Comments on: As Virginia Governor Demands Seats on Metro Board, State Transit Involvement in Question

By: Glen

Glen — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 19:10:23 +0000

If Governor McDonnell had shown any previous concern for public transportation in the Northern Virginia area, his move might have more credibility. His proposals to fund transportation improvements in the Commonwealth, since they avoid any tax increases, are smoke and mirrors. A proposal to sell the State’s liquor business would yield $500 million (by the Governor’s calculation which no one else can fathom). The only problem is the State would lose $100 million in annual profits that the liquor business generates (short term thinking by a term limited Governor). I could go on. In seeking the additional two seats, I’ve heard nothing from the Governor or his Secretary of Transportation on what they would do to improve transit in Northern Virginia if they got the two additional seats. So far, the Governor’s only move in Northern Virginia has been an attempt to revive the I-395 HOT lanes highway project in the face of solid opposition from Arlington, Alexandria and apparently Fairfax County. I would view with an extremely jaundiced eye any attempt by Governor McDonnell to increase his power over transit in Northern Virginia.

By: EngineerScotty

EngineerScotty — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 05:30:21 +0000

Portland has the situation where TriMet, despite only serving the tri-county (Multnomah/Washington/Clackamas) metropolitan area–essentially, Portland and its Oregon suburbs–has a board of directors which is appointed by, and serves at the pleasure of, the governor.

Fortunately for Portland, Democrats have long dominated the governor’s mansion (the last Republican governors were Vic Atiyeh, a moderate, and the late Tom McCall, a progressive), so there has been little political interference in transit operations from Salem. However, when TriMet was created in 1969 from the ashes of several bankrupt private bus companies, a provision in the law permitted a future MPO to “take over” TriMet from the state should it wish to. A decade later, Metro was created.

So far, Metro has not exercised that authority; but the TriMet board ruffled quite a few Portland-area feathers with a secretive process for replacing retiring GM Fred Hansen (a senior TriMet manager, one Neil McFarlane, was promoted to the post; he takes over the job in July). Metro (along with other municipal governments) is thoroughly miffed at not being consulted, and while it hasn’t threatened the TriMet board outright, it has on several occasions let its displeasure be known.

By: Brian Smith

Brian Smith — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 03:40:41 +0000

This is a straight out power grab by Governor McDonnell. The fact that all of the Virginia representation is Democratic is really chafing him. Northern Virginia provides the bulk of the state’s funding for WMATA and only recovers about 20% of what it contributes to Richmond’s coffers. Promises to “fix” Northern Virginia’s transportation issues have been largely ignored. If McDonnell wants to have two seats on the Metro board, he should pony up a gas tax increase or other dedicated state funding that specifically supports Metro.

By: Adam

Adam — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 15:01:51 +0000

I strongly oppose this in Bob McDonnell’s case. You can bet he would find any excuse to defund WMATA and replace it with widening and building new highways.

By: Jarrett at HumanTransit.org

Jarrett at HumanTransit.org — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 05:37:14 +0000

David, could you pls shoot me a link to that CCT editorial?

By: david vartanoff

david vartanoff — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:44:39 +0000

speaking as a voting victim of BART and AC Transit, be careful what you wish for. As long as the transit agency has no independent authority to raise revenue, they will be at the mercy of the government entities that do. Thus from my POV elected boards are not very important.
I should relate that some years back when an appointed (to fill in a resignation vacancy) BART Director was running for a full term, the Contra Costa Times ran an editorial whining that the County had fewer board seats than SF although higher population. In my letter to the editor I pointed out that very few of those sprawlburb residents actually rode BART as opposed to SF residents. Current ridership stats are essentially unchanged.

So in the case of WMATA, seems to me the representation should be by rider origins regardless of selection process. That would also exclude ANY state governor since WMATA does not serve Richmond or Annapolis.

By: Mason Hicks

Mason Hicks — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 16:49:56 +0000

I am perhaps, a little surprised by the lack of mention of the inversely related case in Georgia, and the relationship between the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) and the Georgia State Legislature. In Georgia, the case is that there is no sustained or significant support for MARTA, coming from the State of Georgia, but the State convenes its own oversight committee, called the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Overview Committee, (MARTOC). This committee is chaired by Representative Jill Chambers, who, in the universal opinion of transit advocates is nothing short of a bully. She takes great enjoyment in placing MARTA officials before committee for public pelting with her unfounded and often-times previously debunked accusations. She has no use for transit. She loves to portray herself as the guardian of the tax-payer’s dollars. However, Chambers represents Gwinnett County, a county while in the core of the twenty county Metro Atlanta region, it is NOT among the two counties, Fulton and DeKalb, (and also the City of Atlanta) that provide the transit system’s capital and operations funding through the employment of a 1% sales tax. Revenue collected from State motor-fuels taxes are constitutionally confined to being used for construction and maintenance of roads and bridges.
In the recently-adjourned Legislative Session, after years of hard work and disappointment by transit advocacy groups like the Sierra Club and Citizens for Progressive Transit, the State Legislature finally passed a measure, to be voted on by statewide referendum; that would allow counties to band together in different regions to hold referendums, that if passed would provide an additional 1% sales tax with revenue reserved for transportation projects within their respective region. The first referendums should go to ballot in 2012. I hope that Georgia is finally looking down the right path. But there is still a long road ahead.