Pierce Homer, Keever, Moffatt & Nichol

Give this some thought. 

J.J. “Jeff” Keever resigns from the Virginia Port Authority two days after questions were raised about his lobbying efforts and if the Port Authority contracted with a lobbying firm.

A Daily Press report said that Federal Advocates Inc., a Washington lobbying firm, 

"Represented through Moffatt & Nichol, the Port of Virginia is a key national gateway for the movement of goods throughout the country and the fifth largest port in the United States," the website said.

Keever

Moffatt & Nichol, an engineering and transportation consultant, has contracted with the Port Authority for nearly two decades.

Pierce Homer, former Virginia Secretary of Transportation, (which oversees the VPA) joined Moffatt & Nichol in 2010.

Homer’s Linkedin profile lists his title as Transportation Director at Moffatt & Nichol. But his profile never mentions that he was Virginia’s Secretary of Transportation in the Warner, Kaine and McDonnell administrations.

Homer was in charge when the port was the target of bids by private companies to operate  the port, which Gov. Bob McDonnell, when he took over, nixed.

Homer 

In 2009, Homer gave an interview to Inside Business, a business publication owned by Landmark Media Enterprises LLC, also owner of The Virginian-Pilot.  In the interview, he explicitly explain his views of how transportation in Tidewater should be financed and which projects should take priority.

 What is the priority transportation project for Hampton Roads?

The realistic and affordable priority project for Hampton Roads is the Midtown Tunnel PPTA project.

How should it be funded?

It can be funded with a mix of tolls, private equity and public sector contributions as part of a public-private partnership.

 Keever was groomed to replace Bobby Bray, the former executive director of the Port Authority, in 2007.

But the VPA board, which was replaced by McDonnell in 2011, chose Jerry Bridges, who resigned last fall.

Keever was then relegated to senior deputy executive director of the VPA, the port authority’s second in command.  

His most recent title was senior deputy executive director, external affairs.