Progress and Political Ploys at the Port Authority

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) proposed a sweeping set of reforms to the beleaguered Port Authority over the Christmas holiday weekend.

They outlined these reforms after vetoing legislation passed by both the New York and New Jersey state legislatures, which drew condemnation from politicians on both sides of the Hudson.

But Jameson Doig, Professor Emeritus at Princeton University and author of the book Empire on the Hudson: Entrepreneurial Vision and Political Power at the Port of New York Authority told WNYC's Amy Eddings that the governors's reform proposals have some merit to them.

"The most important recommendation that the governors have agreed to is...replacing the Executive Director who...has been appointed by New York's Governor and the Deputy who's been appointed by the New Jersey Governor with a Chief Executive Officer chosen by the entire board," said Doig.

Doig told WNYC that while the governors included some of the legislature's reform proposals in their own package, there was a degree of political maneuvering in their veto as well.

"I could understand why the governors would not like to turn reform of this issue over to competitors,” said Doig. “The governors don't want to signal that they're unable to deal with the problems that they themselves created. The problems of chaos and Bridgegate at the Port Authority are primarily those of Gov. Christie, aided by the inaction of Gov. Cuomo, who failed to protect the [agency's] integrity."