Romney retreats on turnpike ouster
SJC declines to back Amorello removal
Governor Mitt Romney backed down yesterday from his bid to remove Matthew J. Amorello as chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, after the state's highest court refused to inject itself into what has become a high-profile political standoff.
The Supreme Judicial Court said Romney had failed to provide persuasive evidence Amorello's removal was an urgent necessity worthy of their legal advice. The court also noted there were other ways the governor could meet his goal of protecting public interests at the Big Dig.
Romney has been pushing since last November to remove the embattled Turnpike Authority chief, whom he has accused of mismanagement and financial irresponsibility. In seeking an SJC opinion, the governor aimed to avoid the protracted legal battle that Acting Governor Jane Swift confronted when she fired two Turnpike Authority board members, only to see the high court reinstate them.
''I'm disappointed that the court declined to address what it acknowledged were important questions of law," said a statement Romney issued.
The court made clear that nothing in its opinion directly prevented Romney from firing Amorello or Amorello from bringing a lawsuit challenging such a dismissal. The governor had hoped for an explicit endorsement of his authority to oust the chairman, which might have discouraged Amorello from challenging a dismissal or at the very least indicated that the court would ultimately uphold the governor's decision.
''Without the court's guidance, I am unable to install new leadership at the Turnpike Authority without triggering protracted litigation that would further undermine public confidence in the Big Dig," Romney said. ''I continue to believe the Turnpike Authority needs new and stronger management, but it now seems the only way to bring about that change is through a merger with the Highway Department."
The 10-page opinion was signed by Justices John M. Greaney, Roderick L. Ireland, Francis X. Spina, and Judith A. Cowin. There was no dissent.
''They're basically saying the governor is free to do whatever he wants, but they've been pretty clear they don't want to get involved," said Rudolph F. Pierce, a Boston lawyer and specialist in transportation law. ''He is free to do it, but they don't think they should step in and decide whether he has the authority to do it."
In their 10-page opinion, the justices avoided a detailed review of Amorello's credentials and the project's management. Instead, they said Romney had failed to identify a '' 'present duty' necessitating imminent action on his part [to remove Amorello], other than a general desire to secure the public's safety and interests' which, while significant and laudatory, encompasses a wide range of actions that could be taken by the governor now and in the future."
Amorello, a former Republican legislator who has refused to step down from his $205,000-a-year position, expressed satisfaction with the SJC opinion.
''I'm very pleased with the decision of the court, and I look forward to leading the Big Dig to its successful completion," he said in an interview. ''It's an incredible project, and sometimes we lose sight of that with all the politics."
Romney has targeted Amorello, appointed by Swift in 2002, as a symbol of political patronage.
Removing Amorello, Romney said in November, is ''the only way to restore confidence" in the Big Dig after disclosure of leaks in the Interstate 93 tunnels, construction delays, and cost overruns.
In seeking the court's opinion, Romney wanted to avoid the legal wrangling that Swift confronted when she fired two Turnpike Authority board members in late 2001 after they refused to approve her toll-increase plan. Six months later, the SJC reinstated Christy Mihos and Jordan Levy, ruling that the two ''were not appointed to carry out the policies of the Governor, but the policies of the Authority as determined by themselves." The court was essentially affirming that appointed board members can operate with some degree of independence.
In his plea to the court, Romney said that his dispute with Amorello did not involve ''a difference of opinion over policy," but instead was driven by what he saw as Amorello's mismanagement.
Romney said yesterday that the only way to oust Amorello would be if the Legislature went along with his long-stated aim to merge the authority with the state Highway Department. Under such an arrangement, the governor would have direct control over the top managers of the agency.
However, lawmakers on both sides of the issue said yesterday there is little chance of that happening. ''The status quo usually reigns on Beacon Hill, and most of the Democrats in the Legislature have demonstrated an unwillingness to change the status quo," said Senator Robert L. Hedlund, a Weymouth Republican who supports a merger.
Sean P. Murphy and Lucas Wall of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 