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Road board still broken

The Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority did the right thing Monday by firing a lobbyist who came to epitomize the agency's freewheeling ways. But the move does not, as the board chairman boasted, mark "a new day with new opportunities." This is still the same agency that resisted reforming its ethics and business practices, downplayed concerns for months from the governor on down and embraced openness as a last-minute gambit to survive.

John Beck was not the main problem. Though he amassed too much power for a contracted employee, that blame falls to the expressway agency, which was content making him the go-to guy for major transportation projects. Removing Beck was only one of 13 moves the state auditor general called for last year to make the agency more accountable. While board chairman James Hargrett described Monday's action in dramatic terms - "Today we turn a page" - the underlying concern by the auditor was not Beck per se but the extent to which the agency conducted public business in private.

Monday's firing, in that sense, does little to instill much confidence. The 5-0 vote ousting Beck amounts to a board reversal and came, as typical, after little public discussion. If a board that lauds Beck's credentials can dump him for political expedience, what does that say about its ability to effectively deal with two bigger controversies, the proposed New Tampa toll road and a beltway connecting Manatee, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties?

This sudden regard for openness is too late and self-serving. State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, filed a bill Monday to abolish the authority and roll its responsibilities under a new regional transportation agency. That focus is worth more effort than salvaging a troubled and antiquated road board bent on empire-building. The authority has more work to do getting its house in shape. In the meantime, lawmakers should look to replace it with an agency better attuned to meeting the modern transportation challenges of Tampa Bay.

[Last modified January 12, 2007, 22:45:36]