(The Center Square) – A Spokane County commissioner continues to challenge a decision that excludes two members of the Spokane City Council from appointment to the Spokane Transit Authority’s board of directors.
County Commissioner Al French is upset that councilmembers Jonathan Bingle and Michael Cathcart, who represent the city’s Northeast District 1, were not named to the STA board last month after requesting appointment.
“At the risk of being a broken record, let me continue to reiterate – the Northeast District is in greatest need for its voice to be at the table,” French, who chairs the 14-member STA board, wrote in a Jan. 29 letter to Spokane mayor Lisa Brown and city council president Betsy Wilkerson.
French’s letter was preceded by a Jan. 26 letter in which he wrote that the “will of the voters for representation … was summarily dismissed or was flatly ignored, as the Council President later indicated that she represents the interest of the Northeast District.”
During the city council’s Jan. 22 meeting, Bingle and Cathcart alluded to politics and disregard of seniority while being rebuffed on certain 2024 board appointments and chairmanships. The city’s four STA appointments instead went to councilman Zack Zappone, council newcomers Paul Dillon and Kitty Klitzke, and Wilkerson, who said she provided citywide representation as council president.