TransLink firings may be step in the right direction, or may just be window dressing
My column in The Surrey Leader and Peace Arch News for Friday, July 17 Yet another shoe has dropped at TransLink, which continues to be the target of enormous criticism from taxpayers and transit users. On Tuesday, it was announced that two of its most senior executives had been let go. Doug Kelsey, whose involvement with transit in the region predates TransLink’s creation, was most recently chief operating officer, and also president and CEO of the B.C. Rapid Transit Company. His 2014 salary and other payments totalled $355,000, and his severance is likely to total in the hundreds of thousands, if not into the millions, given how long he has been working with TransLink and its predecessors. Bob Paddon has been executive vice-president and was one of the most-quoted senior executives, given that part of his responsibility had been media and public relations. His 2014 salary was $299,000. He was also overseeing long-term planning, which has been thrown out the window by t...