I -- like most of the people around here -- can not wait to see this guy leave in a year.
We was took, and wees ain't happy 'bout it. I post this series as a favor to my Boston readers. I've become ill over Massachusetts politics.
"Board members slam T manager; Say they have lost faith in Grabauskas" by Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | July 29, 2009
The letter follows a strikingly public dispute between state Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi Jr., who is chairman of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board, and the T's general manager Daniel A. Grabauskas, who runs day-to-day operations. The two are barely civil to each other when transportation overhaul is the cornerstone of Patrick’s policy agenda.
Related: Globe is Governor's Attack Dog
Earlier this month, Aloisi pointedly criticized Grabauskas for being out of town when the National Transportation Safety Board issued a highly critical report on one of the trolley crashes.
Grabauskas responded that he was on a mandated furlough but was readily available by phone. He said Aloisi, his boss, was telling “a lie.’’
Related: Phone Tag at the T
Grabauskas, who was appointed by former governor Mitt Romney and has always been an outsider among Patrick officials, received a copy of the letter from the Globe after it had been publicly released by Aloisi’s office.
Related:
“What this whole thing boils down to is, I think, a very sad attempt to exploit two accidents involving human error, which was the conclusion of that National Transportation Safety Board,’’ Grabauskas said. “I think people see it for what this is, which is just more obvious politics from the Patrick administration and his appointees.’’
YUP!!!!!
Aloisi, who was appointed by Patrick in January, has had prickly relationships with several legislative leaders and subordinates. Alan LeBovidge, the former head of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, was not speaking regularly with Aloisi when LeBovidge resigned in May.
Oh, so THAT'S WHY he left! See: Turnpike Director Takes Exit
The board meets next week. Grabauskas’s contract does not expire until May, meaning the board could be forced to pay a six-figure settlement if members choose to fire him.
State is bleeding red ink and just raised taxes, yet they can't keep this guy a few more months?
Grabauskas has received mixed reviews while running one of the state’s most complicated and difficult bureaucracies, one that some observers say is dragged down by debt, old equipment, and rigid work rules. The T has recently proposed a fare hike of 19.5 percent to keep up with is multibillion-dollar debt.
Senator Steven A. Baddour, a Methuen Democrat and cochairman of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, said board members are playing politics and called the letter a “cheap shot.’’:
“It’s ridiculous. Obviously, these are Patrick appointees doing the bidding of the governor, and it has nothing to do with his job performance, or his ability to manage a very difficult agency. I know it’s a tough election yea. I know the poll numbers are sagging, but we shouldn’t be looking for scapegoats.’’
That's a DEMOCRAT, folks!
Related: Patrick's Plummeting Polls
Governor Patrick Phooling Himself
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Governor Deval Patrick left scant hope that Daniel A. Grabauskas will retain his job as general manager of the MBTA, saying:
“.... Even with some infusion of new state dollars they are still considering a fare increase, something that could not come at a worse time.’’
And he just signed a bill RAISING TAXES?! What an ARROGANT PRICK!!!!!!!
Patrick’s statements were but one side of a sharpening debate over Grabauskas’s future.... Legislative leaders, including both the House speaker and the Senate president, publicly lauded Grabauskas yesterday, with some questioning Patrick’s motives....
Senate President Therese Murray, speaking at a lunch forum on the Boston waterfront:
“He’s been a good head of the T, but he’s from a different party, and the governor and his people would like a different person in there.’’
But I'm the prick for not spreading cheek.
Also see: The Perils of One-Party Politics: The Problem
The head of the House Transportation Committee took it a step further, joining his Senate counterpart in accusing the Patrick administration of “gamesmanship.’’
“What I am watching unfold here strikes me as very political,’’ said Representative Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat....
The T board is chaired by Patrick’s transportation secretary, James A. Aloisi Jr., who clashed publicly with Grabauskas in recent weeks after what started as a cooperative relationship. In his comments, Patrick did not note that Aloisi has backed a substantial fare increase and that Aloisi and the T board directed Grabauskas to raise fares at a public meeting.
And they are now criticizing him for it?
One board member, who talked on the condition of anonymity, said yesterday that the board appears divided over whether to fire Grabauskas or negotiate an exit with him, given the apparent desire of Patrick to put his own leader in the job.
And HOW MUCH is that going to COST TAXPAYERS, jerk!?
Aside from the three board members who signed the letter and chairman Aloisi, two others have told the Globe they either back Grabauskas or want to hear his side. Two remaining board members did not return calls to their homes and cellphones yesterday.
Grabauskas, a Republican who lost the election for state treasurer in 2002, is a rare holdover from the Romney administration. He has long been something of an outsider in the Patrick administration and is often mentioned as a potential candidate for statewide office.
That's why they are looking to dump him!
Related: Cahill the Corrupt
He has 9 1/2 months remaining on a contract with the T that will pay him $255,000 this year. He was due $280,000, but deferred two contractual pay increases under pressure from the Patrick administration.
Oh, right! He DID what they wanted and they are STILL PRICKS?
See: What Your T Ticket Pays For
Salary is a little hefty, isn't it?
The contract requires that he be paid his remaining salary and benefits if fired, unless for a cause “limited to actions by Grabauskas involving gross and deliberate malfeasance, gross negligence, or final conviction of a crime of moral turpitude.’’
A-HA!!!!!!!
Aloisi, before a public appearance at the State House yesterday, said he has not been satisfied in general with the T over the past several years. “This is about getting it right. And attempts to change the discussion, frankly, by throwing politics into it or throwing personality into it, that’s not right, it’s not fair,’’ he said.
Screw you, Jim!
Related: The First Brother and Sister of Massachusetts
The MBTA board is set to be disbanded after its October meeting. A new board, part of an overhaul of all state transportation agencies, will be appointed by the governor, but will have to include professional planners, financial specialists, and a civil engineer. Wagner and Senator Steven A. Baddour, a Methuen Democrat who is cochairman of the joint transportation committee, say the professional nature of the new board is crucial to reducing politics in the state’s transportation system and will be set back significantly if true professionals are not appointed.
Then WHY NOT KEEP HIM?
Several transit advocates said damage has already been done to the T, voicing concern that infighting is particularly harmful during an already volatile period. Taisha O’Bryant, chairwoman of the T Riders Union, expressed dismay with Grabauskas and the board, saying they are fighting with each other rather than advocating for riders. “Why aren’t the T board members stepping out and saying how they’re going to stop the fare increase?’’ she said.
Because they aren't interested in you!
Well, Danny was and you see what happened.
And it looks like the guv opened up a can of worms again:
"Four board members voice praise for T chief" by Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | July 31, 2009
Four members of the MBTA’s board of directors fired off a strongly worded letter yesterday defending General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas, delivering what may prove a significant setback in the efforts of the Patrick administration to oust the leader of the chronically troubled transit system.
The open dispute on the eight-member board is now threatening to become a full-blown political liability for Governor Deval Patrick. A range of people - from Mayor Thomas M. Menino to a gubernatorial rival to legislative leaders - have jumped to the defense of Grabauskas, with some accusing Patrick of playing politics.
Could this guy be ANY MORE IGNORANT when it ocmes to tact?
MBTA riders also have much at stake, given that they face a hefty fare increase....
Grabauskas, a Republican, is one of the last holdovers from Governor Mitt Romney’s administration and has survived, albeit at times uncomfortably, as a result of a contract that would be costly to buy out.
Then LET'S KEEP HIM for two more months!!
He is paid $255,000 this year under the contract, which has nine months remaining. If he were terminated, the state would have to pay him his salary and benefits for the remaining months of the contract, unless he is fired for a serious breach, such as gross negligence.
Menino said that Grabauskas has always been there when the city needed him.
“We need to support Grabauskas in any way possible, so we can upgrade the system,’’ said Menino. “I can go back in our files and get a whole list of things he’s done for us.’’
Patrick’s office referred questions yesterday to Aloisi, who declined an interview request....
And we need you reporters because.... ?
The board is set to be eliminated Nov. 1 as part of a statewide transportation overhaul. The real decision will probably be over whether to fight Grabauskas or pay him the balance of his salary in exchange for making the issue go away.
After THEY BROUGHT IT UP? Those are OUR TAX DOLLARS, dick!!!!
It’s unclear whether Patrick and Aloisi would endorse that, given the extremely difficult financial conditions facing the T and the state. Legislative leaders have already sided with Grabauskas....
Yeah, this is all quickly turning into a nothing tory!
--more--"
Which is why it is getting so much print:
Just one year after a record number of passengers flocked to the MBTA, the agency has come back to earth, as the price of gas has declined and the economy soured. And it can expect to lose another 5 percent of its riders if a proposed 19.5 percent fare hike is approved, according to a new state analysis. Even that estimate could prove to be optimistic.
Like all government and economic estimates around here.
The same state analysts predicted a 5 percent drop in riders before the last fare hike, in 2007, only to see an even larger dip: 9.5 percent fewer trips in the first year.
“Gas prices and the economy are going to dictate what that decline is and then when the rebound is,’’ said Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the MBTA.
The analysis, conducted by a state government planning department that is independent of the T, also predicts that the fare hike, if approved, would result in a minimal impact on clean air, in part because analysts estimate that one-fourth of those who quit using the T will walk....
Or bike: Boston Globe Bicycle Chain Falls Off MSM Monitor
Despite losing passengers, the T can expect to generate $69 million more from the higher prices, according to the analysis....
That's what is known as a subway rape in Bahstahn!
Passenger counts at the T have dropped since last summer’s records, achieved when gas was zooming to more than $4 per gallon. A weak economy traditionally leads to a decline in public transit use, as fewer commuters have regular jobs.... Environmental groups say they are also taking a closer look at the clean air estimates in the report, worrying that it assumes that too many people who leave public transit would walk instead of drive.
“It’s really going to change what it’s like to get around Boston and the Greater Boston area,’’ said Noah Chesnin of the Conservation Law Foundation....
Yup!
"Now the question becomes whether enough people will put their lives on the line riding on bicycles along city streets"
Meanwhile.... (sigh)
"MBTA board made headlines in fight over Grabauskas’s fate" by Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | August 2, 2009
This may be a surprise to some, but the appointed members of this board get paid a salary. They receive $7,500 per year, plus full health benefits. They also get individual offices in the state transportation building near Boston Common, a parking space in the building, and a special MBTA pass that allows them unlimited travel on all modes of transport - ferry boat, bus, subway, commuter rail - worth $250 per month....
Does the THIEVERY ever end here in Massachushitts!
Or the S*** FOOLEY POLITICS?
Patrick accused of politicking
Noooooooo!
For all the criticism Patrick and his transportation secretary, James A. Aloisi Jr., have taken, they made a loud public case in recent months to get the T some money. The Legislature was generally far more concerned with preventing a toll increase on the Massachusetts Turnpike, and said pretty quickly that MBTA riders would probably have to pay more to ride public transit. In the end, the Legislature did give the MBTA $160 million from part of the sales tax increase that took effect yesterday.
Yeah, you know why?
That helped prevent drastic service cuts and astronomic fare hikes....
No! See: UBS Cuts Massachusetts a Break
That's right; they made sure the BANKS got their INTEREST PAYMENTS!
WHO are the public servants working for again?
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Looks like Patrick lost this one -- just as he is going to lose the governorship in a fair election.
"Embattled T chief receives support of advisory chair" by Ben Terris, Globe Correspondent | August 5, 2009
Newton Mayor David Cohen, whose city was the site of a fatal Green Line crash last year, has written a letter praising embattled MBTA general manager Daniel Grabauskas.
Cohen, the chairman of the MBTA advisory board, said in a letter dated Friday to Governor Deval Patrick that he has “seen first hand the changes [Grabauskas] has implemented to promote efficiency and cost savings.’’
Cohen said he also saw Grabauskas in action after the fatal Green Line trolley crash. That crash prompted sharp criticism last month from federal safety officials, who denounced the MBTA for a “lack of a safety culture’’ and concluded that the crash could have been avoided if the agency had invested in safety technology used by other transit systems.
Related: Banks Ride Green Line to Loot
“I also bore witness to Mr. Grabauskas’s leadership skills and compassion during the tragic night of May 28, 2008, when a trolley operator lost her life in an accident that took place in Newton,’’ Cohen wrote. “During the most difficult of circumstances, Mr. Grabauskas took control of the incident, managing communications with the affected family, media, and the personnel on the ground. Throughout this very unfortunate and volatile event, Dan Grabauskas’s leadership abilities made what was a truly tragic event as bearable as possible for the individuals involved.’’
No wonder the administration deosn't like him: he's EVERYTHING they are NOT -- and HE'S REPUBLICAN, Bay-State s***ters!
Cohen said that the MBTA’s financial difficulties are not the fault of the general manager. “I fear that Mr. Grabauskas is being unfairly blamed for a financial crisis, which he has been warning us of since the day he took office, and which he has been working diligently to avert,’’ Cohen wrote. Grabauskas said he was grateful for the support.
He's such a better person than DemocraPs!
I don't mean to be divisive; however, UP HERE in "can't get thar from h're," SMUG, SELF-RIGHTEOUS, DEMOCRAP MASS., I can NOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH that in OUR POLITICAL WORLD we NEED REPUBLICANS!
See: The Perils of One-Party Politics: Massachusetts' Democracy
“The political shenanigans have been a distraction, and I look forward to them ending,’’ Grabauskas told the Globe in a phone interview. “This has been just a distraction from the get-go from the work that people expect the general manager to focus on - on time personnel, safety and security, courteousness, cleanliness, and accessibility that I’ve really tried to stress.’’
Cohen sits on an MBTA advisory board, separate from the T’s board of directors that is expected to meet tomorrow to discuss Grabauskas’s tenure. Three members of the MBTA board criticized Grabauskas, while four others have backed him. Grabauskas said he was looking to put the question of his tenure behind him and focus on doing his job. “That’s been my focus for the last four years, and it will be my focus for as long as I’m general manager,’’ he said.
Patrick’s office declined to comment on the letter.
Another BACKFIRE, 'eh, guv?
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Nevertheless, the idiot presses forward:
The Patrick administration was manuevering yesterday to orchestrate the ouster of MBTA general manager Daniel A. Grabauskas at today’s meeting of the T’s board of directors, according to a Patrick adviser briefed on the internal discussions.
Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi Jr. was pushing the eight-member board to place Grabauskas on a paid administrative leave, the adviser confirmed. Aloisi is also expected to ask the board to bring in former John Hancock chief executive officer David D’Alessandro to conduct a “top to bottom’’ review of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
“There are a number of safety and financial concerns raised by members of the board,’’ the adviser said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Now we’ll be able to have a full and complete review of the MBTA management and finances.’’
Today’s board meeting was set as Patrick has intensified his political spat with Grabauskas over what the governor contends is mismanagement of the T. Grabauskas’s backers have praised his work leading the chronically troubled transit agency and say Patrick’s campaign to remove him is purely political.
Related: Patrick's Patterns
The dispute bubbled up last week when three board members wrote a letter to Aloisi, faulting Grabauskas’s leadership. Days later, four other board members defended him in their own letter, appearing to give Grabauskas enough board votes to keep his post....
Don't you guys have BETTER THINGS to do to earn your looting?
Grabauskas, who has nine months left on his five-year contract, would not comment yesterday on the possible administrative leave. But he has previously said he would fight any efforts to terminate him. Under his contract, which will pay him $255,000 this year, he can be fired only for “gross and deliberate malfeasance, gross negligence, or final conviction of a crime of moral turpitude.’’ Otherwise, if he were “involuntarily terminated,’’ the board would be required to buy out the rest of his contract.
The battle over Grabauskas once again puts Patrick at odds with top lawmakers and elected officials, who have leapt to the defense of Grabauskas and have accused the governor of injecting partisan politics into an agency vital to the hundreds of thousands of commuters who ride T trains and buses each day.
Bye, one-termer.
Yesterday, state treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, who is strongly considering an independent run for governor, waded into the controversy, saying he too thinks Grabauskas has done a good job under difficult circumstances and should remain in the post. He accused Aloisi of targeting him unfairly.
“I don’t think he should be broomed out,’’ said Cahill. “It’s a waste of everyone’s time. It appears there’s a personality conflict between the secretary of transportation and the general manager that’s clouded his judgment. I don’t think [Aloisi] is freelancing. He’s getting his direction from the governor. The governor threw him under the bus; no pun intended.’’
Both House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray have praised Grabauskas, a Republican holdover from the Romney administration. Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston, who has an appointee on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board, also defended Grabauskas, as did Mayor David B. Cohen of Newton, head of the MBTA Advisory Board, which represents the cities and towns served by the T.
Aloisi, who chairs the MBTA board of directors, sent Grabauskas a letter Tuesday indicating that the panel may meet in executive session to discuss his performance. Grabauskas could demand that the discussion take place in open session, officials said....
I would.
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And for those who believe in karma....
"Governor to be sidelined by hip-replacement surgery" by Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | August 6, 2009
Governor Deval L. Patrick is scheduled to have a hip replaced next month and will spend two to three weeks at home to recuperate, temporarily sidelining him at a time when he is tackling the state’s financial crisis and trying to reenergize his political organization for next year’s election....
Hey, I DON'T WISH ANYONE ILL!! But that is in God's hands, not mine!
Patrick, who turned 53 last week, has been experiencing increasing pain and discomfort in his left hip caused mostly by arthritis. The hip was injured in a 1978 truck accident in Sudan, where he had gone to work on a postgraduate United Nations fellowship. He said the accident probably contributed to the problem.
Related: Globalist Governor Has Got an Agenda
Oh, yeah:
"The Boston Globe Censors Patrick's Past
.... Patrick earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. He worked at large Boston Law firms and served as the Clinton' administration's top civil rights prosecutor. He then was general counsel at Exxon and later with Coca-Cola Co.
His role as a highly paid board member at a large national subprime mortgage company, Ameriquest, which faced serious allegations of predatory lending, could also be a problem in any Senate confirmation hearing (Boston Globe May 2 2009)."
Funny how they LEFT THAT OUT of the RESUME.
The recuperation likely will be in the governor’s Berkshires vacation retreat in Richmond, where his bedroom is on the ground floor, making it easier for him to get around. If he stays at his Milton residence, he would have to navigate the stairs.
Related: Gov. Patrick's Party Palace
Patrick's 'empty nest' up for sale
Patrick said the doctor told him that he would need to have the operation within the next two years, so he decided to get it out of the way before next year’s reelection campaign. He said the pain was becoming increasing difficult for him, particularly when he tried to sleep at night or stand for long periods at public functions. Exercising helps ease the pain, he said.
Patrick said he expects to initially walk on crutches for three weeks and then switch to a cane for another three weeks. He joked about finding other uses for the cane beyond help with walking. “I may keep the cane,’’ quipped the governor, who has had sharp battles with State House political figures and an aggressive news media. “I have all kinds of ideas what to do with the cane....
What an a**hole! Yeah, I got ome ideas, too!
Still, the timing of the operation is not good for Patrick, who faces a tough road to reestablish his once-strong standing with Massachusetts voters. A Globe poll last month showed his popularity has plunged since late last year, and voters were giving him poor marks for his job performance....
See: Patrick's Plummeting Polls
Yeah, the poor scumbucket!
Update:
It COST YOU, Mass. taxpayer -- and then the DINK GOVERNOR COMPLAINS about the buyout when HE STARTED this mess and they bent over a board member (threatened him is more like it) to do it!
"T general manager resigns under fire; Grabauskas gets $327,000 package" by Matt Viser, Globe Staff | August 7, 2009
Daniel A. Grabauskas, the embattled general manager of the MBTA, resigned under pressure last night after a marathon meeting of the agency’s board, completing what will be a costly takeover by Governor Deval Patrick’s administration.
The board, by a 5-to-3 vote, agreed to pay Grabauskas $327,487 to settle the remaining nine months of his contract, including salary, vacation, and sick days. Grabauskas’s resignation was effective immediately, and his job will be filled by William Mitchell, the T’s general counsel, until a permanent general manager can be found....
Grabuaskas’s backers, who include legislative leaders and members of the T board, have praised his leadership of the chronically troubled transit agency and say Patrick’s campaign to remove him is purely political. Grabauskas, a Republican appointed by Governor Mitt Romney, had several high-profile Democratic proponents, including House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, Senate President Therese Murray, and Mayor Thomas M. Menino, but Patrick persisted in seeking his ouster....
Some of Grabauskas' supporters rose to his defense and criticized Patrick for orchestrating his ouster. “The public interest has not been well-served,’’ Senator Steven A. Baddour, a Methuen Democrat and cochairman of the Transportation Committee, said last night in a statement. “It is discouraging beyond words to watch the governor and the soon-to-be-abolished MBTA board spend their time trying to settle a political score at taxpayer’s expense when we have so many serious matters that need focus.’’
And THAT is a DEMOCRAT, not mean little old me.
The board meeting yesterday began with a call for civility from Aloisi, who quoted Thomas Jefferson and urged members “to rise above heated words’’ in an escalating row with Grabauskas....
Oh, these guys are rich! Really, really rich.
Under the terms of the deal, Grabauskas will receive $215,000 in base compensation, $44,000 for unused vacation days, $32,000 for unused sick days, and $35,000 in deferred and other pay. He will also receive full health insurance until his contract expires on May 15, 2010....
Wow. Nice deal Patrick cut him on behalf of taxpayers (after he just RAISED TAXES) for a two-month buyout, huh? So how much is the flunky he puts in there gonna draw, a full salary plus pension?
--more--"Change my fat-ass Mass. fanny!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, FOR the WORSE!!!!
