Mayor Mike Johnston has chosen Jaime Lewis, a transit adviser for the Colorado Cross-Incapacity Coalition, to serve on the Regional Transportation District’s board of administrators representing areas together with central and east Denver.
Mayoral staffers confirmed the nomination to JHB on Wednesday. If accredited by the Metropolis Council, Lewis will fill a emptiness created in District A final month by the resignation of Kate Williams, who cited a terminal most cancers analysis.
Lewis mentioned he’ll step in underneath an settlement to serve solely by way of the top of this 12 months, when Williams’ second time period would have ended.
Johnston selected Lewis over at the very least one candidate working for the board seat within the November election. In January, the winner of that race will probably be sworn in on RTD’s 15-member elected board, which these days has come underneath scrutiny by state lawmakers who need to overhaul the transit company.
“Jaime is a forward-thinking and revered member of our neighborhood who brings a deep understanding of the transportation challenges going through our metropolis,” Johnston mentioned in an emailed assertion. “I’m assured Jaime will deliver a contemporary perspective and can play an important position in guaranteeing that the wants of our residents are met.”
Lewis, an ordained minister and advocate for transit entry for folks with disabilities, served from 1998 to 2001 as a metropolis council member and mayor in Salida. He now lives in Denver.
Political marketing consultant Chris Nicholson, who additionally sought the emptiness nomination, and web site designer Jacob Turner have introduced they’re working within the fall election for District A, which encompasses a part of downtown together with Cherry Creek, Glendale and Lowry.
On the board, Lewis mentioned he deliberate to give attention to bettering security on RTD buses and trains, retaining drivers, and ensuring the area’s public transit system is equally accessible for all residents.
“There must be a way of security,” Lewis mentioned. “Proper now, there appear to be two varieties of riders. One sort has to make use of transit, and they’re in concern due to among the individuals who get on the bus — people who find themselves smoking meth or participating in violent conduct. The ‘different rider’ is individuals who would possibly think about using public transit however balk at doing that due to their notion that an RTD bus is a foul place to be.”
Higher teamwork between RTD’s police pressure and the native police in municipalities with bus and practice stations can increase rider security, he mentioned, suggesting elevated patrols and regulation enforcement on RTD property across the stations.
Lewis, who makes use of a wheelchair due to polio he contracted as a baby, mentioned he has come to understand RTD drivers as his heroes, at the same time as many metro Denver residents underestimate their worth.
“I’m transit dependent. I’m in a wheelchair. They usually get me the place I need to go,” he mentioned.
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