Governor Maura Healey appointed three new members to the MBTA Board of Directors, placing a former normal supervisor on the helm in a shake-up that adopted months of public outcry for a extra lively and engaged board.
Thomas Glynn, a previous MBTA normal supervisor and CEO of Massport below former governors Michael Dukakis and Deval Patrick, respectively, was appointed board chair. The board’s present chair, Betsy Taylor, resigned, efficient instantly, a Healey spokesperson instructed the Herald.
Thomas McGee, a former Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation and mayor of Lynn, and Eric Goodwine, a business banking govt in Worcester, had been appointed as new members.
Healey caught with former Gov. Charlie Baker appointees Robert Butler and Chanda Smart, the latter of whom was added to the board within the last days of Baker’s time period. Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, one other present member, will proceed in his position because the MBTA Advisory Board appointee. Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca rounds out the board.
“I’m pleased to make these appointments to the MBTA board,” Healey stated in a press release. “I am confident that each of them will focus on ensuring the highest level of safety and service that the people of Massachusetts deserve.”
Healey added that she was grateful to outgoing members, Taylor, Scott Darling and Mary Beth Mello “for their service and commitment to our communities.”
Glynn, who led the MBTA within the ‘90s, helped Healey interview general manager candidates, including eventual pick Phillip Eng. But he became re-connected to the agency’s present points by his involvement with the governor’s transportation transition committee, he stated.
“The governor and lieutenant governor and secretary felt that I could make a contribution, so I finally said yes,” Glynn instructed the Herald.
Glynn addressed the criticism that’s been leveled at some present and outgoing MBTA board members, concerning their refusal to ask robust questions and perceived lack of engagement throughout a time when security failures are within the highlight, saying that “different times require different kinds of board interactions.”
The knock on the previous Fiscal and Management Control Board, which disbanded when the Board of Directors was created in 2021, was that it was “a little bit too involved,” Glynn stated, pointing to its weekly conferences. The present board meets month-to-month.
“And, so I think when Gov. Baker asked Betsy Taylor to be the chair, he wanted to kind of recenter things a little bit,” Glynn stated. “But I think going forward, given the level of problems that the T faces, that this board will probably be a little bit more engaged.”
However, he stated, this will probably be an “evolving board change,” moderately than a “radical change,” as three members served below the Baker board.
Glynn stated a part of Healey’s pondering along with her new appointments was centered across the MBTA being a regional system. Koch, as mayor of Quincy, already represents the South Shore, whereas McGee, a former mayor of Lynn, brings a North Shore presence.
Goodwine, the vp business mortgage officer for the Worcester Lending Program at Rockland Trust, brings illustration from the western a part of the state and a monetary perspective, he stated.
“I think by putting the board together this way, it kind of reaches out to other parts of the state that are served by the T,” Glynn stated. “So, I think it should be pretty successful and have lively discussions, because the different regions have different concerns and different priorities.”
Fred Salvucci, a former Massachusetts secretary of transportation, stated that as board chair, Glynn will be capable of assist Eng, who “looks like he’s going to be a really strong general manager, but he doesn’t know Boston.”
Glynn was capable of enhance buyer satisfaction significantly whereas he was in command of the MBTA, which he did by specializing in riders, Salvucci stated.
“You can throw money at a problem, but you can also waste it,” Salvucci stated. “You shut down the Orange Line for 30 days and also you spent some huge cash, after which it’s the identical when it’s finished.
“The test of what you’re doing is whether the riders of the system see the system getting better, and that’s what the T desperately needs right now. I know that was what Tom was very good at, was keeping the focus on the riders.”
Salvucci additionally spoke positively about McGee’s appointment, saying that he’ll assist deliver consideration to the Northeast hall, notably communities like Chelsea, Everett, Lynn, Revere, and East Boston that depend on the T.
McGee “fought to create a 21st-century T that is accessible and reliable for all” all through his profession, stated state Sen. Brendan Crighton, who changed McGee as Senate chair of the Legislature’s transportation committee.
“His transportation expertise and his leadership across both municipal and state government will serve him well in this new role, and I look forward to working with him and the entire board,” Crighton stated.
While each Glynn and McGee deliver transportation expertise to the board, Tim Murray, a former lieutenant governor alongside Deval Patrick and present president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, stated Goodwine brings the much-needed perspective of a businessperson and drawback solver.
“He’s not somebody who’s been part of the transportation circles,” Murray stated. “He hasn’t been in some of those circles that have come in and out of government, and then worked in private companies. He’ll come in with a fresh set of eyes and ears, and I think that’s good as well. Question things that maybe other people would just take for granted.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”