Are we talking about appointing someone as an interim GM, or hiring a new GM?

I'm sure he's interested in the real job, but what is the board interested in?

by Alex B. on Feb 9, 2010 3:30 pm  

It's hard to get past his effort to bring the Purple Line outside the beltway. Much of the battle over the Purple Line was fighting off Duncan's proposals to pull it away from the region's core and make it extremely costly heavy rail. And he championed the ICC.

by Transit Advocate on Feb 9, 2010 3:53 pm  

Are locals allowed in that job?

by Juanita de Talmas on Feb 9, 2010 3:57 pm  

what about tangherlini or chris zimmerman?

by spookiness on Feb 9, 2010 4:03 pm  

I don't think Duncan understands transit, as he never uses it. I would also like to know why he left the Universtiy of Maryland.

Dan Tangherlini of Chris Zimmerman would both be wonderful. They "get" transit. But I suspect both know enough about the job to not want it.

by KenF on Feb 9, 2010 4:13 pm  

He was a slimy pro-development exec for MoCo and a slimy mayor of Rockville. He needs to go be a lobbyist or do something else that fits his lizard skin.

by Rich on Feb 9, 2010 4:27 pm  

I agree that long term a Purple/Beltway Line is needed and will be the most affordable to build. Bring him in.

by Redline SOS on Feb 9, 2010 4:30 pm  

He was the executive of one of America's wealthiest counties when the economy, and the county's tax base, was going nowhere but up. I don't think he has any experience on how to bring a failing organization up from the brink of disaster. Metro needs to find a better GM than Duncan.

by Adam L on Feb 9, 2010 4:36 pm  

I think Duncan would be an 'interesting' choice. Risky, but possibly the right one. It's pretty clear that Metro's big problem is management, and that the big thing that the new Metro manager has to do is get the message out that things are going to be different from here on. Duncan might just be the person to do that.

by MattF on Feb 9, 2010 4:59 pm  

How about somebody from the city who relies on transit everyday? If he is one of those people who hears "Doors Closing" and tries to keep them open for someone else, or someone who asks for help at a farecard machine, Metro is screwed. We need someone who can relate to other Washingtonians and is able to see what the people need fixed.

by arm on Feb 9, 2010 5:01 pm  

Duncan is an excellent manager, love or hate his policies. I have a feeling that if he took the job TOD around Metro stations would improve drastically. Sure, he doesn't use transit everyday, but I still think he'd be an excellent man for the job.

That having been said, I am very interested in why he left his position at UMD.

by Dave Murphy on Feb 9, 2010 5:20 pm  

Wasn't Duncan responsible for the UMCP administration's opposition of the Campus Drive alignment for the Purple Line. Seems like he hasn't changed his position on things and continues his long-time approach to solving problems by spending public money. Very little new ideas. Hence the Campus East proposal's similarity to Downtown Silver Spring. He is the wrong person for the job, get in a seasoned administrator who can shake up the failing corporate culture of WMATA. Someone who is not affraid to cut salaries and lay off workers. Someone who can streamline the WMATA operations and divest of noncore assets such as parking and real estate. Duncan is not the man for the job.

by Cyrus on Feb 9, 2010 6:35 pm  

Duncan is a good manager but doesn't know enough about transit, specifically.

He would be far from the worst choice, but also far from the best.

by BeyondDC on Feb 9, 2010 6:59 pm  

I'm not sure the manager, however successful, of a wealthy booming local economy is the most battle tested person to offer innovation to a system in deep administrative and financial crisis.

What is appealing is that he represents interests outside of DC. DC supporters of Metro fail to appreciate that the Metro Rail and Metro Bus system predominately benefits DC and not the suburbs. Most trips are to destination to/from or within DC, and Metro offers few useful options to commuters with Maryland, within Virginia, or commuting between Maryland and Virginia. Instead Metro services facilitate travel to DC, and suburban subsidies to Metro end up raising DC property values. And look at how difficult it has been to get funding for the Silver or Purple lines, even though they have demonstrated need far greater than the Green line. At least Duncan might be able to be able to make Metro services less about fostering the next DC neighborhood gentrification and more about moving people to get where they need to go.

by Michael on Feb 9, 2010 9:27 pm  

You can't have Zimmerman, we're not giving him up.

by eleventh on Feb 9, 2010 9:45 pm  

Duncan's support of the ICC says absolutely nothing about his potential effectiveness as a WMATA general manager.

If the guy were nothing but a road-building czar but he managed to build a bunch of roads while not routinely killing his workers, that could mean he's just the manager WMATA needs.

The agency needs an effective manager, not a transit cheerleader.

by Omari on Feb 9, 2010 10:21 pm  

I worked in Rockville when he was mayor. The city seemed more like stereotypes of DC than a desirable suburb. We had multiple problems getting an occupancy permit and no one noticed that the final configuration violated the fire code. I took over a year to get permits to put in a T1 line beneath a cul de sac, well after plans had been submitted. I rather doubt that he would do anything to improve Metro's sclerotic processes for getting things done. He's also responsible for the Montrose Parkway which is filled with overprices features and unused street furniture. He had the luck to run the County during good economic times. Although Rocville is a suburb that no one wants to emulate, it does have a verys stable economic base. None of these circumstances are present for Metro. I fail to see why he would be a good choice.

by Rich on Feb 9, 2010 10:53 pm  

Running Metro requires an individual able to unify the region around public transit initiatives. Political figures such as Duncan, Zimmerman, or Tangherlini bring with them a perceived jurisdictional bias. Tangherlini was a disaster as the interim chief. It's likely that many able and qualified transit executives are up to and available to take on the challenge of moving the agency forward. Perhaps the Region itself needs to ask itself just what it expects and wants from the agency and from public transit. It appears from this readers perspective that Virginia, Maryland, and DC would rather focus on their own little boutique projects.

by interested on Feb 10, 2010 9:51 am  

Until we know why he left UMD, why would we want him (or anyone) under a similar cloud? On top of that, his penchant for big, stupid roads that cost billions, destroy forests, streams neighborhoods and ...budgets... does not inspire confidence for smart leadership in lean times. And he's polarizing (see the other comments for examples). And WMATA's already got enough on its plate without taking on the personal rehabilitation of Duncan's public standing.

We deserve better.
DianaMoCo

by DianaMoCo on Feb 10, 2010 1:43 pm  

Metro had a chance to have Tangherlini, but they told him to get lost and went with the affirmative action hire Catoe.

by Pat on Feb 10, 2010 3:43 pm  

The Metro job is enough to drive a healthy man or woman to clinical depression.

I don't mean this in a mean or nasty way, but I'm not sure Mr Duncan - with his personal and familial history of depressive disease - is a wise choice for such a frustrating job.

Sorry if I offended anyone by going there, but health should always be a concern. This is not a set-aside or feel-good hire. Metro is a complete mess, and anyone who wants to recruit a man battling depressive disease better be sure he's up to the challenge.

by Mike on Feb 10, 2010 3:56 pm