John Pingree was the first in and the first out of Monday's special meeting of the Utah Transit Authority.
When the general manager settled into his seat for what many knew would be the last time, Pingree got a spontaneous round of applause from those waiting for the meeting to begin.About an hour later, the man who served since 1977 as UTA general manager received another round of applause from supporters as he left, moments after being fired.
Two weeks ago, the anti-Pingree faction of the UTA board of directors felt it had the votes to call a special meeting for Pingree's ouster. The vote was an awkward one, as the board agreed to fire Pingree "without cause" so the 20-year general manager could hold onto about $400,000 in severance and pension benefits.
That "without cause" clause put board members in the unusual position of casting a momentous vote without spelling out their specific reasons.
"We will give Mr. Pingree the reasons if he asks for them," said Dan Berman, a board representative from Salt Lake County, also adding he didn't want the meeting to descend into a hostile rehash of Pingree's short-comings.
The final vote was 9-6, with Curt Bramble switching his vote at the last minute so that they could avoid a divisive-looking 8-7 vote. Board members voting against Pingree were Bramble, Berman, Richard Kuchinsky, Bonnie Fernandez, Bob Black, Karen Mayne, Sam Taylor, Robert Davis and Jeff Hawker.
With that vote, Pingree rose from his chair, shook each board member's hand while television cameras recorded the moment, and left the room.
This change at the top comes at a critical time for UTA, which operates more than 500 buses along the Wasatch Front and recently began construction of a $312 million light-rail commuter line in Salt Lake County.
While controversial, the move was not unexpected.
Last September, the board deadlocked 7-7 on a no-confidence vote of Pingree. The Legislature this year added a 15th seat to the board to prevent repeated stalemates. With that 15th member, Jeff Hawker, the votes lined up against Pingree.
After Pingree was gone, Kuchinsky, one of those who led the movement against the general manager, handed the media a list called "Reasons for terminating Mr. Pingree as UTA's general manager."
They included:
- "We have lost trust and confidence in Mr. Pingree."
Kuchinsky's list included the revelation that Pingree's $151,000 compensation package did not disclose to the board an approximately $25,000 annuity. "The public taxpayers and the board have a right to know the general manager's compensation."
- "Mr. Pingree reported to the board that UTA's management had `nothing to do' in 1995 in securing a legislative amendment attempting to change the power to appoint UTA board members in Salt Lake County. Contrary to that representation, UTA's management, under Mr. Pingree's direction, had in fact caused the amendment in question to be inserted in the legislation, had done so without board knowledge or authority."
- "Mr. Pingree, in 1996, misrepresented to the board that 8400 South was available to UTA as a location for a light-rail, vehicle-support facility . . . . Based on Mr. Pingree's representation, UTA went ahead and incurred tens of millions of dollars of contractual commitments to proceed with light rail. In fact, Mr. Pingree had been told by Sandy officials that 8400 South was not available."
Kuchinsky's list continues with two more pages that criticize Pingree's management style and what is described as a single-minded support of the light-rail project now known as TRAX.
The list concludes: "Many of Mr. Pingree's failures may simply be due to the fact that he has served too long as general manager . . . . Whatever the reasons, the relationship at UTA between (the) board and general manager has gotten badly out of balance."
The board of directors on Monday also voted to fire William Oswald as its general counsel. It then appointed its members to two committees who will search for replacements for Pingree and Oswald.
The board appointed assistant general manager John Inglish to replace Pingree in the interim.
The afternoon shakeup left some people scratching their heads.
Former Utah Gov. Calvin Rampton, who has sat on the board since April 30, said the board exhibited a "lynch-mob mentality" in sacking its general manager and general counsel on the same day. The board is "a body I am ashamed to be on," Rampton said.
Rampton noted that in recent months, the UTA board has welcomed several new members. "I know Mr. Pingree only slightly," Rampton said. "I can't believe any of the (new members) have enough information to make up their minds about Mr. Pingree."
Inglish, who has worked beside Pingree for almost 20 years, said he doesn't see any great transitional difficulties. Under Pingree's stewardship, Inglish said, UTA grew from having about 300 buses to one that serves six counties with 550 buses and has begun construction on the light-rail system.
"John Pingree is a great man who has dedicated much of his life (to UTA)," Inglish said. "And one of the signs of a good manager is someone who makes sure there is a backup system" just in case something goes wrong.