Auditor General DePasquale Appoints Alternate to Delaware River Port Authority Board of Commissioners

April 10 2014

Auditor General DePasquale Appoints Alternate to Delaware River Port Authority Board of Commissioners

HARRISBURG (April 10, 2014) – Auditor General Eugene DePasquale today announced the appointment of former Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) commissioner John J. Dougherty Jr. as his designated alternate to the bi-state authority.

“This authority exists to provide safe, reliable transportation for thousands of people to get to work, recreation and entertainment every day,” DePasquale said. “I want to ensure that the authority is operating as efficiently and effectively as possible with the fares riders pay.

“During his previous service on the DRPA board, Dougherty helped initiate internal reforms that still need to be fully implemented. His knowledge of the authority and the region will be invaluable as we look to implement additional reform measures to keep the trains, elevators and escalators working for the riders,” DePasquale said.

“I appreciate the auditor general’s confidence in me for this important, short-term appointment,” said Dougherty who is the business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 98. “As a former DRPA commissioner, I am well acquainted with the problems and opportunities at the DRPA. I was proud to have led the fight against increases in the bridge tolls and to have been the catalyst for many of the reform measures that are currently being implemented at the authority. This appointment makes sense because Auditor General DePasquale and I share the same core values and the same desire to ensure reforms are implemented to improve the DRPA going forward.”

The Pennsylvania auditor general is one of 16 individuals — eight each from Pennsylvania and New Jersey — who serve on the DRPA Board of Commissioners. Dougherty will attend meetings and cast votes when DePasquale is unavailable.

The DRPA is a regional transportation agency serving the people of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey. With an annual operating budget of approximately $300 million and 860 employees, DRPA owns and operates the Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry, and Betsy Ross bridges. Through a subsidiary, the Port Authority Transit Corp., DRPA runs PATCO (Port Authority Transit Corporation) and also owns the RiverLink Ferry.

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