For the anniversary of the Metro crash, Newschannel 8 interviewed former RAC Chair and Sierra Club transit activist Dennis Jaffe and Washington Post metro columnist Bob McCartney.

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They discussed progress toward safety on Metro, the looming NTSB report, and Governor McDonnell’s efforts to take WMATA Board seats away from Northern Virginia. During the safety conversation, it was particularly gratifying to hear Bob McCartney note the important and true fact that riding Metro is still safer “than driving on the Beltway.”

As for the issue of Virginia’s WMATA Board representation, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission has prepared a detailed analysis (PDF) of the actual support the state gives to Metro. That shows state funds amounting to only 28.3% of Virginia’s total, instead of the 50% Connaughton alleges.

NVTC also points out that the Governor of Virginia doesn’t have half of the board seats in other transit agencies in the state, like Hampton Roads, where the Governor gets 1 seat out of 17, and where the state’s contribution is greater (31.7%), but much less in dollar terms because Hampton Roads has so much less transit.

Fairfax County voted to send a letter criticizing McDonnell’s move and his holding hostage the promised federal matching funds. The three Republicans voted against.

Fairfax’s Catherine Hudgins and Arlington’s Chris Zimmerman, Virginia’s voting members on the Board, also wrote an op-ed pointing out that to get the federal appropriation in the first place, Virginia told the feds that they had already dedicated the money. Threatening to take it away risks unraveling the entire deal, which may not upset McDonnell that much.