Patrick names head of new transportation structure

BOSTON -- Gov. Deval Patrick announced Tuesday he was appointing Jeffrey Mullan as the state's new transportation czar, trying to make a fresh start after the controversial administration of James Aloisi and placing his favored candidate atop a new consolidated bureaucracy taking life on Nov. 1.

As the state's first joint transportation secretary and MassDOT chief executive officer, Mullan will be charged with integrating formerly disparate agencies into four divisions: Highway, Transit, Aeronautics and Registry of Motor Vehicles. He will be overseen by a five-member board of directors.

Perhaps more importantly for Patrick as he heads into a re-election year, Mullan will be responsible for mending relationships with state lawmakers and projecting stability after months of turmoil.

While Aloisi succeeded in pushing through the reform plan, he clashed with board members at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, publicly doubted Senate President Therese Murray, got caught in shifting explanations about an MBTA fare hike and presided over a hotly debated $300,000 buyout of MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas.

Mullan, by contrast, has been well received as Aloisi's undersecretary and, most recently, in his role overseeing the dismantling of the Turnpike Authority.

"Jeff brings a critical commitment to reform and high level of expertise to the table," Patrick said in a statement. "He possesses the vision and know-how we need to effectively lead a unified transportation organization that eliminates waste, saves taxpayer dollars and improves the delivery of transportation services across our commonwealth."

Sen. Steve Baddour, a Methuen Democrat who co-chairs the Legislature's Joint Committee on Transportation, lauded the appointment after previously criticizing Aloisi and the administration's decision to oust Grabauskas.

"Jeff is capable and talented and has the right temperament to lead this challenging undertaking. If this is the type of appointments Governor Patrick is going to make, then the future of MassDOT looks very good."

Last Friday, Patrick announced that Aloisi did not want to be considered for the new CEO's role, a surprise given he surrendered a lucrative law practice only in January to become transportation secretary. His last day will be Oct. 31.

The next day, nearly all other state transportation functions will be consolidated under a new Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Massport will be tweaked by shifting its Mystic Tobin Bridge to the new department, while the MBTA's employees and retirees will be forced into the state's group insurance program as of Jan. 1. The new agency will be financed, in part, with a trust fund filled with sales and gas tax money. It will share common accounting, legal, personnel and information technology services.

At the time the changes were approved, lawmakers projected the overhaul could save taxpayers $6.5 billion over 20 years.

A Worcester native, Mullan is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and earned a law degree from the Suffolk University School of Law.

Before entering state service in 2007, Mullan worked for 14 years at Foley Hoag LLP, where he was a partner and the co-chair of the firm's administrative law practice. Before joining Foley Hoag, Mullan worked at the Massachusetts Highway Department.

He and his wife and three teenage sons in Patrick's hometown, Milton, where Mullan is a member of the Board of Appeals.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)