Metro News Release

For immediate release: May 20, 2004

Gordon Linton joins Metro board

Gordon Linton, the former Federal Transit Administrator (1993 to 1999) in the Clinton administration, has been appointed to the Board of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) as a representative for Montgomery County, MD. As President Clinton’s top official for national public transportation policy, Mr. Linton is widely recognized for advocating and promoting transit and commuter tax benefits. " Metro is under attack from those who lack the vision to see that a healthy and expanded system is essential to this region’s well being," said Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, who appointed Mr. Linton to the post. " Mr. Linton has a 25-year record of outstanding accomplishments in implementing innovative transportation policies, and he will fight to ensure that Metro continues as its founders intended." Mr. Linton, 56, has an acknowledged record of accomplishment in advancing and executing transportation and other public policies at the local, state and national level. He was a major architect of the Federal Transit Authorization Act of 1998, which authorized an unprecedented $41 billion of new investment in bus and rail transit systems throughout the country. Under his leadership, $10 billion in federal investments were committed for the construction of new rail transit, extensions and busways. Mr. Linton lobbied Congress to increase the tax benefit for public transportation, and was an early advocate for full transit benefits for federal employees, launching the development of the Federal Transit Commuter Choice program. He also launched the " Livable Communities Initiative" as the centerpiece of the federal transit program to strengthen the linkage between transit services and communities. " The decisions we make today about the challenges and opportunities facing Metro will shape the landscape of this region for decades," Mr. Linton said. " I am deeply committed to keeping Metro a world class transit system, and increasing the number of people using transit. If we don" t, our communities will have even more congestion, deteriorating air quality and an overall worsening of quality of life." Mr. Linton is a senior advisor and vice president of business development with WageWorks, Inc., in Bethesda, the nation’s largest provider of commuter benefits programs and the fastest-growing provider of flexible spending accounts for health care and dependent care. He will be recused from any and all WMATA matters related to WageWorks. Mr. Linton resides in Rockville with his wife and two daughters.

News release issued on May 20, 2004.