Mark Johnson is Ottawa's newest transit commissioner

Although this news is nearly four months old by now, it had completely flown under my radar until yesterday: The City of Ottawa's Transit Commission filled its vacant citizen commissioner position in April with the selection of Mark Johnson, a public servant from Barrhaven.

Johnson is an everyday transit user--currently the only one on the transit commission--and seems like he's looking towards being an active member: During his first meeting, he peppered city staff with a variety of questions about OC Transpo. He's also very active on Twitter, and can be found at @Commish_Johnson.

On the other hand, Johnson has no technical experience in transit planning (at least as far as I can tell). He seems like an energetic and ambitious new member, there's no doubt about that, but I still have questions about the value of the transit commission as it's currently configured. I've long been critical of the commission's structure, but I'm still optimistic there's a place for an independent commission. Johnson's passion will hopefully rattle the commission a little bit and push for some more outside-the-box thinking, but the commission still has a long way to go before it's really adding much more value than the previous transit committee.

Take, for instance, a recent vote on security cameras on OC Transpo buses: Although three of the civilian commissioners wanted to retrofit the existing fleet with cameras in the hopes of improving security today, they were out-voted by the city councillors who comprise the bulk of the committee (their are eight councillors and just four civilian commissioners). The Committee instead decided to insist only future bus purchases include cameras, which isn't really meaningful since the city's bought hundreds of new buses since 2010 (including $155M for 226 articulated buses in 2010 and $82M for 75 double-deckers in 2011), its oldest buses are from 2003, and there are no immediate plans to purchase any new buses.

I'm hopeful Johnson can energize the committee and challenge his fellow commissioners and inspire a bit more activity among them. In my mind, one of OC Transpo's biggest problems is with groupthink and inertia that results in a reluctance to challenge existing ideas and look for new ways to solve the many problems its system faces; the transit commission, even in its current form, can change that. But it won't be easy.

Public members of Transit Commission appointed

On Wednesday afternoon, the City of Ottawa Transit Commission appointed the four public citizens set to join eight councillors to form the full committee. The public members, along with biographies from the city's press release and links to profiles from around the web, are:

Blair Crew: Long-time resident of River Ward, Mr. Crew holds a bachelor degree in Environment and Resource Management, and a Bachelor and Master of Laws (LL.B and LL.M). He is currently employed by the University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic where he delivers front-line legal services to economically disadvantaged citizens of the City. Mr. Crew has one daughter, enjoys Canadian history and is an avid outdoor education enthusiast.

Justin Ferrabee: Mr. Ferrabee has deep community ties through his professional and volunteer activities. He is a board member of the Strategic Planning Forum, a not-for-profit strategic planning association, a fundraiser for the United Way, and a founding member of the Carleton University Charity Ball fundraising committee. Mr. Ferrabee is currently the President of Totem Hill Management Consulting where he specializes in corporate transformation and change management for both public and private sector organizations. Mr. Ferrabee is a resident of West Carleton March Ward, he holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters in Business Administration. Mr. Ferrabee has travelled extensively and brings with him considerable knowledge of some of the best transit systems in the world.

Emily Rahn: Ms. Rahn is a resident of Ottawa’s Capital Ward. She is a volunteer in a wide range of community-based groups from coaching a Glebe Little League Baseball team and Women’s Ringette team to volunteering for the Easter Seals Regatta which allows disabled children to go out for a day of sailing on the Ottawa River. Ms. Rahn is fluently bilingual and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws with a specialty in civil litigation. Ms. Rahn currently works for the Ottawa-based law firm Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall.

Cyrus Reporter: Mr. Reporter is a community leader and resident of Somerset Ward. He has extensive experience in government and complex public policy issues. Mr. Reporter places great importance on his volunteer work with the Ottawa Hospital Foundation, the Ottawa Community Immigration Services Organization, the National Arts Centre’s Gala Sponsorship Committee, and as a past member of the Board of Governors for Carleton University. As the national lead of the Public Policy Practice Group for the Ottawa Law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain, Mr. Reporter has demonstrated his ability to solve complex problems and contribute to the creative development of public policy. Mr. Reporter is a first generation Canadian with a strong ethic towards the betterment of the community.

Crew, Ferrabee, Rahn, and Reporter join councillors Daine Deans (chair), Keith Egli (vice chair), Stephen Blais, Rainer Bloess, Steve Desroches, Shad Qadri, Tim Tierney, and Marianne Wilkinson to form the full 12-person committee.