Jersey Leanings A Factor in PA Head's Ouster

By RICHARD STEIER

The ouster of Port Authority Executive Director Anthony Shorris by Governor Paterson April 17 was spurred partly by the wide disparity in the number of New Jersey officials he appointed to top posts compared to New Yorkers, according to one veteran government official.

ANTHONY SHORRIS: A Jersey bounce?

Officially and unofficially, the Paterson administration denied that it was displeased with Mr. Shorris's performance, although the new Governor a week earlier had criticized the slow pace of rebuilding at the World Trade Center site. One senior aide said it was simply a matter of Mr. Paterson wanting his own appointee in the job.

Cites Achievements

In a statement following Mr. Shorris's resignation, Mr. Paterson credited him for having "made substantial strides at Ground Zero, with real progress throughout the site, including the raising of steel for the Freedom Tower." He also said Mr. Shorris "made smart investments in mass transit and devised creative sustainability measures" and played a key role in the acquisition of Stewart Airport.

But the veteran official, who spoke on condition that he not be identified, said that privately it had been concluded that Mr. Shorris, who was appointed to the job by former Governor Eliot Spitzer early last year after a four-year stint as the PA's First Deputy Executive Director in the early 1990s, "couldn't get done what had to be done."

Referring to the Governor and his top aides by their location in Albany's Capital Building, this official said, "The second floor is disturbed by the number of New Jerseyans Tony put in," including the officials presiding over the Trade Center rebuilding and the Port Authority Bus Terminal project.

15 of 20 From Jersey

Among the 20 top officials of the PA - which is jointly operated by New York and New Jersey - just five, including Mr. Shorris, were New Yorkers.

The Governor of New Jersey has traditionally been given the power to choose the PA Chairman while New York's Governor designates the agency's Executive Director.

"Plus," the official said, "a lot of elected officials had problems with him - including Rangel and Nadler," referring to two of the city's senior U.S. Representatives, Charles B. Rangel and Jerrold Nadler.

Mr. Shorris is a veteran government administrator, having served as Finance Commissioner under former Mayor Ed Koch and during the Bloomberg administration as Deputy Chancellor for Operations and Policy.

Gus Danese, the president of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, said he believed that to some extent the ouster was "political," but, referring to the extent of the development at the Trade Center site, he added, "It's basically a hole in the ground."