The previous post concluded the solution to Sound Transit’s problems was to hire a competent transit system CEO to replace Rogoff. That they’ve had a board of directors made up of elected officials who didn't understand what constituted effective public transit. The fact that Rogoff was also incompetent resulted in the Sound Transit Board spending billions on “Prop 1and Beyond” voter approved extensions that haven't the capacity to reduce multi-lane peak hour congestion and cost too much to operate during off-peak.
However, those billions are only a down payment on a transportation system expansion whose costs have increased from the $54B voters approved in 2016 to $135B in their 2022 budget. Sound Transit used delusional light rail ridership claims to promote the 2016 ST3 “voter approved” system expansion. Light Their limited capacity means any riders the extensions attract will reduce current rider access, potentially ending it during peak commute. They’ve also ignored the opportunity to implement BRT routes into Seattle with ten times light rail capacity at one tenth the cost, 10 years sooner. (The buses could also charge on entry, minimizing the number not paying fares.)
Thus, Sound Transit’s real “Rogoff Problem” isn't that he should not have been fired, it’s that he should never have been hired. The board’s September 23rd meeting vote to replace Rogoff preceded the October 2nd Northgate Link debut, only the latest demonstration of why he should go. Sound Transit’s website had projected 41,000-49,000 riders for the link. The Seattle Times had heralded the debut as “Transit Transformed” with the three stations adding 42,000-49,000 riders.
Sound Transit still refuses to release the “Service Delivery Performance Report-Q4 2021” detailing how many riders were added and how much each rider cost.The best estimate is, the lack of access from parking limited ridership to 8000 daily, a fraction of Sound Transit and Seattle Times projections. The 125 daily trips added $126,000 to cost; $16 for each rider using the 4.2-mile extension. The low ridership from lack of access and high operating costs portended similar problems for all the “voter approved” extensions.
Rogoff’s firing resulted in the CEO Selection Committee hiring CPS-HR Consulting to help find a replacement. Concern over replacing a CEO who was to be gone in April resulted in the Sound Transit Board’s February 24th meeting agenda including the following:
**Motion No. M2022-16: 1) Appointing Brooke Belman as the acting chief executive officer (CEO) starting when current CEO Peter M. Rogoff departs and ending when the new Board-appointed CEO begins duties and 2) establishing a temporary base salary increase for Ms. Belman effective February 28, 2022, and extending for the three months following the start date of a new CEO.
The CEO Selection Committee’s April 8th meeting video included CPS-HR, recommending 8 of the most qualified candidates for the Selection Committee Interview Process. Their presentation concluded with plans for “Candidate Screening in executive session;” followed by “Selection committee Interviews (late April)”: and “Final Interviews (in April/May).”
The April 8th executive session for "Candidate Screening", initially scheduled for 60 minutes, was followed by two 15-minute extensions. The 90-minute “Candidate Screening” session concluded with no discussion of the results. Plans for another meeting on April 21 were initially scheduled but later delayed until April 27th.
The delay clearly jeopardized the CPS-HR recommending late April Selection Committee Interviews and April/May Final Interviews. (It wasn’t clear whether they were still involved) However, that meeting’s 60-minute executive session also concluded with no comments other than plans to hold a third meeting at a TBD date.
Thus, as of April 27th the CEO Selection Committee was still searching for a Rogoff replacement. Yet the video of Sound Transit Board’s April 28th meeting, one day later, showed Rogoff, who was supposed to be gone in April, was still here. That, he not only attended the meeting, the agenda had him listed as “Chief Executive Officer." Ms. Belman, who had previous been named as “Acting Chief Executive Officer” was also there though it’s unclear what her duties were.
It raises the question why was Rogoff still listed as CEO? While it’s not clear why the Board decided to replace him, they surely had reasons for doing so. He didn't understand the limited capacity of 4-car light rail trains, the need for parking for access, or the benefits of BRT route capacity. A new CEO is clearly needed to mitigate the damage from the billions already spent. Divert future funding towards expediting West Seattle and Ballard light rail extensions and to implement BRT routes along limited access lanes to reduce I-5 and I-90 into Seattle.
Again the "Rogoff Problem" isn't that he should not have been fired, it's he should never have been hired. (A 1/22/22 post had predicted "Problems Replacing ST CEO Rogoff") The sooner he's gone the better. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen unless the Seattle Times Traffic Lab ends its decade of enabling Sound Transit incompetence.
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