A second Metro board member has stepped down in the wake of Councilmember Jack Evans’ ethics scandal.

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Corbett Price, the last principal member of D.C.’s delegation to the Metro board, resigned today in a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser.

He cites a medical procedure and a “personal family matter” as his reasons for stepping down.

Price has faced increasing scrutiny over his role in the Metro board ethics committee investigation into then-WMATA board chair and D.C. Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans. Price said Evans was cleared of any violations, but that was not true. A law firm found that Evans had multiple ethics violations in which he put his personal interests ahead of Metro’s, but the ethics committee agreed to cite him on only one offense.

The committee, which Price sat on, gave no full report to the board about its findings and the documents around the proceedings were kept private until they were obtained by The Washington Post. 

Price and Evans also reportedly engaged in a campaign to keep the ethics committee findings private. According to the Post, they made “harassing” phone calls to Metro’s general counsel about the matter, and failed to appear at board meetings to deny a quorum, thus keeping the board from being briefed on Evans’ violation. The revelations increased pressure on Price to step down from the board.

Price, a health care executive, was appointed to the board in 2015 by Bowser under opposition from one of the region’s largest transit unions over his anti-union reputation. He was reappointed earlier this year.

On July 9, At-large Councilmember Elissa Silverman put in a resolution to remove Price from the board for “purposeful misstatements” on the Evans ethics investigation. That measure failed 8-4. Since then, more council members have called for Price’s resignation, including transportation committee chair and Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh and Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, after The Washington Post uncovered the documents about the proceedings.

As news of Price’s resignation broke, Silverman tweeted that his resignation was in the city’s “best interests.”

She told WAMU that his resignation is long overdue.

“Mr. Price lost trust and credibility,” Silverman said. “He lied and covered up the ethics investigation, he lied to the public, he lied to the press. And he was not worthy of being a representative of the District.”

In a statement today, Mayor Muriel Bowser thanked Price for “all he has done over these past four years to protect the interests of D.C. residents and businesses at WMATA.”

Bowser went on to say Price “played a critical role in building a more stable and financially sound WMATA–a system that is able to focus their attention on safety, reliability, and capacity.”

“Going forward, there is more work to do around making Metro more transparent and accountable to the jurisdictions and residents it serves, but I am grateful for the foundation Corbett has helped lay that will allow us to do just that,” Bowser said.

The mayor initially stood by Price when asked by the press earlier last week, but days later, did not answer questions on her confidence in him. Price donated to Bowser’s 2014 mayoral campaign.

The D.C. Council and Bowser will now have to appoint two members to the powerful WMATA Board that steers Metro policy and spending.

Alternates Tom Bulger, who has worked on tolling and transit issues for decades, and Jeff Marootian, director of the District Department of Transportation, will temporarily sit on the board until Price’s and Evans’ spots are filled. The board’s next meeting is September 12.

Metro’s board was trimmed from 16 to 8 primary members by the 2018 dedicated funding legislation signed by D.C., Maryland, and Virginia officials, who said the board was too bloated and lacked accountability. But Bulger has said he was disappointed that the legislation excluded the alternates participating and that their expertise was wasted.

The Metro board has undergone a sea of change in the year since the trim.

Evans stepped down in June after the ethics inquiry and has not been replaced. Maryland’s Clarence Crawford was replaced in July by Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn, thanks to new legislation that mandated the transportation secretary or their appointee must serve on the board. Virginia’s Jim Corcoran was replaced by current board chair Paul Smedberg in January. Price is the latest to resign.

A spokesperson for D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson said the Council has started the vetting process to fill Evans’ vacancy, and it’s unclear how Price’s vacancy will affect that process. Though the Council has the power to appoint both members, the mayor is usually given the courtesy of one Council-approved choice. The Council gets another pick.

This story originally appeared at WAMU.

Filed Under: d.c. council, jack evans, metro, wamu, wmata,