Panel Remains Divided on Light-Rail Chief

Unable to resolve their differences, the Pasadena light-rail project’s directors decided late Monday to again interview two finalists for the key post of chief executive officer.

The board of the Pasadena Metro Blue Line Construction Authority is divided over whether to choose Richard Thorpe, project manager for Salt Lake City’s light-rail project, or Charles Stark, construction chief for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The choice is considered the most important decision the board will make because the chief executive will oversee construction of the 13.7-mile rail line from downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena.

The board is split along geographic lines with the three San Gabriel Valley representatives--who dominate the authority--supporting Thorpe, while the MTA’s representative and Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Hernandez back Stark.

“I’m looking for more of a consensus on the decision,” said Authority Chairman Paul Little. “One of the reasons to have a second round of interviews is to become more familiar with the two candidates.

Little, a Pasadena city councilman, said the follow-up interviews will be held in mid-August.

Thorpe has been project manager since 1995 on the light-rail line now nearing completion in Salt Lake City. The rail project is running ahead of schedule and significantly under budget.

Before joining the Utah Transit Authority, Thorpe was a vice president at Parsons Brinckerhoff, a major transportation planning and engineering company. Thorpe spent much of his career building San Diego’s widely acclaimed trolley system.

Stark has been construction chief at MTA since January 1997. In that job, he has overseen work on the Metro Rail subway and the Pasadena project. He has been involved with the Los Angeles subway since 1991. Before joining the MTA, Stark had extensive experience on other transit projects across the country.