The MTA’s draft 2010-14 capital program is online, with all 231 pages available for public review and comment. Later this month, the capital program will be presented to the MTA board in a meeting that is open to the public and will be webcast live. But once the process leaves MTA headquarters and heads to Albany, that transparency ends.

The last step before the capital program is adopted is approval by the state’s Capital Program Review Board. The Board’s four voting members represent the governor, State Senate, State Assembly, and New York City mayor, and each has veto power over the capital program. While the Board is an important check on the MTA, it has no website and its members only sometimes explain the logic behind their decisions. In the past, capital programs have been vetoed over concerns both relevant (such as funding and regional equity) and less so (wage disputes over upstate airport projects). To help illuminate this little-known part of the political process, MTR offers some information about the Board members below:

State Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Nassau), the newest member of the Board, was nominated by Senate President Malcolm Smith and officially appointed last month. A second-term Senator, Johnson showed his commitment to transit by voting for the transit rescue plan that staved off the MTA’s “doomsday budget” earlier this year. Unfortunately, he has consistently opposed the LIRR’s Third Track project, though this is largely a moot point for now. Whether for financial, political, or other reasons, the Third Track is not included in the MTA’s draft 2010-14 capital program.

Assemblymember Keith Wright (D-Manhattan) represents the State Assembly Majority led by Speaker Sheldon Silver. Wright was first elected to the Assembly in 1992 after a career that included a stint as Assistant Director of Governmental Relations for NYC Transit. He sponsored legislation barring the MTA from closing station booths during a 2003 budget showdown and was one of the first state elected officials to publicly support congestion pricing in 2007, though he was not a vocal champion for the policy.

As is customary, the State DOT Commissioner, Stan Gee, represents Gov. David Paterson. As a political appointee, the Commissioner’s role on the board is largely to act as the governor’s proxy. His presence also reflects the state’s tradition of passing similarly sized MTA and NYSDOT capital programs at the same time.

Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler represents NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Of the deputy mayors, Skyler most directly works on transit issues, as he oversees the city’s Department of Transportation and the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. The mayor’s representative does not vote on the Metro-North or Long Island Rail Road capital programs.

State Sen. Charles Fuschillo (R-Long Island), a nonvoting member, represents the Senate Minority. He is the ranking Republican member on the Senate Transportation Committee. Fuschillo opposed the MTA rescue package. Recently he helped direct state money to the town of Babylon to study a bus rapid transit system for Route 110.

Assemblymember Lou Tobacco (R-Staten Island), also a nonvoting member, represents the Assembly Minority and sits on the Assembly Transportation Committee. As elected officials debated new revenue sources for the MTA, Tobacco said it would be unfair to Staten Island to institute a payroll tax and raise tolls on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge without adding tolls to the free East River bridges. He is one of several Staten Island politicians who have opposed NYCDOT’s plans for bus rapid transit on Hylan Blvd.