CATS board candidates being vetted by community leaders

Community leaders began interviewing candidates to fill the vacant seat on the CATS board of directors this afternoon, hoping eventually to make recommendations to the Metro Council. There are 14 candidates total for the spot on the nine-member board. You can see a full list of them here. Representatives from Together Baton Rouge, BRAC and AARP interviewed the first slate of candidates for the seat. Jason Engen, the first of four candidates to be interviewed today, says he’d like to see more unity among CATS leaders. “I do think that there has to be a partnership between the board and management,” he says. The other 10 candidates will be interviewed through Friday, March 22. All are being asked about their vision for the future of Baton Rouge’s public transit system, and what role the public should play in board decisions. The interviews began today as the Metro Council is preparing to discuss this evening the possible establishment of a committee to “identify and fully vet applicants” to fill the one current and all future vacancies on the CATS board. Metro Councilwomen C. Denise Marcelle and Ronnie Edwards have placed the item on the agenda. If approved, it will be the only formal committee in place to make recommendations about board appointments to the Metro Council, which also appoints members to boards overseeing the city-parish library system, BREC and Baton Rouge Metro Airport. The Metro Council is expected to appoint someone to fill one vacancy on the board on March 27.