TriMet names Kelsey general manager

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon's (TriMet) board on Wednesday officially chose Doug Kelsey the agency's next general manager.

The board's resolution directed the start of contract negotiations with Kelsey. The negotiations are expected to continue through March 6 at the earliest, TriMet officials said in a press release.

Until then, Shelley Devine will continue serving as interim general manager.

Kelsey now serves as TriMet's chief operating officer, a position he's held since November 2015. During his tenure, Kelsey implemented a strategy to improve rail on-time performance to more than 88 percent from 75 percent. He also implemented TriMet's first strategic business plan.

Before his time at TriMet, Kelsey was chief operating officer at TransLink in Vancouver, British Columbia.

In January, TriMet's board named Kelsey as the finalist for the GM job. He will succeed Neil McFarlane, who stepped down as GM last week after announcing his retirement in October 2017.