Maybe you would like to come along for a ride?
"Safety chief has long list of driving violations; Democratic operative given state job in 2007" by Sean P. Murphy |
Globe Staff, November 18, 2012
Her driving record includes seven accidents, four speeding
violations, two citations for failure to stop for a red light or stop
sign, one failure to stay in her lane, one driving without registration
or license in possession, and one driving without wearing a seat belt.
When she was nabbed for speeding in New Hampshire in 1999, she failed
to show up at her hearing, records show. Until Nov. 1, her license was
on nonrenewal status for failure to pay local excise taxes. There are 34
entries on her driving record, dating back to 1982.
Yet Sheila Burgess is director of the Massachusetts Highway Safety Division....
She must have known her way in and out of traffic.
Burgess’s most recent crash occurred on Aug. 24, as she was driving a
state vehicle during work hours. At 1:16 on a sunny summer afternoon,
her car veered off the road in the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton and
slammed into a rock outcropping, a State Police report says.
Burgess was appointed to her $87,000-a-year position in July 2007,
without any background in public safety, transportation, or government
administration. Her experience was in Democratic Party politics. For
almost two decades as a paid consultant and congressional aide, she had
raised money and advised candidates for public office, including —
according to her resume — Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, who had
taken office six months earlier as part of the new Patrick
administration.
Burgess, 48, of Randolph, suffered a head injury in the crash and has
not returned to work, and while officials say she is on “approved
leave,” they have declined to say whether she is getting paid. She told
police after the crash that she swerved into the woods to avoid an
oncoming vehicle, the State Police report says. She was not cited for
any driving violations....
A spokesman for Governor Deval Patrick and Murray said late Friday
that Burgess was hired, in part, based on the recommendation of US
Representative James McGovern, for whom Burgess once worked as a
consultant. Brendan Ryan, the spokesman, said he could not address why
Burgess was hired into the administration as head of traffic safety
despite her record of driving violations.
He's my new congressman after redistricting (frown).
McGovern did recommend Burgess, said a spokesman for the representative, but not for a specific position.
“He just said, ‘Here’s a good person for the Patrick administration
to hire,’ ” said Michael Mershon, the spokesman. Mershon said he had no
information on whether her driving record was known to McGovern at the
time of his recommendation, or who specifically in the Patrick
administration he made the recommendation to.
Yeah, let's find 'em a job on the taxpayer dole.
And you wonder why this state is in such sad s*** sack?
After arriving at the scene of Burgess’s crash, State Police
apparently took no investigative steps. Burgess by then was out of the
car and being treated by an ambulance crew and State Police did not ask
questions about whether she had been using her state-provided cellphone
while driving or was distracted in any other way, a State Police
spokesman said.
They didn't even test for alcohol?
State Police did not ask whether she was wearing a seat belt. The
spokesman said the accident was handled the same way “as any other crash
with similar circumstances.”
Actually, it looks like it was handled far from the usual way. Looks to me like the state vehicle and position of the driver afforded some advantages.
************************************
At the time of the crash, Burgess’s license was active but had been
flagged for nonrenewal because of failure to pay local excise taxes.
After the Globe began making inquiries, the taxes were paid and her
license status was cleared....
Last year, another state employee in a sensitive public safety position was forced to resign
after the Globe reported his long record of driving violations. In that
case, it was Murray who in 2008 recommended the hiring of the employee,
Matthew McLaughlin, as a $60,000-a-year appointee to the Board of
Appeals, which hears appeals from drunken drivers who have lost their
licenses. McLaughlin’s driving record includes a license suspension for
refusing to take a breathalyzer test and six speeding tickets.
See: Chelsea Evictions
Got another one to make:
Matthew McLaughlin is the son of Michael McLaughlin, the former
Chelsea Housing Authority executive director now under federal
investigation for apparently using government money intended for
fixing-up public housing apartments to jack up his own salary to
$360,000 a year. Investigators are also scrutinizing Michael
McLaughlin’s involvement in fund-raisers for Murray.
Yeah, maybe they are being too hard on the guy.
--more--"
"State highway safety director reassigned following revelations of driving violations" by Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff | November 19, 2012
The administration of Governor Deval Patrick, embarrassed
by revelations that the state highway safety director has a driving
record that includes seven accidents, four speeding violations and two
failures to stop for a police officer, announced today that the director
will be removed from that job.
So there is this, the state drug lab scandal, and the meningitis compounding crisis all occurring while this guy was running around the country campaigning for Obama.
I know it is not him, it's the machine, but come on!
And did I read that right? She is not being fired? I mean, if you were a regular working stiff out here and crashed company property over and over, you are gone.
Sheila Burgess, the top safety officer since 2007, is on medical
leave recovering from an Aug. 24 one-car accident in Milton in which she
drove off the road and suffered a head injury. She told police she
swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle in her lane.
Anyone check out that story?
Burgess will be assigned to a “different role” within the state
Office of Public Safety and Security, according to a statement released
today by Mary Elizabeth Heffernan, the public safety secretary.
Look, I don't want to ruin the woman's life; however, she can go back to raising money for campaigns and such.
“Given her driving record, it is clear that Ms. Burgess should not
have been hired as the director of Highway Safety in 2007,” Heffernan
said in the statement.
And now she should be fired but.... sigh.
Burgess is a former fund-raising consultant to high-profile
Democratic candidates for public office, including Congressman James
McGovern, whose office said on Friday that McGovern asked the newly
elected Patrick administration in 2007 to hire Burgess, but without
suggesting a specific role for her. She is paid $87,000 annually.
Burgess had no experience in public safety, transportation or government administration when hired, according to her resume.
It's a time-honored axiom in all walks of life everywhere: it's who you know.
Heffernan called Burgess “a solid and dependable employee” during the
intervening years, but today, following a Globe story that revealed her
driving record, said she no long has confidence in Burgess leading the
state’s efforts to reduce accidents by promoting good driving practices.
How ironic, 'eh?
Burgess “cannot expect the public’s trust, nor mine, as the directory of Highway Safety going forward,” the statement says.
Burgess, 48, of Randolph, has 34 entries on her her record. Since her
appointment to a state job, Burgess has faced no new moving motor
vehicle violations, however.
Her license was active but flagged for non-renewal for failure to pay
local excise taxes. Those taxes were paid and her license cleared on
Nov. 1, after the Globe began making inquiries.
Heffernan’s statement was released hours after Patrick, speaking to
reporters at a public event unrelated to Burgess, said he was angry
about her being hired as highway safety director and vowed to find out
how it happened.
“I will get to the bottom on it,” he said.
Pffft!
Burgess’s most recent crash occurred on a sunny summer afternoon in a state vehicle during work hours....
Anybody identify that other vehicle?
--more--"
Related: Former highway safety chief quits state job
Who hired Mass. highway safety director remains a mystery
It's called passing the buck.
Also see: A shameful act of patronage
It's the machine called Massachusetts politics.
