Mame Reiley, a professional political activist who supports liberal Democratic causes in Virginia, recently resigned from the board of directors of the Washington Metropolitan Airport Authority (WMAA), the entity that is extending Metrorail to the Dulles Airport. Immediately upon resigning, the authority hired her as an “advisor” and will pay her $180,000 a year.
Since she supposedly resigned from the board for health reasons, the Antiplanner has to wonder if she is really worth $180,000 a year. Is this her reward for helping plan the WMAA’s political campaigns to finance the insanely expensive rail line? Or does the authority expect to tap into her expertise as it negotiates the final pieces of funding for the project?
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In any case, expensive projects such as airports and rail lines attract political attention because of their potential to provide cushy jobs for their political supporters. The Washington Examiner identifies four other authority board members who received contracts ranging from $42,000 to nearly $1 million from the authority. While most would call this a conflict of interest, to some it is merely politics as usual.
“While most would call this a conflict of interest, to some it is merely politics as usual.”
Yes and yes?
Cushy jobs for supporters (see: military consultants, transportation consultants, etc.), industries regulating themselves, politicians trading on the inside, Super PACs (not coordinating with campaigns? Ha!), former CEO’s of Goldman-Sachs becoming the Secretary of the Treasury, no-bid government contracts going out to companies that politicians have a massive stake in, etc, etc, etc.
Conflict of Interest = Politics as usual.
Being a board member is a once month part time job. Being a $180,000 consultant should be more demanding, unless they are paying $10,000 per hour or more. Even a brain surgeon doesn’t make $10,000 per hour.
Washington Post editorial: The Washington airports authority’s costly mistakes
THE OVERSEERS of the Washington area’s main airports have made some dubious calls in the last few years, the common element of which is profligate spending for little or no benefit. Now comes word of another such episode — a payment of $200,000 made last year to an unsuccessful candidate for the top job at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. That outlay, and the decision to create a six-figure job for a member of the authority’s board of directors who stepped down for health reasons, can only leave those who rely on the agency’s judgment scratching their heads.