The C-TRAN office in Vancouver on Aug. 12, 2025.
Erik Neumann / OPB
A monthslong debate over which cities in Clark County should get a voice on the local transit board, C-TRAN, came to a possible conclusion Tuesday night.
The C-TRAN board composition review committee, an oversight group for the transit agency, voted 8-2 to accept a request from the Washington State Department of Transportation that would bring the C-TRAN board into compliance with state rules.
The change would shrink the number of seats allotted to small cities, including Camas, Washougal, Ridgefield, Battle Ground, La Center and Yacolt. The result would increase decision making power for the more populous Vancouver and unincorporated Clark County regions to better reflect the population.
The tension over C-TRAN representation often comes back to funding for future light rail services on the replacement of the Interstate Bridge across the Columbia River.
Representatives from the small cities, which are located in more rural parts of Clark County, frequently say their constituents won’t benefit from mass transit, and they worry costs to maintain the service will increase dramatically on a new bridge.
But Tuesday’s vote came with a compromise.
“The art of compromise is that nobody gets everything that they want,” said Battle Ground Mayor Troy McCoy.
Related: Washington state transportation officials reject effort to reshape C-TRAN board
McCoy included a change that sales tax revenue generated in small cities won’t pay for future light rail maintenance and operations unless their residents or city councils vote to do so. Revenue generated in Vancouver or Clark County could still pay for mass transit costs.
“It would essentially say, if you want light rail, it could be a different funding mechanism, other than the current one appropriated to C-TRAN,” he said.
According to McCoy, the resolution was an effort to prevent C-TRAN from breaking apart. In August, city officials in Camas said they would consider pulling funding from the transit agency altogether and instead create their own city transportation system.
A second amendment from Ridgefield Mayor Matt Cole asked that any C-TRAN representative from Clark County not live within Vancouver city limits. Cole believed that would prevent further representation for Vancouver.
The group of six small cities makes up 18% of Clark County’s population. Until Tuesday, they had four out of nine seats on the C-TRAN board.
In mid-September, the state’s transportation department said C-TRAN was out of compliance with state law because the board was not proportionally represented. It warned the agency was at risk of losing millions in future grant funding if the seats were not reallocated.
Related: Washington state says future C-TRAN funding could be withheld as board dispute moves to court
McCoy’s proposal followed WSDOT’s recommendation: giving Vancouver four seats, unincorporated Clark County three seats, and the group of six small cities two seats.
According to transit agency rules, the resolution will take effect during the next C-TRAN meeting on Dec. 9, assuming there are no legal challenges.
Whether Tuesday’s compromise is able to thread the needle of maintaining current C-TRAN funding while eliminating the disagreement over light rail costs remains to be seen.
Clark County Councilor Sue Marshall expressed skepticism that the full proposal would pass legal muster.
“I will be consulting with the county’s attorneys about the legality of directing us on how we appoint our elected counselors to boards and commissions,” she said.
