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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT:
July 27, 2006 Eric Fehrnstrom
(617) 725-4025

STATEMENT OF GOVERNOR ROMNEY
ON CHAIRMAN AMORELLO?S RESIGNATION


Today I received the resignation of Matthew Amorello as Chairman and member of the board at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

I want to express my appreciation to Matt Amorello for voluntarily stepping down. His resignation will allow us to avoid a costly and protracted legal effort to remove him, and allow the Turnpike Authority to move forward through this challenging period with the confidence of the public.

As I?ve said in the past, I?m not here to assign blame for what happened with the fatal ceiling collapse on July 10th. But that tragic event made it abundantly clear that business-as-usual at the Turnpike Authority had to change.

A new era of reform and accountability has begun. Patronage will be replaced by professionalism, and secrecy will be replaced by openness.
The next chairman will be someone with the requisite experience and qualifications to run a large complex enterprise. It will not be a slot for someone looking to cash in on political connections.

There is a lot more to be done. First and foremost, we need to ensure that the Big Dig tunnel system is safe. But today represents a crucial turning point.