Steve Burns
WASHINGTON – (WMAL) As Metro tries to get its own house in order, local elected officials are now trying to figure out their places in the turnaround effort.
“We’re all in this together, and it’s not necessarily going to be pretty. But we can’t be the ones throwing rocks at this institution. We have to help it succeed,” said Montgomery County Councilmember and Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Chairman Roger Berliner. “This institution is fundamental to our region. It cannot fail, and we cannot do anything but support it.”
“I’m here not just in support of Metro, but really as a crying need within this region,” said Greater Washington Board of Trade President Jim Dinegar. “Metro is the lifeblood, the economic engine for so much about this region.”
Local officials from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia sounded notes of support on Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld’s plan, announced earlier this week, to turn around Metro’s performance, safety, and finances. But Dinegar said it’s not enough to stay silent.
“Right now, Metro needs to stop the noise. They are not yet ready for people to believe the good stories about them,” Dinegar told the Council of Governments on Wednesday. “They need to get a campaign together that is better than Unsuck Metro’s blog and tweets.”
He urged elected officials from the entire metropolitan region to stay on a unified message of encouragement, not criticism.
“The arguments that have been breaking out about it, that all needs to be put to the side and we need to have a broader view of Metro.”
Copyright 2016 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Wikipedia)
