The Clark County council on Wednesday approved a shake-up in its representation on C-Tran and the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council.
In its weekly board time meeting, the Clark County council unanimously voted for Councilor Jeanne Stewart, a Republican, to sit on the C-Tran board. They also unanimously voted for Stewart and Councilor Julie Olson, also a Republican, to sit on the RTC board. Council Chairman Marc Boldt, no party preference, also will sit on both boards — a new requirement of the home rule charter approved by voters in 2014.
The vote removes Councilor David Madore, a Republican, from both boards, and Councilor Tom Mielke, also a Republican, from the RTC board. But both conservative councilors, who are vocal opponents of bus rapid transit and light-rail projects, showed no interest in continuing to serve on either board. Madore moved to appoint Stewart to the C-Tran board and both her and Olson to the RTC board.
Mielke, meanwhile, called his time on the RTC board the “biggest waste of my time in the last three years.”
The Clark County council representatives have been the most vocal contrarians on both boards, and that voting record is unlikely to change.
Stewart made it clear that she is opposed to light rail and bus rapid transit projects, and will continue to vote accordingly.
“It’s not a little slice of heaven for me, being on the board,” Stewart said. “But I would be willing to serve.”
Olson also voiced her objections to the public transportation programs, which have been controversial especially among local conservatives.
“You can rely on consistency with me with regard to BRT, light rail and CRC,” Olson said, referring to the defunct Columbia River Crossing project that would have replaced the Interstate 5 Bridge.
The home rule charter expanded the council from three to five members this month, with the addition of Boldt and Olson.
Wednesday’s meeting was brief and relatively cordial compared to the heated council hearing Tuesday night, when the new five-member council voted to repeal eight non-binding resolutions written by Madore and approved by the then-three-member council Dec. 22. The resolutions set council policy on public transportation and zoning. But Olson said Wednesday that she’d like to revisit all items in a workshop so the council can at least consider them as a full five-member board.
