WMATA's "interim" general manager

That's Dan Tangherlini, Metro's Interim General Manager, beseeching riders to contact the agency with their suggestions. I laughed out loud when I first saw this poster at the F Street entrance to the Judiciary Square station. The folks at DCist seem to think the poster is a great idea as it puts a face on the agency; what do you think? All I can do is chuckle because I can't imagine Tangherlini's predecessor doing something like this.

Metro never lets us forget that Tangherlini is, well, interim. His bio page labels him as "Interim GM and CEO," keeping the latter businesslike title, which was first adopted by Tangherlini's predecessor, Richard A. White.

Sidebar: I hate the adoption of private-sector titles for public-sector employees. I suppose the idea is to bring the private sector's supposed ethos of efficiency into the public sector. But private sector officials (whose greater efficiency I doubt very much) have a duty only to their shareholders. Public sector leaders are responsible for the public good and for the wise stewardship of public dollars--a much higher duty than any private-sector "CEO" assumes. If I were Tangherlini, I would drop this "CEO" nonsense.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand: Tangherlini's interimness. The agency doesn't let us forget it. His name placard for board meetings clearly says "Interim General Manager" as does his business card. Of course so does the poster featured above. (I'm grateful that none of these things say "CEO.")

So, with Tangherlini's interim status, you would think the board would be seeking his, well, permanent replacement. I expected the board would seek another person as Tangherlini is a bit young at 38. Well, maybe the board is seeking someone, but I haven't heard anything about that. No one's mentioned anything about the board hiring a search firm, which is a typical first step in the search for someone to lead a billion-dollar agency.

So maybe the board is not seeking a replacement for Tangherlini. That's fine; he might be exactly what the agency needs right now: a personable man who focuses on customer service and the nuts-and-bolts of the operation. Though Tangherlini's predecessor had his strenghts, he was neither personable nor a customer-service sort of guy. I often wonder if top brass give buses enough attention, so I'm glad that Tangherlini reportedly rides the bus to work every day.

If the board is not seeking a replacement for Tangherlini, I think they should make that clear. This "interim" status could handicap Tangherlini. Huge bureaucracies like Metro move slowly. If there are folks in the agency who want to resist any initiatives that Tangherlini may have, the resistors might figure that they'll just wait Tangherlini out until the board gets somebody else. If the board wants Tangherlini to lead the agency, then he needs the board's support.

And of course if the board does intend to replace Tangherlini, well, snap to it! There's no point in leaving a billion-dollar, 10,000-employee agency rudderless.