New DelDOT Chief Confirmed

The state Senate on Wednesday confirmed Gov. Jack Markell's nominee to manage Delaware's transportation agency -- Shailen Bhatt, a 35-year-old native of Ontario, Canada, who now works as an associate administrator with the Federal Highway Administration.

Bhatt, now a U.S. citizen, said he will wrap up his work at the federal agency in a few weeks. No date has been set for his swearing-in ceremony.

In testimony Wednesday before the Senate Executive Committee, Bhatt said his management style would be marked by transparency, ethics, efficiency, accountability and managed performance.

Markell chose an outsider for the job of restoring credibility to an agency rocked by controversy over questionable land deals recently uncovered by The News Journal and by concern over its financial future.

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