Metro News Release
For immediate release: February 19, 2010
Metro employee was speaking in capacity as private citizen
His comments were erroneously attributed as representing Metro
The former Director of Emergency Management for the District of Columbia testified yesterday (Feb. 18) in strong support of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s nominee to head the city’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency before the D.C. Council Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, however a Washington Post article in today’s paper erroneously attributed those comments as representing Metro.
The District’s former Director of Emergency Management, a current Metro employee, used a day of annual leave from his job at Metro to speak as a private citizen when he offered his testimony in strong support of Millicent D. Williams, acting director of the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, during her confirmation hearing. He was not representing Metro when he testified, nor did he ever indicate that he was representing Metro prior to, during or after his testimony. He spoke strictly as a private citizen.
He said that he believed Ms. Williams had the experience, skills and leadership to do the job well.
During the confirmation hearing, when asked a direct question from a Committee member as to what he would have done differently had he still been a D.C. government employee, a response was given. That response was his personal opinion and was not offered in his capacity as a current Metro employee. The newspaper’s attribution of the private citizen’s comments as being connected to the transit agency were false and misleading. The reporter erroneously attributed the citizen’s remarks as being representative of Metro’s opinions, which led to the article’s false impression that Metro was being critical of the District of Columbia’s snow-clearing efforts.
Metro officials have worked well with District officials during the recent snowstorms and continue to do so.
Media contact for this news release: Lisa Farbstein at 202-962-1051.
For all other inquiries, please call customer service at 202-637-7000.
News release issued at 1:49 pm, February 19, 2010.