During my tenure as Director of Public Information at NJ Transit, I was responsible for all media relations, including planning, scheduling and participating in editorial board meetings. During my nearly three years there, we undertook a strategic and deliberate approach to building relationships with the editorial boards of newspapers throughout New Jersey. Here is a sampling of editorials that resulted from this work. I would be pleased to provide additional editorials upon request.

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Good news for commuters, Newark Star-Ledger
Feb. 14, 1994

NJ Transit's off-limits, Bridgewater Courier-News
Nov. 9, 1993
This editorial encourages Gov.-elect Christine Whitman to exclude NJ Transit from proposed budget cuts. It resulted from work I did with reporter Steve Coleman, who's resulting article is referenced in the editorial.

Some big paychecks are well-earned, Central New Jersey Home News
Aug. 26, 1992
The writer of this editorial originally intended to argue against a proposed bonus for the $150,000 per year CEO of NJ Transit. I was able to turn the editorial around by explaining the CEO's responsibilities in the context of the corporation's annual budget (in excess of $1 billion), the organization's impact on ridership (at the time, NJ Transit carried some 100,000 commuters daily), and by demonstrating that dramatic improvements in service and customer satisfaction had been occurring.

Armando Arrastia

502-545-1588