Never say Gov. Patrick doesn't have a flair for controversy...
Governor Deval Patrick appointed James Aloisi Jr. yesterday as his transportation secretary, shrugging off criticism from those who said that elevating a well-connected lawyer and key player in the tumultuous history of the Big Dig undermines the governor's message of reform.Aloisi was appointed at a sensitive time, and Patrick is gambling that Aloisi's deep connections on Beacon Hill, institutional knowledge of the Massachusetts transportation bureaucracy, and political savvy will help deliver a massive transportation proposal that is at the top of Patrick's 2009 agenda.
"I'm sure there will be bumps along the way, no pun intended," Aloisi said in an interview. "But I'm going to do the best I can, given my experience, to get it right and get something historic done. I don't want to reform around the edges."
In the interview, Aloisi also said he was open to putting off the toll hikes on the Massachusetts Turnpike and harbor tunnels, even though Patrick said just last month that "there is simply no way around an increase in the short run."
"I'm going to look at it with a fresh eye," Aloisi said yesterday. "I'm a son of East Boston. I understand what it's like to be separated by the harbor and having to pay a toll. I'm in the camp of wanting to take a look and see first. If there's any way we can help people first, we're going to do it."
An administration spokeswoman, Rebecca Deusser, said later that Aloisi's comments did not indicate a shift and that while the tolls are subject to a public hearing, "the governor still believes that an increase in tolls is unavoidable."
Aloisi, who will take the $150,000 post in early January, declined to say whether he would support an increase in the gasoline tax, although he served on a transportation commission that unanimously recommended raising the tax by 11.5 cents and then tying it to inflation.
Aloisi's candidacy for the powerful post was unpopular among some Democrats and Republicans in the days leading up to yesterday's appointment. In a move that diminished the attention it received, Patrick announced the final decision on a Friday afternoon when much of the state was dealing with a major snowstorm. Patrick aides said the governor was busy monitoring the storm and declined to make him available to discuss the Cabinet pick.
UPDATE: More from the Herald.
SECOND UPDATE: More from the Herald.
