Broad advocacy coalition pushes to influence TriMet GM hire

The Getting There Together (GTG) coalition has turned up the volume on their efforts to influence who TriMet picks to be their next general manager.

The coalition — which has dozens of members including biking and walking-related nonprofits like The Street Trust, Oregon Walks, Oregon Trails Coalition, WashCo Bikes, and the Community Cycling Center — is urging the public to join them and testify at the TriMet Board Meeting on Wednesday. The meeting agenda (PDF) includes Resolution 21-0149 that calls for, “Adopting a General Manager Job Description and Informing the Public of the General Manager Search Committee and Appointment Procedure.”

Earlier this month we shared how the coalition wasted no time laying out qualities they’d like to see in the person who will replace outgoing GM Doug Kelsey. The group also wants to make sure the selection process itself is transparent and done with, “meaningful participation from community members.”

This is the first major campaign for GTG following three years of work to influence Metro’s transportation funding measure. That effort didn’t go their way, but the coalition-building that remains is likely to be a powerful force in local advocacy going forward.

Here’s a snip from GTG’s latest call to action:

“It’s essential that the next General Manager will heed the calls from the community for access, service improvements, affordability, and addressing climate change. They must also address racial justice in policing and in our transportation system, by exploring the call for presence of culturally-specific and unarmed TriMet employees on transit and following through on stopping fare sweeps, and moving resources away from policing and toward community programs…

With the recent failure of Measure 26-218, these needs remain and it is all the more urgent that our region can count on leadership at TriMet to collaborate with community leaders on a bold vision to address needs and tackle decades of disinvestment in a regional transportation system.

…

People who actually use the system must have a say in the process and decision of who is hired to manage our regional transit system. It must include those whose livelihoods depend on whether the bus gets to work on time. It must include all of us who have a stake in the health of our transportation system, our communities, and our future.”

TriMet’s Board Meeting begins at 9:00 am on Wednesday (1/27). Link to the livestream and meeting materials can be found on the BikePortland Calendar.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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