Future Oregon transportation director will oversee billions in state highway overhaul

Oregon's next transportation director faces formidable tasks.

There's an ambitious $5.3 billion transportation plan to overhaul the state's roads, bridges and transit systems. There's also the job of managing one of the state's largest agencies, with a workforce of about 4,700 people and a $4.5 billion biennial budget.

And even with the billions the Legislature approved in 2017, Oregon still has more bridge and highway deficiencies than it can afford to fix. 

The new Oregon Department of Transportation director will face other expectations.

Policymakers want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. But as electric and alternative-fuel vehicles gradually replace traditional gas-powered cars and trucks, Oregon has to find ways to rely less on fuel tax revenues to pay for roads.

In mid-August, the Oregon Transportation Commission intends to hire a director who is up to balancing those tasks, replacing Matt Garrett, who retired in June after 14 years as director. 

Expansive bridge, road needs

Oregon's bridge and road infrastructure, of course, will be paramount for a new director. 

Washington State has expressed an interest in reviving talks about putting another bridge across the Columbia River at Portland.  

But there also are more immediate concerns. For example, a recent report issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers found that bridge maintenance needs will grow and require almost threefold the money coming from House Bill 2017. Also called Keep Oregon Moving, it's the package lawmakers signed off on two years ago.

Put another way, almost one-fifth of Oregon's 8,161 bridges and culverts are at risk of becoming structurally deficient in the near future, the report found. 

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"There are literally hundreds of bridges in Oregon that need to be repaired and replaced," said Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, who serves on the Joint Transportation Committee. "These are not problems with the agency. These are problems the state faces with an aging infrastructure."

The 2017 transportation package was aimed at addressing an aging infrastructure and preserving existing roads and bridges. It also has other goals: reducing highway congestion in the Portland-metro area; increasing transportation choices with mass transit and bicycle paths; and improving the agency's public accountability. 

Executing that spending will be a high priority for the new director.

"Director Garrett did an excellent job running that agency and I thought his successes meeting the challenges we placed before him were remarkable," Bentz said. "I would say that some of the problems that have little to do with management are the sheer size of that agency and finding appropriate people to help run the agency."

Avoiding past problems

Guiding the director is an extensive audit of the agency completed in 2017. 

For example, it found highly varied outcomes for whether small and mid-sized projects were completed on time and within budget. Those projects generally cost under $10 million. 

Inefficiencies were found with informal processes and workarounds used in procurement and maintaining vehicles and facilities. 

The findings were used in part to drive transparency measures for HB 2017. They put in place accountability requirements, such as showing on the department's website whether each project is finished on time and within budget.

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An assessment of the follow-up work in response to the findings is due in spring 2020, according to a 2018 report. That's less than a year after the new director takes the helm. 

Over the years, the agency has faced mixed results with design-build projects, a method that was heavily used after the Legislature approved a $2.3 billion bridge replacement program in 2003. 

That attracted scrutiny after the state relied more heavily on the private sector and projects unfolded with less oversight and, at times, problems with cost overruns, according to published reports. 

Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth, said it's important to avoid repeating "some of the harder lessons of the design build processes that sounded good and looked good but didn't necessarily get us what we needed."

"The good news is we learned from that and I don't think we're going to repeat our mistakes," said Evans, another transportation committee member.

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Planning for the future 

Environmental advocates say Oregon's new transportation director will need to continue work already started to combat climate change. In short, they want an agent of change who looks to the future, not someone focused solely on keeping roads paved and vehicles moving.

For example, in 2018, the transportation commission signed off on a plan for reducing emissions. It was a moved welcomed by environmental groups, but a strong director is needed to effect change in the plan.

The job description, as well, says the next director will need to be "an advocate" for actions that lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

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"When we think about climate change, we know that transportation represents the largest amount of climate pollution in the state, so it's really incumbent on ODOT to lead the charge on how do we reduce emissions," said Chris Hagerbaumer, deputy director of the Oregon Environmental Council. 

"We're at a real crossroads in transportation where it's changing super rapidly," she said.

The Street Trust, which advocates for alternative options like walking, bicycling and transit, is also closely watching the search for the new director.

Jillian Detwiler, executive director of The Street Trust, said: "I think they are still very much a highway department and they need to be a transportation department that provides people with the  most environmentally-friendly, efficient choices."

Detwiler said the search committee has been responsive to feedback from her organization and other advocates. 

"I think that for the right person, this is a tremendous opportunity to lead the nation in how we get away from our reliance on cars and trucks, but still maintain our economy and quality of life," she said.

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Director search process 

To find a new director, the transportation commission has hired international consulting firm Korn Ferry to identify and recruit candidates. 

The consulting firm has contacted 200 transportation leaders nationwide as part of their efforts, Robert D. Van Brocklin, chair of the search committee and vice chair of the transportation commission, said in a July 8 memo to staff.

As a result of that outreach, the firm is screening about 40 people before submitting a group to the search committee. The search committee will pick semi-finalists to interview. Finalists will be interviewed by the full transportation commission.

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The search committee hasn't decided how many finalists there will be, department spokesman Tom Fuller said. 

The goal is to interview finalists in mid-August and choose a director. If the candidate accepts, confirmation by the Oregon Senate is the final step. 

Officials expect a confirmation hearing with the Senate Rules Committee and a full Senate confirmation vote in September. 

Politics and accountability

The new director will navigate tricky political waters and face greater accountability established by the 2017 legislation. 

For starters, the director is no longer primarily accountable to the governor. 

Under the new law, the director is hired and fired by the five-member transportation commission. Those tasks are done in consultation with the governor, who still appoints the commission members.

As a result, the commission has "more direct authority over the director," said Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Springfield, co-chair of the transportation committee.

Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Springfield, attends a floor session at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem on June 29, 2019. 

Gov. Kate Brown's office had little to say about her expectations for the new director. Her staff stressed the transportation commission, not the governor's office, is running the recruitment process.

"As with every state agency director, Governor Brown expects deep leadership experience with a focus on bringing forward diverse voices and perspectives to bear in the agency’s work; a track record of strong fiscal responsibility, being careful with every taxpayer dollar; and a deep commitment to carrying out the mission of the agency for the benefit of all Oregonians," Kate Kondayen, a spokeswoman for Brown, said in an email.

Ben Botkin covers Oregon state government. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal. You can reach him at bbotkin@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6687 or follow him on Twitter @BenBotkin1