Capital Area Transit System’s Chief Operations Officer Donald Palmer has resigned after just a year in the No. 2 post at the transit agency and will be returning to his native Pittsburgh.
CATS Spokeswoman Amie McNaylor confirms that Palmer tendered his resignation Wednesday. His last day is Dec. 23, McNaylor says, adding she has no information on what was behind Palmer’s decision.
In a voicemail message left in response to a call seeking comment, Palmer says he is leaving to “pursue other opportunities” and that he “wishes CATS well.”
Palmer had more than a dozen years of experience with the Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania when former CATS CEO Bob Mirabito brought him on board in November 2015 to help run the local agency. At the time, CATS’ two-year, management contract with MV Transportation was about to expire, and the COO under the terms of that contract—Bill Deville—was reassigned by Mirabito to the newly-created position of Chief Revenue Officer.
Earlier this year, Mirabito stepped down and the CATS Board of Directors selected Deville to replace him, first on an interim basis and, more recently, as permanent head. Initially, Palmer was also considered for the interim position, and CATS board chairman Jim Brandt praised Palmer at the time for working well with multiple stakeholders, including system employees and leaders of the employee union.
In the months since, however, tensions escalated between Palmer and Deville, and Palmer grew increasingly frustrated with the agency under Deville’s leadership, according to sources familiar with the situation. It is unclear whether he was asked to resign or if he did so voluntarily.
Palmer was one of three top executives brought in during the two-year administration of Mirabito, who is relocating to Missouri to run a medical group practice.
—Stephanie Riegel
