From Liz Essley in yesterday’s Washington Examiner:

The day after Mame Reiley resigned for health reasons from the airports authority overseeing the $6 billion Dulles Rail project, the authority quietly created a full-time job for her as a “senior adviser” to authority CEO Jack Potter and agreed to pay her $180,000 a year. …

Reiley, a longtime Democratic activist from Virginia, left the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on Feb. 15 after serving 10 years as the state’s representative. The next day the authority, which recently drew a rebuke from federal investigators for wasteful spending and questionable contracting practices, hired Reiley to consult with it on issues she helped oversee as a board member, authority officials said.

Reily, who is fighting cancer, had been donating between 75 to 100 hours per month to MWAA. When she she could no longer afford the volunteer time, airport officials suggested that she become a full-time employee. Potter defended the decision, citing her “invaluable” skills, professional contacts and institutional knowledge.

Well, at least you can’t say Virginia isn’t changing with the times. MWAA isn’t an old boy’s club anymore. It’s an old boy’s and girl’s club.

— JAB