Nov
11
Where have you gone, Dale Hemmerdinger?
ByOn Oct. 5, Jay Walder assumed his role as the current CEO and Chairman of the MTA, and upon his arrival, outgoing chair Dale Hemmerdinger returned to his real estate roots. Hemmerdinger, a major player in New York State’s Democratic party, was not out of a public role for long though. As The Observer reported a few weeks ago, Hemmerdinger was nominated to the Port Authority board in mid-October by Gov. David Paterson. Even more so than the MTA Board, the Port Authority’s board has become a dumping ground for what reporter Eliot Brown termed “many a campaign donor, budding politicians in search of a placeholder, and onetime political heavyweights who have passed their peaks.” Political patronage lives on in New York.
Is this a paid position? If I recall, his old job was not. If so, good for him…
Technically, I should have called it political cronyism. It’s not a paid position.
I wasn’t critiquing your choice of words (patronage versus cronyism) — I didn’t even pick up on that. Was just wondering if being relieved of his duties at MTA turned out to be good for him.