Resident Margaret Tweed says Vancouver controls C TRAN board and urges fair representation

Margaret Tweed used the council’s public comment period on Wednesday to criticize the composition of the Clark Transportation (C TRAN) board, saying recent changes have left Vancouver with outsized influence.

Tweed told the council that "Vancouver essentially now controls 6 out of the 9 seats on the C TRAN board," and said the shift followed a 2025 direction from the Washington State Department of Transportation that changed board composition. She referenced a 2012 ballot defeat of a light-rail extension and said a 2013 advisory vote — which she said passed by 68% — and a 2022 Clark County resolution opposing light rail without a countywide vote should guide policy decisions.

Tweed said county residents who live in unincorporated areas lack a vote in Vancouver and argued that the current allocation (she described it as four county seats, three Vancouver seats and two small-city representatives in the past) is more equitable. She also questioned why Councilor Yoon was selected for a position on the board over Councilor Belcott and asked whether Councilor Fuentes’s absence at a recent meeting meant an alternate was not notified to attend.

Council staff and the chair responded by reminding the public that councilor reports (item 6) are for councilors to report on boards and commissions and are not the forum for general public complaints about councilors’ service on those boards. A councilor later said they had not been notified to serve as an alternate for Councilor Fuentes and said they would follow up.

The council did not take formal action on Tweed’s requests during the meeting; staff and councilors indicated follow-up outside the public-comment period would be pursued.

Tweed identified herself on the record as Margaret Tweed while speaking during the meeting’s public-comment period.