Saturday, November 09, 2013

A WORST-CLASS TEMPERAMENT

The guy every lovesick political journalist in the Northeast Corridor thinks should be the next president of the United States apparently created a week's worth of severe traffic jams in early September in a fit of political pique, if this Wall Street Journal story is correct:
Early on the morning of Sept. 9, an official of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey appeared at the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge and looked out over a traffic jam he helped create, according to people familiar with the matter.

The official, according to these people, was David Wildstein, who was hired in 2010 as the authority's director of interstate capital projects by an appointee of Gov. Chris Christie.

The previous day, a Sunday, Mr. Wildstein called two bridge officials and ordered them to shut off two local access toll lanes for drivers headed across the bridge from Fort Lee, N.J., into New York City, the people familiar with the matter said.

According to these people and authority correspondence reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the closures were made without notice to police, emergency officials or officials on the New York side of the Port Authority's leadership. As previously reported, the closure triggered large traffic jams for a week in the borough on the New Jersey side of the bridge....

People familiar with the matter and some local officials ... believe it was a gesture aimed at the borough's Democratic mayor, who had declined to cross party lines to endorse Mr. Christie for governor two weeks earlier.

The mayor, Mark Sokolich, said he believed the intent was "punitive"
in a letter sent to Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni, Mr. Wildstein's boss, asking for relief from the traffic jam in September....
(Emphasis added.)

Petty, vindictive, thuggish -- yeah, I'm so looking forward to Chris Christie having his finger on the nuclear button, aren't you?

6 comments:

Never Ben Better said...

Well, that ought to boost his popularity with the wingnut base.

Victor said...

'The guy every lovesick political HACK in the Northeast Corridor...'

There, Steve, fixerated it fer ya!

And Saaaaweet Jayzoos, I've been in a few of those GWB traffic jams over the years, usually on my way home from NC, and let me tell you - as if you don't already know - that they are no fun at all!

I always listen to the damn radio traffic report to see which they say is better or worse - the upper level or the lower.

A word of advice - and then, if you've got any brains, you immediately head to the one that they tell you is slower - because every other schlub on the Jersey side is listening to the same goddam report, and immediately decides to go to the one the radio station says is less crowded and faster.

But, they BOTH suck, no matter which you one you decide to take!

Phil Freeman said...

Good thing he's gonna get about as close to the presidency as Giuliani got - if he's lucky.

Steve M. said...

Well, if you're right, Chuck Todd and Joe Scarborough are going to hold hands and jump off a bridge together.

aimai said...

God god, what a story. That is really pretty much beyond the pale. Consider the economic damage and the potential harm to commuters and their families, and all out of pique and a sense of entitlement?

Examinator said...

That is the Pale. And this clown keeps his job? Even without the supposed political imputations this is pure incompetence .... to me, If I were his boss he'd be looking for a new job an hour later.