Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Board of Commissioners unanimously re-elects executive leadership

At its December meeting, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Board of Commissioners held its annual election of officers, unanimously re-electing its chairman, Kevin O’Toole; vice-chairman, Jeffrey H. Lynford, and executive director, Rick Cotton.

The Board also unanimously re-elected all other incumbent officers of the Port Authority, which pursuant to the agency’s by-laws include the roles of secretary, general counsel, chief financial officer, comptroller and treasurer. The individuals who were re-elected last week to those roles are listed below:

• James E. McCoy, secretary

• Amy H. Fisher, general counsel

• Elizabeth M. McCarthy, chief financial officer

• Daniel G. McCarron, comptroller

• Sherien N. Khella, treasurer

Chairman O'Toole joined the Port Authority Board in July 2017, resigning his state Senate seat from Essex County, New Jersey, in order to accept the Port Authority post. He was first elected as the 20^th chairman of the agency’s Board of Directors in August 2017. In addition to his services to the agency, he is a founding and managing partner of O'Toole Scrivo, a law practice encompassing toxic tort, environmental law, risk management, class actions, complex litigation, and corporate investigations.  A career public servant, he has served at both the local and state level in New Jersey. He has served on the Cedar Grove Town Council and as mayor. He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly four times and was elected to the State Senate three times.  He left his Senate seat on July 1, 2017, to begin his term as a commissioner on the Port Authority Board. He received a B.A. and a J.D. from Seton Hall University.

Vice Chairman Lynford was appointed to the Board of Commissioners in June 2011 and reappointed in 2013. He was first elected vice chairman of the board on July 20, 2017. He currently serves as President and CEO of Educational Housing Services Inc., the leading not-for-profit New York City organization that provides safe and affordable housing for college students and interns since 1987. He was the co-founder of the Wellsford group of public and private real estate companies. His public service includes two previous gubernatorial appointments to the New York State Council on the Arts and to the Trust for Governors Island, and previously served on the boards of New York University and the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the State University of New York at Buffalo, a master’s degree in public affairs from the Princeton School of International and Public Affairs, and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.

Rick Cotton joined the Port Authority as executive director in August 2017. He previously served as New York state’s special counsellor for interagency initiatives, serving as the point person for most of the governor's major downstate infrastructure priorities such as the redevelopment of LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International airports. Prior to his public service, he spent 25 years at NBC Universal where he held several positions, including 20 years as EVP and general counsel and four years as president and managing director of CNBC Europe. He also served in senior advisory roles at the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare and the U.S. Department of Energy. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School, and he served as a law clerk to Justice William J. Brennan Jr. on the U.S. Supreme Court.