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Christie makes few changes to DRPA board

For the first time in his seven years in Trenton, Gov. Christie appointed board members to the Delaware River Port Authority. For the most part, the faces at the DRPA board's table won't be changing.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has mostly followed the status quo with the reappointment of most of the board members on the DRPA.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has mostly followed the status quo with the reappointment of most of the board members on the DRPA.Read moreAP

For the first time during his seven years in Trenton, Gov. Christie appointed board members to the Delaware River Port Authority.

For the most part, the faces at the DRPA board's table won't be changing.

On Tuesday, the New Jersey governor announced eight appointments to the board of commissioners for five-year terms, according to his office. Named for reappointment are Albert Frattali, of Sewell; Ricardo V. Taylor Jr., of Pennsauken; Charles Fentress, of West Deptford; Frank DiAntonio, of Pedricktown; Jeffrey Nash, of Cherry Hill; and Richard Sweeney, of Evesham.

The two new appointees are Daniel Christy, of Sewell, and Bruce D. Garganio, of Florence. Christy is a Gloucester County freeholder and Garganio is the freeholder director in Burlington County. They are replacing Denise Mason and Tamarisk Jones.

The DRPA's 16-member board is equally made up of representatives from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The bistate agency administers the Ben Franklin, Walt Whitman, Betsy Ross, and Commodore Barry Bridges, along with PATCO, which provides public transit over the Delaware River.

Seven years ago, Christie was highly critical of the DRPA after reports of dubious development projects it funded. But although he had the ability to remake the board, Christie instead largely allowed the status quo to remain. The board members the Republican governor reappointed were all placed there by his predecessor, Democrat Jon Corzine.

Christie's nominees will be subject to a review and public hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Those released by the committee must be approved by the full Senate.