Senate Majority Leader: Negotiations continuing on other NJ Transit board seats

Trenton – Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) today lauded the nomination of former Senator and current Board of Public Utilities Commissioner Bob Gordon to serve on the New Jersey Transit Board of Directors.

“Bob Gordon brings the unquestioned expertise, independence and integrity to a New Jersey Transit Board that needs those qualities now more than ever,” said Senator Weinberg. “As chairman of the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee, he led the investigation into mismanagement, underfunding and patronage abuses following the fatal Hoboken derailment in 2016.

“He will bring to the post not only a deep understanding of the ongoing problems at NJ Transit, but also of how NJ Transit fits into our regional transportation network,” she said. “He was also my closest ally in our successful fight to push the Port Authority Board to fund construction of an expanded Port Authority Bus Terminal for the growing numbers of NJ Transit bus commuters.”

Senators Weinberg and Gordon were the original sponsors of S-630, the NJ Transit reform bill signed into law last December that expanded the NJ Transit Board from seven to 13 and required the appointment of board members with strong expertise.

Senator Weinberg said she expected the Gordon nomination to move through the Senate Monday, along with those of Cedrick Fulton, former Director of Bridges, Terminals and Tunnels for the Port Authority, and Richard Maroko, General Counsel for the Hotel Trades Counsel, AFL-CIO.

She praised Fulton, one of the highest-ranking African-American officials ever to serve at the Port Authority, as “a fine nominee who will bring needed experience and perspective on major capital projects and operations to the board.”

Senator Weinberg said she is continuing to negotiate with the Administration to ensure that one of the three remaining board seats also goes to “a nominee with broad expertise on NJ Transit issues who can immediately help to turn around the nation’s third largest transit agency.”