PORT TOWNSEND — Port Angeles Mayor Dan Di Guilio will serve as the temporary general manager of Jefferson Transit, replacing Peggy Hanson, who resigned.
“I’m excited about this opportunity and am looking forward to becoming involved in transit issues,” he said Friday.
Di Guilio, 61, served as general manager for Clallam Transit System for nine years, retiring in 2004.
After his retirement, he worked as director of housing improvements for Olympic Community Action Programs.
Di Guilio was elected to the Port Angeles City Council in 2007 and began a two-year term as mayor in 2010. He makes $650 a month as mayor.
He will begin work in Port Townsend on Tuesday. He is likely to serve until the end of the year, said John Austin, a Jefferson County commissioner and a member of the transit board.
Di Guilio will receive the same $7,083 monthly salary as Hanson, though without benefits, except that he will receive travel reimbursement, Austin said.
Di Guilio will commute from Port Angeles and will not relocate to Port Townsend, and he said he does not expect the new position to affect his mayoral duties.
“I’ve asked for some flexibility in my schedule, and the board has agreed,” he said, adding that he expected to work longer hours at first and taper off as things are under control.
Di Guilio said he hasn’t paid attention to specifics about public bus districts since his retirement but doesn’t think it will be hard to get up to speed.
“The first thing I’ll do is look at the finances,” he said.
“I’ll then do a skills assessment to make sure that everyone is in the right place.
“If they are not, I will get them the resources that they need.”
Di Guilio said he was approached about considering the temporary position by the Jefferson Transit board last week after Hanson announced her resignation.
Hanson has been put on administrative leave until her official resignation Tuesday.
Di Guilio met with the board in an executive session Friday morning. His appointment was announced in an open session after the meeting.
The Transit Board includes two Port Townsend City Council members and all three Jefferson County commissioners.
Also present at the meeting was state Department of Transportation Assistant Director Cathy Silins.
Austin said no schedule to search for a permanent general manager has been established.
Hanson began in her position in May, after working in several positions for TriMet in Portland, Ore.
During her time at Jefferson Transit, she supervised the successful request to voters for a sales tax increase to support transit services.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
