Metro’s board has picked the transit agency’s new general manager, according to one member. Now, all that remains is to finalize the contract negotiations and make a formal vote at the Jan. 27 full board meeting, said Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay, who served on the search committee.
“The board has someone in mind they’d like to name as general manager,” McKay told The Washington Examiner Tuesday.
He and another board member declined to say who was chosen. But it appears that interim General Manager Richard Sarles is the likely pick.
Board members — including four new representatives who have yet to attend a full, public meeting — interviewed three finalists on Saturday, McKay said. He said they interviewed a finalist from the private sector, someone with a public sector and transit background, and Sarles.
Sarles took the job as interim manager when embattled General Manager John Catoe stepped down in April.
A professional engineer with a master’s degree in business administration, he arrived at Metro after retiring as executive director of NJ Transit. At the time, he said he was not interested in a permanent job and looked forward to retirement after the short-term gig. He signed on for $25,000 a month and a paid apartment.
But he has received high marks for stabilizing Metro after months of uncertainty.
The speed of the pick comes as somewhat of a surprise, as the 14-member board is undergoing a massive overhaul. It has been facing pressure to reform from outside groups, including the governors of Maryland and Virginia and D.C.’s mayor. Members also are expected to choose a new chairman at the meeting.
At least six new board members are expected to join in the coming months. Only four have been named, but they will be asked to make one of the most important decisions of their new tenures at their first full board meeting.
“It does seem mighty fast to me,” said outgoing member Christopher Zimmerman, who noted he wasn’t involved in the search.
But McKay said, “We decided we couldn’t hold hostage the very important process of choosing who will be leading Metro until the board is stable.”
