Senators confirm NJ's Port Authority nominees, hoping to send 'strong message' to NY

New Jersey state senators on the Judiciary Committee wanted to get on-the-record answers about one question from all three nominees being confirmed to the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: Do you support the board's current chairman, Kevin O'Toole?

It was the only pointed question the nominees — J. Christian Bollwage, the mayor of Elizabeth; George Helmy, Gov. Phil Murphy's chief of staff; and Joe Kelley, Murphy's deputy chief of staff for economic growth issues — received from the panel of senators Monday.

"We know in the past, the Port Authority had a not-so-easy go of it, and now things have seemed to settle down," said state Sen. Anthony Bucco, R-Morris. "The leadership there is doing a phenomenal job, and I appreciate the fact that you recognize that and will support that leadership going forward."

Without saying it, Bucco appeared to be referring to the embarrassing scandal of the last administration, in which several people associated with Gov. Chris Christie concocted a scheme at the bistate agency to shut down traffic lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge to punish the mayor of Fort Lee, who didn't support Christie.

Ten years after that scandal unfolded, order appears to have been restored at the Port Authority under the leadership of O'Toole, a Republican and former New Jersey senator who joined the agency in 2017 and has forged a strong, collaborative relationship with the agency's executive director, Rick Cotton. Both O'Toole and Cotton have stayed on in their positions despite gubernatorial turnover.

That harmony hasn't always been the case, as the agency is overseen by a board of commissioners representative of both New York and New Jersey who make decisions about what projects and issues are prioritized within the agency's $2.9 billion capital program for the region's largest airports, a web of tunnels and bridges, the world's busiest bus terminal, and the country's busiest ports.

This is a critical time for the agency, as projects had to be cut, delayed or dialed back in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bollwage, Helmy and Kelley each told the committee they support O'Toole staying on as chairman. In response they got unanimous support from the Senate Judiciary Committee and later Monday were unanimously approved by the full Senate.

The three names were added to the committee's agenda over the weekend, with little time for the public to weigh in or appear before the committee's meeting on Monday. Their confirmation comes just three weeks after Murphy submitted their names for Senate consideration, in stark contrast to nominees for other agency boards and committees, who sometimes wait months or years for confirmation.

Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen, said during Helmy's confirmation that he hopes the actions are sending a "strong message" to New York.

"New Jersey is putting a lot of power behind — the Legislature, the governor’s office — to allow [Helmy] to team up with Chairman O’Toole and move forward," Sarlo said. "It sends a strong message to New York that New Jersey is taking the Port Authority serious on all the future infrastructure funding."

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Helmy, who lives in Mountain Lakes, said the start of his career in government began in former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg's office, where he first worked as an aide.

"I became immersed and passionate about the web of roads and bridges and seaports and airports that connect all of our lives and move people and products around the state and around the nation, and the economic impact and the impact on the lives, the efficiency or the lack thereof those systems can have," Helmy told the committee.

Port plays integral role in NJ economy

Kelley, who lives in Hoboken, told the committee his role in the governor's office has laid the groundwork for a role at the Port Authority.

The job, he said, "has made me acutely aware of the integral role transportation, logistics, international commerce play in New Jersey’s economy. In fact, when we pitched New Jersey for companies around the world that are looking to make New Jersey home, it’s the Port's assets — such as Newark Airport, the Port of Newark and Elizabeth or the PATH train — that draws so many corporate relocation decisions."

No questions were publicly asked of Helmy or Kelley about their roles in an administration that was accused of fostering a hostile and misogynistic environment. Kelley was investigated in 2017 after accusations surfaced that he threw a chair in anger in the presence of a female campaign staffer.

Sen. Nellie Pou, D-Passaic, supported all the nominees, but asked Helmy to report back to Murphy that "we definitely need to have more diversity on this board and all other high-profile boards" when it comes to both race and gender representation. Both Kelley and Bollwage are white men; Helmy is Arab American.

Bollwage said he would bring to the board his experience both working for a company at the ports and as the mayor of Elizabeth, where several Port Authority properties are located, including part of Newark Liberty International Airport, the ports and the Goethals Bridge.

Sen. Jon Bramnick, R-Union, told Bollwage, "We're very lucky to have someone like you" on this board.

"I always think it’s important to have a mayor who deals with constituent issues on a regular basis to be on a board such as the Port Authority, because the most important issue is addressing individual problems, individual concerns, and sometimes I think we get away from that," Bramnick said.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Port Authority nominees confirmed in 'message' to NY