Delaware Liberal

Legislators expressed shock, shock, at how bad things are over at DELDOT. Might I point out to them that, until now, there have been two types of DELDOT secretaries dating all the way back to the creation of the Department? You've got your wheeler-dealers like Kermit Justice and Nathan Hayward, and you've got your Ann Canbys, who tried to reform the culture, but realized that the long-time powers within the Department could simply wait you out. Legislators have known just how slick many of the inside DELDOT players have been since the beginning, but it was to their advantage to play ball with them b/c favorable attention from DELDOT was Incumbency Protection of the highest order. Their potholes were filled, their sidewalks got done, their streets got paved...all before Election Day. They had no skin in the game to reform the system b/c they were often the beneficiaries. Dropped right into the middle of this culture is Shailen Bhatt, who Governor Markell appointed to lead the Department out of the Dark Ages. Bhatt is doing just that, as is chronicled in this 'password-protected' News-Journal story.