Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and state transportation leaders say the commonwealth is entitled to more authority over Metro, but local elected officials are poised to shoot down the state’s request for seats on the transit agency’s governing board.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, a group comprising mostly local elected leaders, is set to decide Thursday whether to give the commonwealth two of the state’s four seats on Metro’s Board of Directors.
The seats, which have historically been filled by local elected officials — two from Fairfax County and one each from Arlington County and Alexandria — would go to governor-appointed transit professionals.
State officials say the board seats would give Virginia more accountability for its safety oversight responsibilities and financial contributions.
“The commonwealth feels very strongly that we should be a partner in the governance of Metro,” said Thelma Drake, director of Virginia’s department of rail and public transportation.
Drake said the state of Virginia provides roughly the same amount of funding as all of Northern Virginia’s localities combined, and so is entitled to half the state’s Metro board seats.
But local elected officials say the state has no right to take seats away from Northern Virginia’s localities.
Sharon Bulova, an NVTC member and chairwoman of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors, said local taxpayers have always paid the bulk of Metro’s construction and maintenance costs, and so deserve to have their elected representatives on Metro’s board.
“If there is a long-term commitment from the state, then let’s talk about how we can provide more representation for Virginia on the [Metro] board, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of local representation,” Bulova said.
Bill Euille, Alexandria’s mayor and one of the state’s current board members, said the transportation commission would likely support the commonwealth’s inclusion if Metro decided to add seats. But he would not support taking seats away from Northern Virginia.
Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton earlier this year threatened to withhold $50 million in annual capital funding for Metro unless the Commonwealth’s request for board representation was granted. That threat was later withdrawn.
Drake would not say whether the state would again consider withholding funding if its requests were denied.
“That’s a discussion for a later date,” she said.
