Must be nice ... to land a $150K job from a "guy that hardly knows you" -- working for an interstate Agency that has little clue exactly what it is you do.
Must be 'Easy Money' ... while it lasts eh?
Such was the Wildstein Windfall, who had a brand new job carved out of the bureaucracy just for him.
CNN exclusive: Port Authority job created for Christie ally, source says
by Steve Kastenbaum and Chris Frates, CNN -- Jan 16, 2014
(CNN) -- Give him a position at the top of the agency; he's a good friend of the governor.
That's how David Wildstein was introduced to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 2010, according to a former employee with extensive knowledge of the agency's hiring practices.
[...]
Sources, including several current and former employees at various levels of the Port Authority who did not want their names used, told CNN it was assumed that when David Wildstein was involved in any discussions at the agency, the information was being passed back to Christie's office.
Wildstein's role included scrutinizing the agency's business for the governor and that's why he was given such a broad title, sources said. Those current and former employees said people were careful about what they said when Wildstein was in the room, always assuming it would get back to Christie.
[...]
Sounds important. Reporting to Governor, with first-hand descriptions of the Port Authority's business. Certainly,
they will need to refill the position if Chris Christie is to remain an effective participant in the interstate agency's business ... ???
Well, think again. The Governor is apparently going back to good old days, where he gets his Port Authority News like everyone else -- from the WSJ editorial pages.
Port Authority eliminates 'director' job created for Wildstein
by Steve Strunsky, The Star-Ledger, jerseytribune.com -- Feb 05, 2014
[...]
This means Wildstein will be forever known as the first and last DICP appointee [Director of Interstate Capital Projects].
A spokesman for the Port Authority, Chris Valens, did not say why the agency had eliminated the interstate capital projects directorship.
[...]
No one really seemed to know what that business was supposed to be doing. But whatever he was doing, he [Wildstein] made it clear he did so at the behest of the governor.
[...]
"On many occasions I heard both he [Wildstein] and Baroni say they have only one constituent: Chris Christie," said a former official, one of two who asked for anonymity because they did not want to jeopardize colleagues still at the agency.
[...]
How
non-democratic of them, to only speak for the interests of one guy.
Must be why they made the Big Bucks. Must be why neither of them are still gainfully employed. The NJ Governor kind of lost interest ... in them. Once their handiwork became apparent, for all to see.
With the latest revelations from the MSNBC reporting, one has wonder if riding along with the Port Authority Police to survey the traffic -- was ALSO part of Wildstein's "eyes and ears" Job Responsibilities to his 'one and only constituent'?
Or was it just a customary PA Monday morning 'Joy Ride' -- because David and Chip simply like breathing in fumes?
Christie’s Other Childhood Friend Gave Tour of Fort Lee Traffic Jam
by Margaret Hartmann, nymag.com -- Feb 16, 2014
After it emerged that former Port Authority official David Wildstein oversaw the George Washington Bridge lane closures, Chris Christie explained that he barely knew his appointee and high-school classmate (though they were photographed together during the debacle). Now MSNBC's Steve Kornacki reports that another person Christie grew up with was on the bridge the day the epic traffic jam started. Lieutenant Thomas "Chip" Michaels, a Port Authority police officer whose family has been friends with Christie's for decades, gave Wildstein a tour of the traffic snarl and texted him about its impact on Fort Lee.
[...]
Nothing like having more "eyes and ears" on the ground. Especially when the 'order of the day' is:
"Time for some Traffic Problems in Fort Lee."
Deploy em, if you got em, Right Governor?
It seems however, some Port Authority Officials still take their Jobs a bit more seriously. And when it comes to such out-of-the-ordinary 'Joy Riding' -- this NY-side Port Authority Official wants to know WHY? Why Wildstein was given the guided tour ...
Probe ordered into Port Authority cop's role in GWB lane closures
by Steve Strunsky, The Star-Ledger, nj.com -- Feb 17, 2014
Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye has ordered the agency’s police chief to investigate the role an officer with reported ties to Gov. Chris Christie may have played in September’s George Washington Bridge lane closures in Fort Lee, a source close to the police department said Sunday.
The probe will focus on reports that Port Authority Police Lt. Thomas "Chip" Michaels, a 15-year department veteran and member of the GWB unit, chauffeured David Wildstein through clogged Fort Lee streets on Sept. 9, the first of four days of closures, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
[...]
Foye gave the order to Chief Louis Koumoutsos in response to a MSNBC report that Michaels drove Wildstein around the borough. MSNBC also reported that Michaels is from Livingston, where Wildstein and Christie also grew up, and that Michaels coached Christie’s son in a youth hockey league.
[...]
Who says that investigative reporting doesn't make a difference.
Without it, 'constituency' can become the sole domain the powerful and wealthy few.
Public jobs really should be responsive to the Public ... should they not?