Swift special panel to review Massport

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff, 9/20/2001

Acting Governor Jane M. Swift will appoint a special panel to determine
whether to overhaul the management of the Massachusetts Port Authority,
saying the state has a duty after the Sept. 11 hijackings to rethink the way
it runs Logan International Airport.

''Airport operations will never be the same anywhere in America, and
certainly we have a moral responsibility at Logan to take that very
seriously, because of the tragic consequences of the security lapse at Logan
last week,'' Swift said yesterday.

The announcement comes as Swift tries to restore confidence in the operation
of the airport and her administration's oversight of it. The special
commission will be made up of aviation, transportation, and management
specialists and will examine, among other things, whether Massport should
alter its hiring policies. The agency has been criticized for favoring the
politically connected over those with expertise in aviation.

Administration sources said the commission's findings, expected in 45 days,
will greatly influence whether Massport executive director Virginia
Buckingham and her director of security, Joseph Lawless, remain in their
jobs.

The panel will also consider whether management of the airport should be
separated from management of the port of Boston. Massport has been heavily
involved in development around Boston Harbor, and runs piers and ship
terminals, in addition to Logan and two smaller airports in Worcester and
Bedford.

''It's a recognition that the world changed on September 11, and we should
look at all our structures, particularly those governing our airport,''
Swift told reporters.

Logan has faced intense scrutiny as investigators try to determine how
hijackers seized two planes departing Boston and crashed them into the World
Trade Center in New York. Massport has increased security at the airport,
but more changes are likely.

Yesterday, Swift said she would not make immediate personnel changes,
calling public clamor for a shakeup ''irresponsible.'' She said she wanted
to resist the urge to assign blame.

''Let's all accept responsibility that the world's changed,'' Swift said.
''The desire to scapegoat and assign blame does not bring back any of the
mothers or fathers or children who were lost. What it does do is appeal to
the worst of our instincts, not the best.''

The administration sources said Swift sent word to Buckingham through a top
aide yesterday that she sympathized with the pressure Buckingham faces
during the crisis, but offered no commitment that Buckingham would remain in
her position.

''The governor understands the anguish Ginny is facing,'' said one
administration source. ''She cares that Ginny go out with dignity, if she
has to go.''

Aides also say Swift is concerned about short-term stability at the airport,
and does not want to make major changes before her commission's
recommendations.

The commission will also study the safety of passengers and authority
workers, the operation of the authority-controlled bridges and port, and the
structure of the Massport board, which includes seven members, all of them
appointed by the governor.

Swift faces a delicate political situation in responding to the crisis.
Although Massport's reputation as a patronage haven is well documented, and
the agency could be a target for reform, Swift herself benefit ed from the
hiring policies there. In 1996, then-governor William F. Weld, a fellow
Republican, gave her an $80,000 job at the authority after she lost a
congressional race.

Yesterday, Swift's move to create the commission was well-received in the
Legislature, where any changes in the structure of Massport would need
approval.

''This is an appropriate first step to offering a long-term solution,'' said
state Representative Joseph C. Sullivan, a Braintree Democrat and House
chairman of the T ransportation Committee.

Sullivan also said Swift should refrain from any immediate personnel
changes.

''I think it is wise to have a bit of patience at this time,'' he said. ''It
is important that everyone be allowed to catch their breath.''

Philip Johnston, the chairman of the state Democratic Party, said Swift's
move ''makes sense ... The key is not to scapegoat Ginny Buckingham. I don't
know whether she should be replaced. But replacing a couple of managers at
the port authority is no solution to the problem.''

This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 9/20/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.
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