Alan Sagner

On January 3, 1975, Governor-elect Brendan Byrne appointed Sagner to serve in his cabinet as the New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation. In his announcement, Byrne stressed that while Sagner lacked transportation experience, he had strong administrative abilities. He named Manuel Carballo, a former assistant counsel to Governor Hughes and the Acting Highway Commissioner under New York City Mayor John Lindsay, as the Deputy Commissioner.[10]

In 1975, the executive board of the New Jersey AFL-CIO called for Sagner's resignation amidst a bitter dispute between organized labor over Sagner's unsuccessful efforts to obtain federal highway construction funds.[11] A month later, Sagner acknowledged that John Nero, a Camden County Democratic leader, had offered $25,000 to the 1973 Byrne campaign in exchange for appointment as the head of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. Sagner told investigators looking into corruption allegations that he turned Nero down.[12]

Sagner resigned as Commissioner of Transportation in June 1977 to become the Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. His appointment marked the resolution of a conflict between Byrne and New York Governor Hugh Carey over control of the bi-state transportation agency. Sagner's predecessor, Dr. William J. Ronan, had been widely criticized for frequent international travel at Port Authority expense.[13] The New Jersey State Senate confirmed his nomination by a vote of 38–1 on January 21, 1974. Anthony Imperiale, a Newark independent, was the only Senator to oppose Sagner.[14] Sagner remained as Chairman after Republican Thomas Kean was elected Governor in 1981. He stepped down in 1985 when Kean named Philip Kaltenbacher as Port Authority Chairman.[15] When Kean ran for re-election in 1985, Sagner backed Democrat Peter Shapiro, who had begun his political career as an aide at the state Department of Transportation in 1974.[16]

President Bill Clinton nominated Sagner to serve on the Board of Director of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on March 8, 1994.[17] On May 10, 1994, the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation met to consider Sagner's nomination. Sagner's nomination initially faced opposition from Senate Republicans, who criticized his ownership of The Nation, a magazine with a liberal political philosophy, and Senator John McCain questioned his involvement as a founder of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in 1960. McCain also questioned Sagner's experience in public broadcasting issues and viewed him as a political appointee who would continue when McCain and Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole called a liberal bias in political reporting.[18]

After a five-month battle, he was eventually confirmed by the Senate.[19]

Sagner served as Chairman of the CPB from 1996 to 1997.