TRPC Executive Director Marc Daily is leaving the organization
Marc Daily, the longtime executive director of the Thurston Regional Planning Council, announced this week that he is leaving the organization for a new job. His last day is June 3, he said Wednesday.
His announcement comes after some recent controversy at TRPC.
An advisory body to the council, the Transportation Policy Board, recently recommended that a regional transportation plan be scrubbed of references to equity that the Trump administration has outlawed via executive order. The recommendation was made in an effort not to jeopardize federal funding for the organization.
But last week, the TRPC council, which includes elected officials from various jurisdictions, then blasted that recommendation and voted to reject it.
“I want to start with saying how proud I am of the draft regional transportation plan,” council chair Robin Vazquez said at the May 2 meeting. “I think it is a really remarkable document that says something about our values as a community, and I don’t think there is any value in adjusting the language in the long-term plan when the directives coming from the federal administration are legally absurd and constitutionally ignorant.”
But on Wednesday, Daily said that recent recommendation and vote had nothing to do with his departure. He said the decision to leave had been in the works for some time. Daily is now headed to the Puget Sound Regional Council to be its director of administrative services.
He said the Puget Sound Regional Council is similar to TRPC, but is focused on King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties.
“It’s the opportunity to take everything I’ve learned and apply it on a larger scale,” he said.
Council chair Vazquez called Daily’s departure a bittersweet moment, saying he had been an asset to the organization and had received high marks from council members and staff during his review.
“His humility, integrity and vision for the organization are things that will be very difficult to replace,” she said.
Vazquez said Daily called her about his decision on Monday, then sent an email to council and transportation policy board members. Olympia City Council member Robert Vanderpool, who serves on both the board and council, shared the news during his inter-jurisdictional report at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Vazquez acknowledged she too had wondered about whether his announcement was connected to the recent controversy. He told her it was not, she said.
TRPC does not have much time before June 3, so she imagines the organization will appoint an interim director before they hire a new director. They also have to decide whether to handle the hiring process internally or hire a consultant, she said.
Carolyn Cox, who serves on the council as the LOTT Clean Water Alliance representative, said Daily was a fantastic executive director.
What does she want to see in the next hire?
“I really want to see a person build on the work he has done, maintain morale on his high-functioning staff and who gets Thurston County and what we’re about, and has that vision to help us get there,” she said.
