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The Port Authority of Allegheny County's board on Friday terminated Steve Bland's contract as chief executive officer, effective immediately.

The board named Chief Financial Officer Ellen McLean as interim CEO while it conducts a search for qualified candidates to fill the permanent CEO position, port authority officials said in a press release.

Although authority officials did not disclose a reason for Bland's dismissal, local news media reports stated that Bland had been targeted for removal by Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald.

McLean has served as CFO since October 2010. Prior to joining the authority, she was manning director for infrastructure initiatives at the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C., and served as CFO for the city of Pittsburgh from 1999 to 2005.