Local Leaders Endorse Changes To Metro Board

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Md.), Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-Va.) and D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray have signed on to a plan to radically change the way Metro governs itself.

Metro's board of directors has received much of the blame for the many problems and setbacks the organization has experienced over the past several years.

Now, O'Mally, McDonnell and Gray have endorsed a broad package of changes to the way the board operates.

Some of the changes, such as reconfiguring the way Metro board members are appointed, would require laws passed in all three legislatures.

But Sean Connaughton, Virginia's secretary of transportation, says other changes could happen right now. For example, Connaughton says McDonnell, O'Malley and Gray want the board to extend the term length of its chairman by the end of the month.