Transportation Commission Office – PO Box 47308 – Olympia, WA 98504-7308
Contact: Reema Griffith, WSTC Executive Director, 360-705-7070 (Olympia)
Commissioners took their posts on July 1
OLYMPA – The Washington State Transportation Commission has elected new leaders. Deborah Young, of San Juan County, is the new chair and James “Jim” A. Restucci, of Yakima County, is the new vice chair.
Young has served as the commission’s vice chair for the last two years and replaces Commissioner Roy Jennings, who served as chair for the same amount of time and remains on the commission until the end of his term in 2025.
Young has been on the commission since 2015 and is serving her second six-year term. She has served on the commission’s subcommittee on ferries, which includes oversight of the commission’s Ferry Riders’ Opinion Group (FROG) survey panel made up of over 25,000 members. She also serves as an ex officio member of the Ferry Advisory Committee on Tariff (FAC-T), which provides input and feedback to Washington State Ferries on fare proposals. Young has additionally served on the subcommittee leading the update of the state’s 20-year transportation plan. After working in the utility industry for over 20 years and serving on land conservancy groups, Young now lives on Lopez Island, where she operates a small farm.
Restucci is from Sunnyside and was appointed to the commission in 2018. He has been a longtime local elected official and is serving his fifth term on the Sunnyside City Council, currently as deputy mayor. He previously served four terms as mayor. He is also the chair of the Yakima Valley Transportation Policy Board and past president of the Association of Washington Cities. On the commission, he has served as chair of the Autonomous Vehicle Workgroup since 2018. In his private life, he is the chief executive officer of a technology services company, which he founded in 2002.
The commission elected Young and Restucci during their May meeting. The two-year leadership posts were effective July 1.