Dr. Transit needs to improve his diagnostic skills as Dan Tangherlini is appointed interim GM of WMATA

Washington Post photo by Nikki Kahn.

Last month, as an aside in a blog entry about leadership in Charleston ("Leadership lessons from Charleston, SC"), I speculated about Richard White's moving on from WMATA, the public transportation authority that runs the subway and regional bus systems in Washington (as it was reported in the newspapers that there was disaffection on the part of the WMATA board).

I had been talking about this with someone and she and I figured that because some of the Maryland appointees to the Board of Directors are beholden to the anti-transit Governor of Maryland, Robert Ehrlich, that it would be out of the question for Dan Tangherlini, DC's director of the Department of Transportation (who spearheaded DC's streetcar studies), to take his place. We thought Dan would be great. But we agreed--"no chance." She said, "What about David Gunn?" I figured he'd stay in Nova Scotia... plus there's an ex-FTA person waiting in the wings... (I know this was idle gossip, but others read Us and People magazines like that for the latest on J.Lo and Jessica Simpson, and whether or not Angelina is pregnant and is Beyoncé already married. Cut us some slack.)



Today, WMATA released a statement, "Metro General Manager/CEO Richard White to step down," that shows how wrong I was:

Richard A. White, Metro's longest serving General Manager, and the Metro Board of Directors have come to a mutual agreement that Mr. White will step down as CEO and General Manager early in the New Year. In order to ensure a smooth transition, Mr. White has agreed to continue in his current position while an interim replacement is appointed and prepares to assume full control of Metro's day-to-day operations. It is anticipated that this interim transition will be completed no later than March 31, 2006. In the meantime, the Board will commence a nationwide search for our next General Manager...

Dan Tangherlini sampling alternative transportation modes.

In the interim, we will turn to Dan Tangherlini, the Director of the District of Columbias Department of Transportation, to serve as our acting General Manager. Mr. Tangherlini will resign from the Metro Board and the District Government in order to give us the focus we need during this time of transition. As detailed in the attached list of accomplishments, Mr. Tangherlini has a proven record of innovation and community involvement. His ten months of service as an Alternate Member of Metro's Board of Directors ensures a level of continuity. He clearly understands the challenges and opportunities that face the Authority, our funding partners, and our customers. This will help us move forward as we begin a nationwide search for our next General Manager.


Hmm. That nationwide search ought to be interesting.

Metrobus flickr photo by furcafe.

Index Keywords: transit