Tom Cowan, New Transportation Commissioner, Has Track Record Tackling Tough Problems

Tom Cowan of Lopez Island will serve on the State Transportation Commission.

Tom Cowan, longtime Lopez Islander and former County Commissioner has been appointed by Governor Chris Gregoire as the newest member of the State Transportation Commission.

In an interview with BullWings, Cowan said that the Governor had a number of applicants, and “I believe a main reason that someone from San Juan County should be on the Commission is becaue of the unique issues of the county.

“I recognize the importance of increasing revenue for the entire [statewide] transportation systems, and in particular — in a disproportionate way — the ferry system.

“For example, it strikes me as probably the most alarming statistic as the deficit in the ferry budget; and there is no known source for revenue. It’s estimated that the deficit will be one-quarter of a million dollars per day for the next 10 years.

“Something has to be done or we’ll be sitting with rusted hulks and not taking care of the system in the way it should be.”

Cowan served on the County Commission from 1983 to 1995. He says that, in 1983, the County budget was “in worse financial shape than it is now,” and that it had been required to pay its debts with interest-bearing warrants, or loans from banks. At the same time, it was the fastest- rowing county in the state, and Cowan supported a 5 percent property tax increase, although it was “pretty unpopular.” He also proposed County staff furloughs when the County Courthouse would shut its doors.

Cowan, who is now a policy consultant and marine resources project manager, says that he was asked to apply and gave it a lot of thought. Though he’s the first to admit his transportation experience is “lacking,” he cites his public policy experience and says, “It would be really bad for us if someone from the San Juans, who understands the issues, impacts and importance of the ferry system, were not appointed.”

Cowan credits his predecessor on the Commission, Bob Distler, a career transportation planner and policy expert, and says “I’m facing a steep learning curve, and I’m really tying to come up to speed.” Cowan’s first step will be to study the 20-year Transportation Plan issued in December (see accompanying story “Twenty-year Transportation Plan Calls for Investment”). “It’s a voluminous document and chock full of information, including reports from the Transportation Commission, and so far it looks pretty darn good.

“I don’t have any position on the issues yet,” says Cowan. Since leaving the County Commission, he has served as a liaison for the Puget Sound Action Team, working on environmental and water policies, and was the first director of the Northwest Straits Commission, from 1999 to 2006.

His most recent project, of which he was manager, was removing 3,800 [intlink id=”3193″ type=”post”]derelict gill nets[/intlink] in Puget Sound, about half of which were in the San Juan Islands.

He is currently Chair of the San Juan County Land Bank, and a Board Member of the SeaDoc Society.