Rendell picks a replacement for Rubin on Pa Pike

Hours after kicking Mitchell Rubin from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Gov. Rendell announced a replacement.

Rendell has nominated lawyer A. Michael Pratt to serve out the remaining year of Rubin's current term. Pratt is a partner in the Philadelphia office of Pepper Hamilton LLP, concentrating in commercial, product liability and mass tort litigation.

Chuck Ardo, the governor's spokesman, called Pratt a "classic success story."

"He is the fourth of 12 children who grew up in rural Fayette County in a house without running water," Ardo said. "And yet he found a way to graduate from Harvard Law School."

Pratt's nomination requires Senate confirmation.

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