Can someone please tell Peter Alviti that public servants don’t get to write their own legacy press releases — especially after a failure this big?
Accountability should outrank autobiography.
Alviti announced this week that he’s calling it quits as Rhode Island’s transportation director following incessant criticism for his handling of the closing of the westbound side of the Washington Bridge two years ago.
He swears he wasn’t pushed out of a job by Governor Dan McKee, and that his retirement has nothing to do with the Washington Bridge. But people leaving a job under ordinary circumstances don’t usually feel the need to stress — repeatedly — that they weren’t fired.
“Let me be absolutely clear so there is no misunderstanding about this decision,” he said in a statement. “I am leaving on my own terms — plain and simple.”
In the same statement, he continued: “To be clear, I was not fired, nor was I asked to resign. This decision has nothing to do with the Washington Bridge.”
Got it.
A defiant Alviti sounded off in his weekly radio segment on WPRO Thursday morning, acknowledging that criticism from “political hacks” convinced him and his wife “that I am not going to be used as a political pawn during this vicious election cycle that we’re heading into.”
He was talking about this year’s race for governor, where the Washington Bridge is going to be the central issue on the minds of voters. McKee’s Democratic primary opponent, Helena Foulkes kicked off her campaign last year by announcing she’d fire Alviti on her first day in office.
In fairness to Alviti, he’s 75. He’s been on the job for nearly 11 years. It must be profoundly depressing to know that thousands of impatient Rhode Islanders are cursing your name every time they see the digital signs near the bridge, “Thanks for your patience while we keep you safe.”
Alviti and McKee have long maintained that this entire debacle could have been much worse, and they’re right. Rhode Islanders ought to be grateful no one was killed. But the standard for managing a major interstate bridge is higher than simply avoiding catastrophe. Avoiding tragedy is the floor, not the ceiling.
Over the last two years, Alviti repeatedly dropped the ball on everything from repair timelines to cost estimates. During a legislative oversight hearing in November, he couldn’t remember the name of the transportation department employee who handles the state’s entire bridge inspection program.
As a reminder, not a single person in state government was fired — or even reprimanded — for the Washington Bridge fiasco. The state is suing 13 companies officials blame for failing to catch problems with the bridge, but the state is still doing business with most of them on other bridges.
And now Alviti is acting like he deserves a retirement party on his way out the door.
In his statement, he touted all the progress that his department has made, from freshly paved roads to repaired bridges. He said “even listening to callers on the radio asking about a pothole or traffic light and being able to solve the problem reminded me that I was doing what I do best. I fix things.”
Define “fix.”
Because he can’t help himself, he also closed with a parting shot at his critics.
“Rest assured, I will be paying close attention between now and August to everything that is said publicly about this,” he said. “If anyone lies or misrepresents the facts for personal gain, they will hear from me — forcefully.”
So much for a graceful exit.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.