Ben Franklin Transit hires top manager as it continues to discuss tax cut

Ben Franklin Transit has hired an executive at TriMet in Portland, Ore., as its new general manager.

Rachelle Glazier, the TriMet executive director of transportation operations, starts work at the Tri-Cities bus system July 18.

Ed Frost, who was one of the founders of Ben Franklin Transit and an executive at the agency before his retirement in 2009, has been filling in as interim general manager since Gloria Boyce retired as general manager in January.

Glazier took the job as the Ben Franklin Transit Board is considering whether to ask voters whether they want to reduce the state tax they pay to fund the transit.

The board tabled the proposal earlier, but is expected to discuss it again at an upcoming workshop.

Opponents of the cut say it would save the average resident of the two counties about $1.66 per month but would likely mean the loss of as much as $75 million in Washington state funds.

Glazier has worked for TriMet since August 2021 and before that was general manager of U.S. network operations for the Canadian National Railway and chief officer of stations and operations at New York City Transit.

She is familiar with the Mid-Columbia area after working for Union Pacific Railroad in Hermiston from 2005 to spring 2018, according to her LinkedIn profile.