Grabauskas Isn't Going Anywhere

At the moment, it isn't clear that the fatal trolley accident that killed Green Line driver Terrese Edmonds had anything to do with MBTA manager Dan Grabauskas. But the spotlight is on him after so many ugly Green Line incidents, producing an article from the Herald's Dave Wedge indicating that, if Governor Deval Patrick decided he wanted to replace Grabauskas--and he might--it wouldn't be easy:

For one, Grabauskas has a contract with two years left, meaning Patrick would have to either approve a costly buyout or promote him to another high-paying position, much like he recently did with former Registry of Motor Vehicles boss Anne Collins. Also, Grabauskas, an openly gay Republican, has a long track record as an efficient reformer from his work as boss of the Registry.

We're not sure what the fact that Grabauskas is a gay Republican has to do with anything, since that's his own business, although one doesn't see the words "openly," "gay" and "Republican" together very often. It's also a little weird to see the word "Republican" and the word "Massachusetts" in the same article now that Romney's gone.

But the main issue is that anyone calling for a T management shakeup might be shouting into the void. However, what is puzzling is that Grabauskas hasn't resigned. While many people have called for his head, being the general manager of the T seems like one of the worst jobs on earth.