Breaking News: Gov. Markell Nominates New DELDOT Secretary
The Governor’s Office just released the following press release:
Governor Jack Markell has announced he is nominating U.S. Department of Transportation official Shailen Bhatt (pronounced “SHAY-linn BAT”) to become Delaware’s next Secretary of the Department of Transportation.
Bhatt has experience working on local, state and federal transportation issues and is currently serving as Associate Administrator at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in Washington, DC. For the last two years, he has been responsible for setting policy and managing relationships with members of Congress and has been leading FHWA’s efforts in reauthorizing the nation’s surface transportation legislation.
“Shailen offers energy, experience and leadership,” said Governor Markell. “Transportation plays a critical role in the daily lives of Delawareans. We face significant challenges in transportation. It was important for us to find someone with strong leadership skills ready to take on those challenges. Shailen offers us local, state and federal level experience. The job demands someone of his caliber.”
“I appreciate the confidence Governor Markell has placed in me by nominating me for this important position,” said Mr. Bhatt. “The challenges facing the Delaware Department of Transportation are real, but so too are the opportunities. If I have the honor to be confirmed by the Senate, I will work tirelessly on behalf of the people of Delaware. We will work to help DelDOT reach its full potential. I look forward to meeting Delaware Senators in the days ahead and, if confirmed by the Senate, to spending time with other elected officials, DelDOT employees, civic and business leaders and the transportation community and doing a lot of listening.”
The Federal Highway Administration is an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Through the Federal Aid Highway Program, the FHWA supports State and local governments in the design, construction, and maintenance of the nation’s highway system. Bhatt played a key role in establishing the Federal Highway Administration’s signature initiative on accelerated project delivery, called Every Day Counts (EDC).
Before joining FHWA, Bhatt served as a Deputy Executive Director with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) where he was responsible for advancing transportation projects and addressing regional transportation needs. During his time at KYTC, he helped oversee a record construction letting period for the state. Prior to that, he was Director of the Bowling Green/Warren County Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Bhatt is on the advisory committee of the State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI) and formerly served as a board member for Preservation Kentucky and the Bowling Green/Warren County Regional Airport. Bhatt currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Neelam.
Tags: Gov. Markell; DELDOT
Conveniently the article forgets to mention that Mr. Bhatt was a Field Director for “Obama for America” in 2008.
Says it right here on his LinkedIn page: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/shailen-bhatt/23/2a3/9b2
Gov. Markell, would it have been so hard to find someone without the direct taint of partisan politics to help fix the troubled department? Or is everything a quid pro quo for the future to you?
pikathlete – the only question of import is “Is the candidate well suited for the position?” Should someone of good experience be eliminated from consideration because they worked (successfully) on an election campaign? If you are unable to provide an objection based upon his relevant experience, then give it up.
Right, ‘pik’, God forbid that the new DELDOT secretary share the same transportation priorities as the Governor and the President.
What a bullshit complaint by pikathlete. First off, assuming he or she is a Republican, I am sure he or she has no problems whatsoever of having someone who worked on the McCain-Palin campaign or the Bush-Cheney campaigns being appointed to a government position. So that makes him or her a flaming hypocrite.
Second, the people who care about policy issues tend to work on political campaigns so that can see their preferred policies enacted. They get directly involved in getting the right people elected to office, and often that requires working on a campaign.
That is noble. It is not tainted.
People who are not “tainted” by partisan politics tend not to care about the enactment of certain policies. And you want the Governor to appoint someone who could give a shit to fix problems. Yeah, smart plan that is. /sarcasm
DD careful or you are going to have an early stroke: pikathlete is just your basic asshole. Stay calm I need you for the next time I want to piss you off:)
Pikathlete is the nom de plume for Kermit Justice, who got his job because he was an engineer and visionary.
If my name was KERMIT I’d use a “nom de plume” too.
I remember him.
The muppets one might have been named after him.
BTW, wasn’t he indicted and convicted of some double-dealings?
He also seemed to have a thing for pigs.
Another one in desperate need of a nose ring.
Both he AND his son did jail time. But not in the same cell. Sr. got caught in an FBI sting for taking a bribe. Jr. got his sense of entitlement from Sr.
Although I wouldn’t be shocked if Kermit Jr. (yup, that’s right) shared a cell with Ron Aiello, one of New Castle County’s most corrupt.
Pikathlete: How does Jack Markell benefit by this hiring vis a vis the Obama campaign? Bhatt was a regional director. You think those guys rank high on the spoils jobs list? If he did, wouldn’t he have had a flashier job than FWHA Associate Administrator? Not even a full administrator, for cripes sake.
So basically you’re saying that Markell hired him to suck up to Obama. By that measure, I’d say it’s a failure. Oh, well. I guess we’ll just have to judge him by the job he does. How sad for you.
As semi-political appointments go, I’ll take this guy over DeLuca any day of the week. He clears knows and cares about the issues he’s been appointed to address.
JPCJr…. Bordering on a stroke is my default position. LOL. Still here after all these years.
He sounds like a good guy.
so DD I will lay off a bit…. wondering though did VP Joe ask if Bhat was going to sell his Dunkin Donut stores?
I’m extremely disappointed by this pick. Yes, he looks like a good guy with lots of policy experience, but is that what DelDOT needs? Look at his work record – he hasn’t worked in one place more than 2.5 years. It takes well longer than that to see a transportation project from start to finish, let alone understand how an organization works, and then to understand how to work the organization. Does he have any experience managing hundreds of people and projects, at once? Does he have any experience fixing broken organizations? This is not the guy DelDOT needs. Just as O’Mara wasn’t the guy DNREC needed. I predict a string of rookie management moves (a reorganization! Yeah, that will fix it!) that creates more, not less, dysfunction within DelDOT. I know a lot of great people who work for DelDOT, and today, I am sad and concerned for them.
“This is not the guy DelDOT needs. Just as O’Mara wasn’t the guy DNREC needed.”
You really are a concern troll, aren’t you? O’Mara has gotten generally good reviews.
Your criteria for the job are unreasonable. Curious that you know “a lot of great people who work for DelDOT,” and they haven’t been able to prevent the dysfunction. You’re asking for Superman, not a DelDOT secretary.
The comments by anon and pikathlete make me love this guy.
You know what would be nice? A passenger rail from upstate to downstate. Could use existing rail lines that already go to all major towns and the beach areas. Could help reduce congestion and multi-million dollar Rt 1 expansions in the future.
Less tourists on the roads is good for all involved. Happy Memorial Day!
You know what would be nice? A matter transporter safe for humans and cheap enough to fit in any family budget.Could use theoretical wormholes that already exist.Could turn Rte.#1 into a bike path.
You’re supposed to be somber on MEMORIAL DAY, Bri.
Somber? Just as somber as every other mofo grillin and chillin this weekend without a thought in the world to our troops dying for a pointless bullshit manufactured war.
hmm couldn’t manage somber or sober…
and quit whining about Libya.
Hopefully, those of you who are more knowledgable about this process can answer some of my procedure-type questions.
Which senate committee will question Mr. Bhatt? When will that happen?
Is the senate currently in recess? When will the full senate likely vote on the nomination?
Gee Brian, with your unique and complete grasp of geopolitical dynamics it is truly a wonder we live through these troubled times.
Brian – Those rail lines are owned & already used by commercial freight lines, though infrequently. I’ve heard that it would take a mint to get the freight companies to hand them over for other purposes. That’s a non-starter.
Passenger rail will only come to southern Delaware when Joe leaves the Naval Observatory and retires to Rehoboth. Then, magically, there will be money for a new Acela line from Wilmington.
Nominations are considered by the Senate Executive Committee once the committee receives the official nomination and paperwork from the Governor. The Executive Committee is generally comprised of the members of Senate leadership.
Since it’s such an important nomination, I’m not sure how quickly the committee will move, but the nomination will almost certainly be considered before adjournment at the end of June.
Once the nomination clears committee, the entire Senate can vote on the nomination. My guess? Mid-June.