Amorello, now adrift

YESTERDAY Turnpike Authority Chairman Matt Amorello's legislative allies cut him loose.

It was done politely and diplomatically, and with efforts to help him save face, but the message was clear: The time has come for him to go.

And yet, in an early-evening press conference, Amorello insisted he will not resign.

Perhaps he is only trying to buy himself a little time so he can leave under his own steam. But it has become apparent that, whether he realizes it or not, his days as turnpike chief are numbered.

When calamity strikes in a state, political power naturally flows to the governor.

Yesterday Governor Mitt Romney, who has started the legal process to remove Amorello, used that power adroitly, filing emergency legislation that would grant the executive branch the authority to oversee inspection of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel, to decide when it reopens, and to carry out a safety audit of the entire Big Dig.

In other words, if Romney can't immediately remove Amorello from atop the Turnpike Authority, he will immediately try to remove the authority from beneath Amorello.

That presented legislative leaders with a difficult choice. They could either be with Amorello, a former state senator, or they could be with the governor.

Shortly after 3 p.m., Senate President Robert Travaglini and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi held a press conference to announce that they were willing to give Romney the authority he sought.

Although they stressed that Amorello wasn't to blame for Monday night's deadly tunnel ceiling collapse, both also made it clear that the time had come for the turnpike chairman to relinquish his post.

``I agree that he should step aside" as chairman, but stay on the turnpike board to help with the investigation, DiMasi said. The Senate president took refuge in Trav-speak -- ``He should give serious consideration to modifying his position in the structure" -- but his message was unmistakable.

Unmistakable to everyone except Amorello, that is.

Behind the scenes, a good deal more had happened, according to knowledgeable sources. In their talks with the governor, legislative leaders are said to have conceded that Amorello should go, but insisted that he not be humiliated. Romney agreed that if Amorello stepped aside as chairman, he would let him stay on the turnpike board -- and keep his $223,000 salary -- until June 30, 2007, when his term expires. Legislative leaders are said to have conveyed to Amorello that he should accept that arrangement, warning that his support in the Legislature had been badly eroded.

But by the time of their midafternoon press conference, Travaglini and DiMasi still hadn't gotten word back from Amorello about his intentions. The public learned his response several hours later, when the chairman repeatedly insisted he would not quit.

Certainly Amorello's status as a former state senator popular on Beacon Hill has sustained him in the past, helping him to stave off attempts by Romney to remove him. And even among those who have publicly called for him to go, there's a strong feeling that he should not be saddled with the blame for Monday's tragedy. As Steven Baddour, Senate chairman of the Legislature's Transportation Committee, notes, there is one entity that has been involved with this project from the very beginning, and that's Bechtel.

But as yesterday's events made clear, Amorello can't depend on the Legislature any longer. That was only possible when his battle with Romney was a behind-the-scenes political story of the sort interesting to insiders but boring to the public.

All that ended Monday night, when repeated allegations of problems with the Big Dig took on a deadly reality. At that moment, the narrative shifted from a battle over political control to a pressing story about public safety.

In such a situation, the governor is perforce the most powerful and important actor.

Politics aside, Romney's fundamental point is right -- and DiMasi and Travaglini were smart to recognize it.

For all of Amorello's talk about his commitment to public safety, for all his assertions of cooperation, for all of the briefings he offers, the public simply can't and won't have any confidence in the safety of the Big Dig without a change in leadership.

Although he shouldn't be made a scapegoat, restoring confidence in the project dictates new leadership. Apparently the only one who hasn't yet accepted that reality is Matt Amorello himself.

Scot Lehigh's e-mail address is lehigh@globe.com.