prohibited termination.
As far as The Record has been able to determine, there are no civil service employees at NJ Transit. We are willing to accept that the governor may have simply misspoken about civil service rules as opposed to something else, such as union protections. That noted, the governor's explanation of what happened at NJ Transit prior to Sandy remains lacking in detail.
Let us be clear: In the days prior to and after Sandy, Christie's priority had to be – and it was – ensuring that the loss of life would be low to zero if possible, and limiting the damage to Shore communities. On that score, Christie was flawless. Weinstein was not....
If an underling had the ability to move or keep rail equipment in flood-prone areas without vetting up the chain, there is something very wrong with that chain....
...If an underling was responsible for the placement of rail equipment – a third of the entire NJ Transit fleet – someone has to be responsible for managing that underling and allowing him to run roughshod over established policies. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We continue to believe that the weakest link is not some underling, but NJ Transit's executive director, James Weinstein.
This is not personal; it is a demand for public accountability.
In addition to this, the media is losing credibility. It was the media that insisted Wildstein and Christie were high school buddies, even after the Governor denied it right from the beginning of the Fort Lee problem. Now, Governor Christie has focused on Mr. Wildstein in high school; according to the media the Governor is being petty to distance himself from from the issue.
Now, either the media considers Mr. Wildstein a close high school friend of the Governor and stand behind that view of the world or they simply stop flip flopping on the topic at their pleasure in order to maintain control of the Governor's image.
Either there is a reason for the Governor to address this or not.
Up to the mention of high school and Mr. Wildstein in a recent memo there was a close friendship between them according to the media which would compel the Governor to address that misinformation in the memo.
Which is it? A clarifying understanding of the high school relationship or pettiness? If it is pettiness then the media has no credibility.
Superstorm Sandy demanded expert leadership to prevent disaster. Then the lane closing at Fort Lee showed what Governor Christi stated, "...complete stupidity..."
Sunday, October 6, 2013
The Record
WHEN CHRIS Christie has your back (click here) you don't need to sweat the details of ensuring that a third of the state's rail fleet isn't sitting in flood-prone areas prior to a storm of unprecedented severity. And that is good for James Weinstein.
Meeting The Record's editorial board Thursday, the governor defended the executive director of NJ Transit. Saying he had complete confidence in Weinstein, Christie said that an underling at NJ Transit authorized the ill-fated placement of rail equipment prior to Superstorm Sandy without sending the decision up the chain of command. Christie said the employee was demoted, but not fired because of civil service rules that prohibited termination.
As far as The Record has been able to determine, there are no civil service employees at NJ Transit. We are willing to accept that the governor may have simply misspoken about civil service rules as opposed to something else, such as union protections. That noted, the governor's explanation of what happened at NJ Transit prior to Sandy remains lacking in detail.
Let us be clear: In the days prior to and after Sandy, Christie's priority had to be – and it was – ensuring that the loss of life would be low to zero if possible, and limiting the damage to Shore communities. On that score, Christie was flawless. Weinstein was not....
If an underling had the ability to move or keep rail equipment in flood-prone areas without vetting up the chain, there is something very wrong with that chain....
...If an underling was responsible for the placement of rail equipment – a third of the entire NJ Transit fleet – someone has to be responsible for managing that underling and allowing him to run roughshod over established policies. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We continue to believe that the weakest link is not some underling, but NJ Transit's executive director, James Weinstein.
This is not personal; it is a demand for public accountability.
In addition to this, the media is losing credibility. It was the media that insisted Wildstein and Christie were high school buddies, even after the Governor denied it right from the beginning of the Fort Lee problem. Now, Governor Christie has focused on Mr. Wildstein in high school; according to the media the Governor is being petty to distance himself from from the issue.
Now, either the media considers Mr. Wildstein a close high school friend of the Governor and stand behind that view of the world or they simply stop flip flopping on the topic at their pleasure in order to maintain control of the Governor's image.
Either there is a reason for the Governor to address this or not.
Up to the mention of high school and Mr. Wildstein in a recent memo there was a close friendship between them according to the media which would compel the Governor to address that misinformation in the memo.
Which is it? A clarifying understanding of the high school relationship or pettiness? If it is pettiness then the media has no credibility.
