On June 8, Spirit News published an article titled “Life Under I-95.” This “slice of life” piece highlighted three groups of people and how their lives are affected by living under the interstate. In that piece, local resident Dan Dugan was very outspoken about his dealings with 177th District Rep. John Taylor and James J. Anderson construction. Dugan claimed Rep. Taylor wasn’t doing enough to mitigate the problems he was having from the ongoing construction.

  Spirit News reached out to Rep. Taylor for comment, but our request for comment overlooked. After the article was published, Spirit News was contacted by Rep. Taylor who wished to speak with us about Dugan’s claims and about his relationship with James J. Anderson Construction, whose owner, James Anderson, is a financial donor to Rep. Taylor.

 We spoke to Rep. Taylor, who is also the Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, and gave him the chance to respond to the article:

Spirit News: Obviously you read our article. What is your response to some of the claims Mr. Dugan made about you?

Rep. Taylor: I’ve had a long relationship with Dan Dugan going back to my childhood. I know him very well. When the construction started near his house, he first contacted us, and as you can see from the emails [provied by Taylor’s office], we did everything we could to get this addressed. The engineers, [and] PennDot contacted Anderson a number of times. The relationship with every contractor is always difficult, whether they break the curb, or crack the sidewalk, it’s always a battle.

  In terms of attention from PennDot, the engineers and Anderson, I think we got an active response from all concerned [parties]. That’s what we would do with anybody, but particularly Dan because he lives right there in the path of a lot of construction chaos, and as your article aptly depicts, that’s not a pleasant thing.

  In terms of trying to mitigate his problem and [Dugan’s neighbor] Mr. (Bob) Taylor’s, I think we did that. It’s going to be an ongoing thing.

Spirit News: Do you feel like Mr. Dugan is being unreasonable with some of the things he’s doing?

Rep. Taylor: Dan’s a unique character. There’s no doubt about it. He’s flamboyant with language and analogies. Look, if I was there and those things were going on, I’d be frustrated too. One of the theories around this office is, “would I live here?” If I wouldn’t want it next to me, they (residents) shouldn’t have it next to them. Whether it’s a bad neighbor, or outrageous business, or bad bar, we try to mitigate the concerns of those neighbors, whatever the problem is. I think he is unreasonable in terms of the particular concerns he has. Although, the overriding issue of the reconstruction of 95, that’s going to be hard to solve.

Spirit News: Could you clarify your relationship with James Anderson and why you think he contributes money to you?

Rep. Taylor: Jim Anderson has been a contributor of mine for 30 years. I know him personally. I think Jimmy knows what kind of job we do. He’s a strong advocate for proper dollars for road construction and bridge construction throughout the commonwealth.

  We try to be an advocate for that funding. That is to the benefit of the citizens of Pennsylvania, but certainly to the benefit of people wanting to get work. In the case of every contractor, they have to bid [for jobs]. They have to go through the process. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose.

  We have a woeful record throughout PA of bridges that are imminently dangerous, of roadways that have to be fixed. It’s not just in Philly, it’s throughout the Commonwealth. The Chairmanship of the Transportation Committee goes beyond the legislative branch. We have a statutory involvement with the Secretary of Transportation. We’re consulted for every project under the sun. I think if you ask Jimmy, I think he thinks I do a pretty good job. He’s a generous guy. It’s not just politics.

  Unfortunately, it’s a necessary evil in this business. You have to have money to defend yourself, you have to have money to get your message out. I’m very successful at fundraising. I think he (Anderson) is someone who believes very strongly in what we do.

Spirit News: Have you received any other complaints from neighbors?

Rep. Taylor: From 95 directly, there haven’t been a whole lot, but I expect there will.

Spirit News: Are you aware of what the current measures workers are supposed to be taking to cut down on the toxic dust?

Rep. Taylor: We keep in contact. We certainly ask them what has to be done, whether it’s wetting [the dust] down or whatever.

Spirit News: Is the city monitoring construction sites for dust, or are the contractors left to check on themselves?

Rep. Taylor: The city certainly has a role in it. Like every other problem, we’ll come out and try to rectify it. We’ll go out, do what we can and repeat the process.

Spirit News: What should neighbors do when they feel like their lives are being negatively impacted by highway construction?

Rep. Taylor: They can certainly contact us. We did have some problems up at Cottman Ave. They can call us, they can call the legislator. This particular district, District 6, is unfortunately five counties… They should definitely call any or all of us when that pops up and we’ll get the proper response. I often said to him, Dan (Dugan), what do you want? The last thing we want is the notion that we didn’t respond. Sometimes we can solve the problem, sometimes we can’t, and in this particular issue, we certainly can.