WMATA hands chairman's gavel to Smedberg

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) board has elected Paul Smedberg as chairman.

He joined the board in 2016 as an alternate director representing the city of Alexandria, Virginia, and in January became a principal director representing the commonwealth of Virginia. Smedberg previously served as chairman and member of Virginia Railway Express' operations board.

He has served on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) since 2006, and chaired the commission in 2014 and 2018. NVTC makes Virginia's appointments to WMATA’s board. Smedberg also served on Alexandria's city council from 2003 to 2018.

"Paul is a respected member of NVTC and brings extensive experience to WMATA issues," said NVTC Chairman Matthew Letourneau in a press release. "He understands the importance of WMATA to the Washington region and to northern Virginia, and as a former local government representative, he understands the unique challenges we have in Virginia."