The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) Board of Directors today elected District of Columbia Councilmember Charles Allen as its Chair for 2024. Allen will lead the regional planning body as it continues convening leaders to develop solutions to Metro’s looming budget deficit and ensure the system’s long-term fiscal health.
“COG is the one place that brings together government officials from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia to solve regional challenges and plan for the future,” Allen said. “Great regions have great transit, and we are one hundred percent committed to making sure we have a safe, reliable, efficient, and sustainable Metro system.”
Allen serves as the Chair of the DC Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment and sits on the Committees on Business and Economic Development, Health, and Judiciary and Public Safety. Elected to the DC Council in 2015, he has led on education, the environment, safer streets, strengthening Metro, public safety and criminal justice, campaign finance and elections reform, LGBTQ rights, and women’s health. His first piece of legislation, “Books from Birth”, has delivered more than 2.2 million books to the homes of DC families with a child under the age of five, at no cost to the families, with targeted enrollment of children in communities with lower literacy rates.
At Allen’s first meeting as chair, the board reviewed a recently released interim report by a COG workgroup on Metro’s FY 2025 budget and discussed ways to implement its recommendations as policymakers consider the transit system’s budget and state legislatures begin their sessions in Annapolis and Richmond. For example, the board incorporated in COG’s 2024 legislative priorities the report’s recommendation calling for state lawmakers in Maryland and Virginia to take legislative action to reset their levels of subsidy payments to Metro. This action would account for the impacts of the pandemic on operating costs and serve as the baseline for future budget calculations, which would result in increased funding for the system.
COG is calling on Virginia and the District of Columbia to commit to increasing funding for the transit system to match Maryland’s recent proposal included in Governor Wes Moore’s transportation budget plan. COG will also be engaging with Metro and its member agencies to support implementation of other recommendations related to fares and service levels and planning a more comprehensive examination of the system's funding models and governance in 2024 to address its longstanding structural issues.
Watch the full COG Board discussion on Metro.
During Allen’s tenure as Board Chair, COG will also focus on strengthening public safety coordination among area law enforcement agencies and advancing housing and climate targets, including COG’s newest goal to have 250,000 solar rooftops in the region by 2030.
Allen has held previous leadership roles at COG, serving as COG Board Vice Chair for the past two years and leading the Transportation Planning Board at COG in 2018 and 2021. Fairfax County Supervisor Rodney Lusk and Charles County Commissioner President Reuben Collins, II were elected as Vice Chairs.
In addition, the board approved the leadership for its policy committees: Montgomery County Councilmember Natali Fani-González as Chair of the COG Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee; Prince George’s County Council Chair Jolene Ivey as Chair of the COG Climate, Energy, and Environment Policy Committee; City of Fairfax Council Member Jon Stehle as Chair of the COG Food & Agriculture Regional Member Policy Committee; Fairfax County Supervisor Rodney Lusk as Chair of the COG Human Services Policy Committee; and Arlington County Board Vice-Chair Takis Karantonis as Chair of the COG Region Forward Coalition.
The board also welcomed new members, including City of Laurel Mayor Keith Sydnor, Prince George’s County Council Member Ingrid Watson, City of Rockville Mayor Monique Ashton, Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey, Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw, City of Falls Church Council Member Caroline Lian, Loudoun County Supervisor Laura Tekrony, Prince William County Chair Deshundra Jefferson, and Virginia General Assembly Delegate Mark Sickles.
The Board of Directors is COG’s governing body and is responsible for its overall policies, functions, and funds. Board members are appointed each year by the participating local governments and by caucuses of state legislative delegations from the region.
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