Time for Mayor Jackson to Open Up the RTA Board Appointment Process, by Ellen Connally

 

In the wake of the resignation of long-time Regional Transit Authority Board President George Dixon III this past May, Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson appointed Kelley Britt to fill the vacancy. Since Britt is the daughter of the long-time Clerk of Council Pat Britt, Jackson didn’t have to cast a wide net to find a person he felt to be a qualified candidate — which seems to be a pattern with RTA board appointments since another one of his RTA board appointments is his longtime assistant and confidant, Dr. Valarie McCall.

While McCall has been on the board since 2006, Britt’s tenure lasted only a few months. She resigned earlier this week.

At the time of Britt’s appointment, the mayor pointed out her “experience and knowledge of both public and private transportation.” Clearly, Britt has a wealth of information in the field and the professional credentials to back it up. The problem is her day job. She works for the Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Agency (NOACA).

RTA was first created in 1974 to replace the old Cleveland Transit System. Its mission is to provide safe, reliable, clean and courteous public transportation countywide. Operated daily by a chief executive officer, it is administered by a board made up of trustees appointed by the City of Cleveland, the county executive and the County Mayors Association.

NOACA has a similar role on a regional basis as the transportation and environmental planning agency serving Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina Counties. It is the federally designated metropolitan planning organization for northeast Ohio, charged with determining which proposed highway, bikeway and transit projects will receive federal funding; how federal transportation dollars will be spent within the metropolitan area; and a wide range of transit=related policy matters that not only interface but overlap with the mission of RTA. As a senior transportation planner for NOACA, Britt makes and is an integral part of major decisions regarding all aspects of the transportation issues in the region.

Shortly after Britt’s appointment, the Ohio Ethics Commission ruled that Brit could not serve on the RTA board while employed by the NOACA. In its findings the commission essentially said that she was in the proverbial catch-22. By serving as a RTA trustee she could not participate in any decisions that would touch on the broad mission of NOACA and in her day job she could be biased in any decisions that affected the mission of RTA.

Is the Mayor’s circle of candidates so narrow that he could not find another person to fill this important position? Clearly Ms. Britt is an extremely able person, and this is not an attack on her. But it seems to me that Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder could both see that there was an inherent conflict with Britt serving in the two capacities in agencies that have such similar missions.

Cleveland has some 380,000 residents. While RTA ridership has been on the decline, it is still utilized by a significant segment of the population. Public transportation is a vital part of the city’s infrastructure and appeal to both citizens and visitors. Decisions made by both RTA and NOACA have long-term impact on the city’s future, and it is important that the decisions be made by people with a broad and diverse backgrounds and opinions.

Earlier this year I pointed out that George Dixon had served on the board too long. Originally appointed in 1992 and continuously reappointed by successive mayors until his resignation, Dixon left under a cloud of suspicion when it was revealed that, while he was entitled to obtain health care under RTA’s health care plan for employees, he was also supposed to pay for it — which he never did.

As I said then, membership on public boards should have a termination date. After 8-10 years board members should be thanked for their service and the positions should be passed on to other citizens. While there is a lot to be said for institutional memory, there is always room for fresh ideas.

Which gives rise to the question of why Dr. McCall is still on the board, having started in 2006. Questions have arisen as to whether McCall is entitled to payment for her service on the board. At the time of her appointment the mayor included a provision in her letter of appointment that said she was to serve without pay. Now she is getting paid based on a scenario that seems a little convoluted, to say the least. Another glitch in the accounting system at RTA?

While it is not my suggestion that the ability to appoint RTA members be taken away from the mayor, the mayor should have a public application process to select this and any future appointments to the RTA Board and perhaps an advisory committee to review applicants and make recommendations.

Recent public demonstrations regarding the cutting of routes and service clearly show that there are people in this community who rely on public transportation for access to jobs, education and basic transportation and are directly affected by the decisions made by this board. These citizens have suggestions and information that the mayor should listen to and consider when making appointments and should be heard.

Let’s take the RTA appointment process out of the Mayor’s inner circle.   Open up the process. The mayor owes this to the people who elected him and the people who ride RTA.

C. Ellen Connally is a retired judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court. From 2010 to 2014 she served as the President of the Cuyahoga County Council. An avid reader and student of American history, she serves on the Board of the Ohio History Connection, is currently vice president of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission and treasurer of the Cleveland Civil War Round Table. She holds degrees from BGSU, CSU and is all but dissertation for a PhD from the University of Akron.

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