Long replaces Adler as CAMPO chair

By unanimous vote, Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation Policy Board has elected Williamson County Commissioner Cynthia Long as chair and Council Member Ann Kitchen as vice chair for calendar years 2020 and 2021. Mayor Steve Adler, who served as board chair since former chair Will Conley resigned in February 2019, thanked the board for the opportunity to lead the group before making the motion to elect Long and Kitchen. Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea made a substitute motion in favor of fellow Commissioner Jeff Travillion becoming vice chair, saying the board’s leadership should reflect the region’s increasingly diverse constituency. Travillion, who also serves on the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board of directors, received only six votes, including his own. Returning to Adler’s original motion, the board gave its unanimous approval to be led by Long and Kitchen. Speaking to the vote, Kitchen said she looks forward to working with the board’s representatives, including Travillion, while she serves as vice chair. Prompted by questions from Council Member Alison Alter, Long stated her intention to keep Adler in a leadership role by appointing him Austin’s representative on the board’s executive committee and thanked Adler for his willingness to be “drafted” as a leader going forward.