The Umpqua Public Transportation District serves over 20,000 riders. It鈥檚 a new district, only formed in 2019, but important in a region with elderly and low-income residents, many left behind after the timber industry declined.
Lately, some have been worried about the district's future.
鈥淚 really just have a question. I know quite a few people that use our public transportation, so is it in danger of being shut down or anything like that?鈥� said Roseburg resident Lisa Miller at a UPTD board meeting in late October.
Residents aren鈥檛 the only ones concerned. The Oregon Department of Transportation, which monitors regulatory compliance and facilitates state and federal grants for transportation agencies in the state, has labeled UPTD a 鈥渉igh-risk鈥� agency. The department first noticed cash flow problems at UPTD in early 2024, according to ODOT communications manager Anna Howe, requiring weekly meetings to sort out what was going wrong in Douglas County. Since then, ODOT has discovered that UPTD has failed to follow state and federal rules, from drug and alcohol testing to reporting and procurement practices, putting their funding at risk.
鈥淥ther transit districts we work with have faced instances of non-compliance or financial challenges, but the number of ongoing issues that UPTD has been experiencing is unusual,鈥� said Howe over email.
Besides the agency鈥檚 financial troubles, there鈥檚 been massive turnover of the district鈥檚 board. Within the last year, six members of the seven-member board have resigned. The general manager and operations manager have also quit.
鈥淚 don't know how the district exists without some major changes immediately,鈥� said former board member Natasha Atkinson.
While most board members said they left for personal reasons, Atkinson said she was resigning in mid-October because of who was filling those empty positions at UPTD: A group of politically connected outcasts from the Douglas County Republican Party. She thinks they鈥檝e politicized the non-partisan board.
鈥淭he goal was to have a government agency that was run specifically by American First Republicans,鈥� said Atkinson.
The final straw for her was when Ben Edtl, a political consultant just south of Portland, was hired as interim general manager. Edtl has political ties to some of those who now fill the board, but no transportation experience.
鈥淚f it was a functioning district鈥� then I would say, 鈥楩ine.鈥� Like hiring somebody from outside of transportation land, that can sometimes lead to great innovations, right? But we're not,鈥� said Atkinson.
Three of the new Umpqua transportation board members were kicked out of the Douglas County Republican Party鈥檚 executive committee back in April.
Larry Reeves, chairman of that party branch, said those members were removed because they kept attacking fellow Republicans, like putting up a billboard during May鈥檚 primary election accusing Republican incumbent David Brock Smith of being in China鈥檚 pocket.
鈥淭hey assumed that he was part of the Chinese Communist Party because he鈥� encouraged cranberry farmers and got them selling their products to China,鈥� said Reeves.
The political action committee Republican Unity Caucus was behind the billboard. And Ben Edtl, the transportation district鈥檚 new interim general manager, was behind that PAC. The group also accused Brock Smith of supporting off-shore wind and the state鈥檚 wildfire risk map. In March, Brock Smith to the group threatening legal action if they persisted in making false statements about him.
The RUC supported Todd Vaugn鈥檚 campaign against Brock Smith. Vaughn lost that race. But he鈥檚 gained a spot on the transportation district鈥檚 board with other America First allies. Board member Michaela Hammerson has also donated to Ben Edtl鈥檚 state representative campaign.
Reeves, the Douglas County Republican Party chairman, doesn鈥檛 have an opinion about whether people like Vaughn or Hammerson are good for the transportation district. But he can speak about how they acted while in the party.
鈥淭hey're strong personalities and they're going to do everything they can to get their way,鈥� said Reeves.
The political firebrand turned district manager Ben Edtl doesn鈥檛 shy away from the America First label.
He in October that, with the new board, " ... we finally have a government agency in Oregon run by America First Republicans." But he says residents have it all wrong if they think that label is about divisiveness or extremism.
鈥淚t has nothing to do with your race. It has nothing to do with your gender or your sexual orientation or anything. Let's put our people first. Let's put the citizens of the Umpqua Public Transportation District first,鈥� said Edtl.
Edtl was a business owner in Portland until the turbulent times around COVID brought him to politics. He says he lost his coffee roasting business due to lockdowns.
He started a group called which has a goal of 鈥減rotecting medical and religious freedoms, gun, property and speech rights and the right to free and fair elections.鈥�
鈥淲e had our [Free Oregon] members and our leadership essentially take over the vast majority of Republican county parties throughout the state,鈥� said Edtl.
He concedes that he lacks a transportation background. But, he said, UPTD could benefit from his experience as a business owner.
鈥淢y personal mission is to fix our government and to make it more efficient and to make it more transparent and to make it healthier and to make it less corrupt,鈥� said Edtl.
He said those on the America First wing of the right often don鈥檛 have experience in government, which is a problem. They spend more time criticizing agencies than changing them from the inside, explained Edtl.
He said when he started working for the district, it felt like he was finally on friendly ground. There were American flags in the home office. People there seemed genuinely dedicated to public service.
鈥淭he people that work at the UPDT are no doubt America First people,鈥� said Edtl.
He said his ideology, which leans toward support for free-market polices, hasn鈥檛 changed since taking the job. But he has learned a lot.
鈥淚 learned very quickly a tremendous amount of information around, I would say, the regulations on a transportation district,鈥� said Edtl. 鈥淚 realized that those regulations are there to make the district successful.鈥�
To be clear, those regulatory missteps by the district came before the new America First board.
For example, the state says the district failed to do an environmental assessment for a grant two years ago to buy electric vehicle chargers. The district needed to pay that grant back, over $250,000, by the end of September.
But the new board didn鈥檛 meet that deadline. Instead, the district sent a letter to ODOT questioning their decision.
Natasha Atkinson, the board member that resigned recently, said her concerns about missing the deadline fell on deaf ears.
鈥淚 stated, 鈥榃e already missed the due date.鈥� Like we owe the money Monday. We don't owe a letter to them explaining why we're not doing it,鈥� said Atkinson.
If the district doesn鈥檛 figure this and other compliance issues out, then ODOT could withhold federal funding, which accounts for most of the district鈥檚 revenue.
That鈥檚 something no one on the board seems to want.
