Metro General Manager John Catoe submitted his resignation Thursday, after months of deadly accidents and safety missteps that he said had “created an unhealthy distraction” for the agency.
Catoe said he had become the face of the organization and the face of some of those distractions. “It is with a heavy heart, but it’s time for me to face new directions,” he told the board of directors.
He said he made his decision last week, just before his new three-year contract was to begin. Directors said they learned of his decision Thursday morning before a regularly scheduled board meeting. He will leave April 2.
“We are disappointed we have to face this challenge,” Chairman Jim Graham said. “This is a decision he’s made.”
Catoe rode a wave of accolades at the start of last year, running record-breaking service for President Obama’s inauguration and earning the industry’s top prize as manager of the year. But he also stood at the helm during the agency’s deadliest crash, which killed nine people June 22. A string of worker fatalities, accidental deaths and safety foul-ups followed, including a train nearly hitting a track safety inspection crew on Dec. 10.
Late last year, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., called for more “rigorous management” of Metro, which she said had been paying “lip service” to riders’ safety concerns. She declined to comment on Catoe’s resignation.
Others had circulated petitions calling for his ouster, and the Why.I.Hate.D.C. blog posted a countdown marking Catoe’s days since the crash.
He shook up management last month, pulling six executives from his 16-person leadership team. He told reporters Thursday he had not felt pressure to leave.
Instead, he had substantial support. In September, the board nearly unanimously voted to renew his three-year contract, even boosting his $375,000 compensation package. Graham said Catoe’s new contract will not take effect, and he will not receive a golden parachute.
Many people both inside and outside the agency said they were surprised by the resignation. He had met with local bloggers Wednesday night, including some of his most vocal critics.
Many people both inside and outside the agency said they were surprised by the resignation. He had met with local bloggers Wednesday night, including some of his most vocal critics.
Many were concerned that the last few months obscured an otherwise strong record. His supporters credit him with improving safety, before the crash. They also say he improved bus service with the new NextBus forecasting service and boosted public-private partnerships in a time of limited funding for the system’s aging infrastructure.
“I understand the reason for his decision. I am disappointed,” said board member Christopher Zimmerman. “I think we have a very good general manager. We have a number of problems in this agency that have nothing to do with the current leadership.”
Ben Ross, who with the Transit First coalition fought service cuts that Catoe proposed last year, called the news unfortunate. “He’s taking the blame for a structural problem that’s really not his fault,” he said.
Even the head of Metro’s largest union, who has been critical of the agency’s leadership, said she was in shock.
“From what I know of John, he’s not a quitter,” Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 President Jackie Jeter said. “I don’t know what prompted him to do it.”
She acknowledged there had been a “feeding frenzy” of criticism. “Some has been warranted, but I don’t think some of it has been,” she said.
Catoe joined the agency in January 2007 from a top position at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He had pledged to improve safety at the start of his Metro tenure, after a number of track workers and pedestrians were killed.
