President Obama has named Francis P. Mulvey as acting chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, elevating the sole Democratic commissioner from the vice chairman post.
The choice of chair is the president's prerogative and does not require Senate confirmation. It had also been expected by industry officials.
The STB is the economic regulator for the railroad industry, and decides clashes between rail firms and their customers. Although the three board members had been in close agreement on many case decisions, the chairman can set many of the agency's priorities and the pace of deliberations.
The previous chairman, Charles D. Nottingham, had earlier said the change to a Mulvey chairmanship could come at any time and that he intends to remain on the board as a commissioner through the end of his term in 2010.
Mulvey told Journal of Commerce he got word of the change on March 13, and that the "acting" chairman designation came because one person apparently objected to his being named chairman. He would not give details, but said he expects to address the issue and "hopefully we'll see if we can get that removed" from the title.
The third STB board member, W. Douglas Buttrey, left his post on March 13. His formal term expired at the end of 2008, but the law allowed him to stay on for a full extra year or until a replacement was ready to take office. However, he announced his departure date weeks ago, even though Obama has not yet named a replacement.
Source: Journal of Commerce, March 16, 2009
