Washington State Ferries gets new chief

OLYMPIA — Washington State Ferries has a new leader at the helm.

David Moseley, 60, a veteran of government service and nonprofit leadership, was named today a chief of the nation’s largest ferry system.

“Welcome aboard, you’ve got a challenge,” state Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, said to Moseley at a news conference at the Department of Transportation headquarters where the hiring was announced.

Moseley has worked for nonprofits, in city government, a short spell in the House of Representatives but never in transportation. He acknowledged he’ll be spending a lot of time early on talking to employees and riding ferries so he can understand the agency operations and how it is perceived by the public.

“This is, of course, a big job, with a big challenge,” he said.

Moseley succeeds Mike Anderson, who retired in December. He is joining a ferry system in turmoil after problems with corroding steel on its aging vessels have raised questions about the fleet’s management and safety. On Nov. 20, Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond retired four Steel Electric-class ferries out of concern over cracks and corrosion in their 1927-vintage hulls.

Gregoire was joined by Hammond and key state legislators in announcing the decision.

Gordon Baxter, a maritime labor lobbyist who represents all but a few dozen of the ferry’s system’s 1,600 union employees, served on the search committee for the position. He said going outside the agency was the right move.

“We don’t care if someone knows a port from starboard,” he said. “We think it’s time to bring in someone from the outside who is a manager.”

Moseley is vice president for the Institute for Community Change in Seattle and had been Federal Way city manager from 1999 to 2006.

“I am pleased to be here today to launch a new day and a new direction for the Washington state ferry system,” Gregoire said in a prepared statement. “Over the next 18 months, I have asked Secretary Hammond and her new ferry system assistant secretary to transform the state ferry system so during these changing times it will remain the safest, most responsive, and highest caliber system in the world.”

Moseley will begin work March 1 as the transportation department’s assistant secretary for the ferries division.

Gregoire today specified three areas of improvement she expects to see in the ferry system under new leadership:

A fleet preservation and maintenance program that sets the standard for industry best practices.

A restructured, nimble, organization that provides outstanding customer service and in partnership with each of the communities it serves, and meets the needs of a growing Puget Sound region.

A funding plan that is lean, and sustainable in the long-term, and that accommodates the preservation of vessels and regular replacement within their planned life span.

“We are committed to having a sustainable, well run state ferry system that will continue to serve the Puget Sound communities long into the future,” Hammond said. “I believe David brings the organizational and management experience we need to see the Ferries Division continue its long and respected history of serving the citizens of Washington.”