Metro’s board of directors is undergoing a major upheaval, as outgoing Chairman Peter Benjamin said Thursday he has been asked to step down. His departure is the latest in what has been the largest turnover in the board’s history, with seven of the 14 directors leaving in the last two months. Additional seats could still change.
| Out with the old, in with the new |
| • Maryland director and former Metro CFO Peter Benjamin –> Former Rep. Michael Barnes, D-Md. • Maryland representative Betty Hewlett -> A replacement has not been named. |
| • Arlington County Board representative Christopher Zimmerman –> Arlington County Board |
| representative Mary Hynes |
| • D.C. Councilman Jim Graham -> D.C. Councilman Tommy Wells |
| • Outgoing D.C. City Administrator Neil Albert -> Former City Administrator Tom Downs |
| • Maryland alternate and former Federal Transit Administrator Gordon Linton –> Former Takoma Park Mayor Kathy Porter |
| • Alternate Marcell Solomon –> A replacement has not been named. |
Benjamin’s exit is also significant because he had worked with the agency almost continuously for the past 22 years, even serving as its chief financial officer.
Maryland Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley called Benjamin on Friday, telling him the state would not reappoint him, both sides said. Benjamin said he was surprised by the news. He said the state wanted a “clean slate” as it redirects the board in the continuing fallout from the June 22, 2009, Red Line crash.
“It seemed the appropriate time,” Swaim-Staley said. When Benjamin’s term had ended, she said, the board was in the midst of choosing a new general manager. The state’s other appointee, Betty Hewlett, also will be leaving, after having asked to step down months ago.
“Peter and Betty have done a fantastic job through some very difficult times,” Swaim-Staley told The Washington Examiner.
Gov. Martin O’Malley has nominated former Rep. Mike Barnes to fill Benjamin’s seat, but Hewlett’s replacement has not been named.
Benjamin joined Metro in 1989 as a senior financial adviser, then worked his way up to CFO, a title he held from 1993 to 2006. He joined the board in 2007 and became the face of the agency last year as it grappled with the crash investigation and chose Richard Sarles as chief executive officer.
But Benjamin shocked the audience at National Transportation Safety Board hearings into the crash last summer when he chastised a union official for asking what policies and procedures the board has enacted to improve safety since the crash.
“You’re presuming that’s the best way to change a culture,” Benjamin testified. “You’re missing the point.” Instead, the chairman said, safety starts from the “bottom up.”
Barnes must be approved by the state Senate, but Maryland spokesman Jack Cahalan said the current timetable would allow Barnes to take the seat by Metro’s March 24 meeting.
