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WSTA files Lawsuit Against I-976, WSTA Officer Change, Job of the Week, From the Other Washington,
Vol. 4, Issue 44: November 9, 2019
WSTA Respond to Passage of I-976

This past week the WSTA Board of Directors met for their 4th Quarter Board meeting.  While there were significant conversations around 2020 legislative priorities, WSTA's budget, and the new officers for the coming two years, the bulk of the Board's work was around the next steps on I-976.  Please see the press release sent yesterday regarding WSTA's next steps on I-976. 

Questions regarding WSTA's legal actions outlined below should be directed to me and not other WSTA Staff.

Sincerely,

Justin D.Leighton
Executive Director - WSTA



Olympia, WA: The Washington State Transit Association (WSTA) Board of Directors has authorized legal action to challenge the constitutionality of Initiative 976.  Additionally, WSTA will work with potential partners to join the efforts to ensure that all effected interests are represented. 

“We owe it to our members and transit customers, in every corner of this state to ensure we are doing our due diligence in protecting the critical operating and capital dollars that will be lost due to the unconstitutional application of I-976,” said Justin D. Leighton, Executive Director of WSTA.

The WSTA Board of Directors met at their regularly scheduled annual Board meeting in Leavenworth this week and discussed options moving forward. After a briefing from legal counsel, the Board of Directors took this action as the necessary next step to uphold constitutional protections and guard against devastating impacts of I-976 on all transit agencies, no matter where they are operating in Washington State.

“The impact on agencies vary; they range from major capital projects that would need to be deferred or eliminated to potential services cuts of upwards of 75% for some agencies,” said Leighton.  “From the commuters in Puget Sound to the transit riders needing lifeline service in the Palouse, all agencies in this state will feel transit cuts unless immediate action is taken,” Leighton continued.

WSTA will make statements regarding its legislative and legal milestones when possible. 


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WSTA Board President

Ann Freeman-Manzanares

Finishes 6-years as a WSTA Officer

 
Ann Freeman-Manzanares, General Manager of Intercity Transit will finish her tenure as a WSTA Officer at the end of December. With the new set of Officers elected Ann finishes 6 years serving the Association. 

Ann served 2 years as Treasurer, 2 years as Vice President and recently 2 years as President.  She now joins the ranks of a small group, WSTA Past Presidents still running their systems, joining E. Susan Meyer of Spokane Transit, Richard DeRock of Link Transit and Tom Hingson of Everett Transit. 

During Ann's time as an Officers, she helped hire a new Executive Director, shape WSTA's legislative success in the passage of the 2015 Transportation Revenue Package, as well as this past sessions success including the creation of the new Green Transportation Grant and in the face of I-976, worked to position the Association to legally defend public transits interest in the courts. 

The WSTA Board of Directors unanimously passed a Resolution of Appreciation, recognizing Ann's long-standing dedication to public transit, dating back to 1993.

While no longer a WSTA Officer, Ann will remain a Board member representing Intercity Transit. 
WSTA Board Elects 2020 & 2021 Officers

The WSTA Board of Directors elected their officers at this week's 4th Quarter Board meeting. WSTA Officers; Secretary (served by the Executive Director) Treasurer, Vice President, and President, will serve two years. Tradition holds, the Treasurer is elevated to serve as Vice President, and the Vice President elevated to serve as President to ensure continuity of leadership. 

WSTA's Past Presidents, E. Susan Meyer of Spokane Transit, Richard DeRock of Link Transit, and Tom Hingson of Everett Transit, served as the nominating committee.  They nominated, and the Board elected the following as their 2020 & 2021 Officers of the Board. 
WSTA President 
John Clauson
Executive Director, Kitsap Transit



WSTA Treasurer
Todd Morrow
Executive Director, Island Transit

WSTA Vice Presdient
Gloria Boyce
General Manager, Ben Franklin Transit


WSTA Secretary 

Justin D. Leighton
Executive Director, WSTA


The ED serves as Secretary of the Board
by virtue of their position

WSTA Job of the Week

 

Transit Operations Supervisor - Everett Transit

The City of Everett is accepting applications for the appointive position of Transit Operations Supervisor. Under the direction of the Transit Operations Manager, the Transit Operations Supervisor ensures that bus service is provided in an efficient manner and as scheduled without interruption. Responsibilities include responding to citizen complaints, monitoring the performance of employees, and investigating incidents and events. Work is reviewed by observation and through evaluations of reports and projects. Supervision is exercised overall operating staff, including Bus Operators, Paratransit Operators, Paratransit Schedule Technicians, Maintenance personnel, and Transit Inspectors. For a full description of this position, please see the class specification on the City's Website.

 Click Here For More 

Congress Continues Negotiations to Avoid a Shutdown

Republican Congressional leaders and the White House have agreed, in principle, to move forward with another short-term Continuing Resolution to avoid a shutdown before current funding expires on Thursday, November 21, 2019. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby met with White House Director of Legislative Affairs Eric Ueland yesterday and settled on a three- or four-week stopgap extension until either December 13 or 20, 2019. They believe this should afford sufficient time to resolve the question of how to divide discretionary funds between the 12 spending bills to stay under the $632 billion ceiling for non-defense appropriations established by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-37). Congressional leaders will meet again early next week to determine 302(b) allocations for subcommittees to utilize in any conference negotiations. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sent a "Dear Colleague" letter announcing a vote on the next stop-gap during the week of November 18th. We will keep you up-to-date regarding any forthcoming actions by the House or Senate.

DOT to Formally Announce BUILD Grants Next Week

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is expected to announce awards for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Grants Program on Tuesday, November 12, 2019. The agency will award approximately $900 million for surface transportation infrastructure projects of national or regional significance, including highways, bridges, roads, public transportation, passenger and freight rail, port infrastructure, and intermodal transportation. Secretary Elaine Chao made congratulatory calls to Members of Congress to notify them of awards in their districts throughout the week. The Department will accept requests for debriefing sessions on applicants’ project proposals after Tuesday.

Don’t forget to register for the 2019 Innovations and Partnerships conference! Join us on Thursday, November 21 at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center.

This year’s conference is focused on how we develop effective engagement strategies and partnerships to develop a sustainable transportation system for Washington State.

Conference highlight: Learn more about national, regional, state, and local level discussions regarding encampments and people experiencing homelessness.

Encampments and those experiencing homelessness are complex issues affecting communities throughout the Pacific Northwest and the nation. This session is an opportunity for transportation professionals to hear from a panel of regional experts for a discussion on the importance of partnerships and empathetic engagement to address this regional crisis. Learn more about what discussions are happening at a national, regional, state, and local levels, and learn from staff entrenched in navigating this difficult work to achievable meaningful results for our employees, the residents we serve, and most of all, those experiencing homelessness.

Panelists include:

  • Pasco Bakotich, WSDOT Maintenance Division
  • Jim Baumgart, Office of the Governor and panel facilitator
  • Jason Johnson, City of Seattle
  • Linda Stewart, City of Tacoma
  • Tony Tavares, PE, PMP, California Department of Transportation

The rest of the conference agenda includes a variety of other topics, including working with communities to grow businesses and meet construction market demands, housing affordability and transportation, and coordinated and collaborative planning with cities, counties, ports, and other partners.

We look forward to seeing you later this month. Thanks again for registering!


 
CLICK HERE

WSTA offers a comprehensive clearinghouse for transit jobs across the state.  Use our website to interactively locate an agency in the area you wish to work or scroll through the list agencies and jobs available.  

If you are a transit agency and have an opening - please use the submit button on the website.
 
transit employees are encouraged to follow, engage and participate in the WSTA committee structure.  No need to be asked or nominated to join your counterparts around the state!

What Committee best fits you?  

Click HERE to find out! 
Visit WSTA Committees web page, HERE, for information on each meeting listed below.

WSTA HR Roundtable
November 15 (date change)
Bellingham, WA 

Full 2019 Events Calendar
can be found
HERE



 
WSTA pays an annual membership to the Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC), which allows our Transit Agency members access to their services.  Check out what is new with MRSC. 

Available for WSTA Transit Members: 
Ask MRSC - Ask MRSC Archives


 


Ask Transit
WSTA's partner tWashingtonton State Transit Insurance Pool (WSTIP) provides an "Ask Transit" tool which allows agency employees to ask a question and staff will work to research that question and respond back. 
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Click Here to Ask Transit
 
 

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