TVA must clean house

Recent events clearly show the need for a clean sweep of TVA’s leadership.

It’s not just Tom Kilgore, the CEO of TVA, who needs to be held accountable. The nine-member board of directors, entirely appointed by the Bush Administration as part of an old-school, old boy network, is directly responsible for the tragic and disturbing atmosphere in the federal agency.

Until 2004, the TVA board consisted of three bipartisan presidential appointees. That governing structure was swept away in the conservative euphoria over the 2004 election, when conservatives packed the TVA board and had the word “bipartisan” dropped from its enabling legislation.

Today, two seats are open on the board and two more expire on May 18. Four new board members will not be enough to turn the agency around until 2010 when a fifth member term expires.
It is high time for Mr. Kilgore and the entire TVA board to take responsibility for the awful mess that has been created in the heart of the Tennessee Valley.

They should all immediately offer President Obama their resignations. It would be the only graceful note in this whole disgraceful mess.