A firm co-owned by a Republican transportation commissioner and his brother - both major contributors to Gov. Ridge - has been picked to share a first-of-its-kind insurance contract on a new state office project.

The Gleason Agency, of Johnstown, co-owned by state Transportation Commissioner Robert Gleason and his brother, Christopher Gleason, will be paid up to $171,000 to provide insurance on the $200 million project to construct a new state transportation building near the Capitol.

The agency was picked by a private construction management firm that solicited proposals from five insurance agencies. Neither politics nor family connections played a role in the selection of the Gleason Agency, the Ridge administration said.

``There was no pressure on us from anybody,'' said Merl Ryan, the deputy secretary for public works.

The Gleason brothers are members of the Governor's Club, an elite group with special access to Ridge that pledged to spend or raise at least $25,000 for the governor's reelection. They are the second cousins of Peter Gleason, Ridge's deputy secretary for legislative affairs.

Robert Gleason said he often faces questions about whether his political ties help his firm win government or other insurance business.

He declined to say whether he thinks those ties help, but he said: ``Can't they pick who they want to? I know everybody and I contribute to everybody . . . [but] I consider myself a terrific insurance guy, not a politician. Hey, I deliver.''

This project marks the first for which a private construction management firm has been hired by the state Department of General Services to supervise contract awards for the transportation building project, known as the Keystone Building. The department let that firm, CRSS/Quandel, select the insurance broker, officials said.

Until now, contractors on state construction projects bought insurance through their own brokers. But in this case, the General Services Department for the first time decided to consolidate much of the insurance into a single contract. Officials said consolidation would save money, although they acknowledged that it had caused some grumbling among contractors who preferred to use their own brokers.

Ryan said the construction manager publicly advertised the insurance contract and solicited proposals from all comers. But when the department was asked for a copy of the ad, a General Services spokeswoman, Samantha Elliott, said the contract had not been advertised.

According to state records, CRSS/Quandel solicited proposals from five insurance agencies, got responses from three, and picked two as a joint venture. Those were the Gleason Agency and March & McLennan Inc., the nation's largest insurance broker.

The department approved that choice. Under the arrangement, the two insurance agencies have contracted with CRSS/Quandel to coordinate the purchasing of insurance on the project.

The contract allows for fees of up to $490,000, with the Gleason Agency getting 35 percent of that. CRSS/Quandel will pay those fees out of the money it gets from the state to oversee the project.

Donald MacCormack of CRSS/Quandel, the project manager, said the two firms were picked because of their experience with similar projects. His company received no recommendations about which to select from lawmakers or Ridge administration officials, he said.

Robert Gleason, the Cambria County Republican chairman, ended a four-year stint on the state Turnpike Commission last year when Ridge did not renominate him. Ridge placed him on the state Transportation Commission, which advises the administration on road projects.

Gleason supported former Attorney General Ernie Preate over Ridge in the 1994 GOP primary. But he has since become a generous Ridge booster, as has his brother, who could not be reached for comment.

Questions about whether Robert Gleason's political ties have helped his firm with government insurance business arose last year when two Turnpike Commission vendors told The Inquirer that they were asked by representatives of the Gleason Agency to buy insurance from their firm while Gleason was a turnpike commissioner.

Gleason disputed their accounts.

``I was always careful to avoid conflicts,'' he said of his turnpike service.