New state ferry chief ready for a ride

OLYMPIA — Ferry riders may be seeing a lot of the balding, gray-haired, bespectacled man who has just been named head of Washington State Ferries.

David Moseley's first order of business is riding the boats. A lot.

"I want to talk to the riders," said Moseley, 60. "I'm going to be listening to people. You don't need to give them much reason to be cynical."

Moseley replaces Director Mike Anderson, who resigned in December after three years at the troubled agency.

At Tuesday's announcement, Moseley was flanked by Gov. Christine Gregoire and Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond, whose appointment of Moseley is the biggest Hammond has made since taking over the top transportation job last year.

Moseley knows the job will not be easy.

"I applied for the job because of its challenges," he said.

Moseley will be making $141,000 a year, which is at the top of the salary range when the job was first advertised in November. The salary range in the job posting was $116,000 to $141,000.

As ferries chief, Moseley, who has no maritime experience, faces many problems, which began in 2000 after voters passed Initiative 695 to repeal the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax, which provided 22 percent of the ferry system's revenue. Fares increased and fuel prices soared — from $20 million to $80 million per biennium over the past eight years.

Aging vessels, unpredictable operating costs and competition for funds with road and bridge projects across the state have made for a precarious financial future for the ferry system.

The system is trying to figure out how to replace its 80-year-old Steel Electric ferries that ran between Keystone and Port Townsend. Hammond pulled them out of service in late November because of hull corrosion.

Other issues involve fare disputes and an active ferry community filled with angry riders who complain about everything from fares to schedules to the cleanliness of the boats.

Despite Moseley's lack of maritime experience, people who have worked with him say he is a good manager.

"He's a great guy, a real innovative thinker," said Federal Way Mayor Jack Dovey, who was on the City Council when Moseley was city manager there. "He's great with budgets and is willing to listen."

Dovey said under Moseley's leadership, Federal Way built parks and a city hall.

"David really understands the details and what has to be done to get from point A to point Z," he said. "He knew how to hire good people. He was the guy who made sure when the council said do it, he got it done. On time and on budget."

In Ellensburg, where he also served as city manager, he was regarded as a popular leader who worked well with his staff.

"He was very much respected in our agency," said Judy Hawley, head of human resources for the city. "He was a very good decision-maker. And he definitely had a heart."

As for the difficult job he's getting himself into, "he's up to it," Hawley said. "He has a good head for that kind of stuff."

For the past 30 years, Moseley has been active in local government. He was director of the Seattle Department of Community Development in the mid-1980s and ran unsuccessfully for City Council.

He briefly worked for the state Legislature before becoming the town administrator for Steilacoom. He then moved to Ellensburg before taking the job in Federal Way.

Moseley is married to Anne Fennessy, a partner with the public-relations firm Cocker Fennessy, and that caused some concern about the possible appearance of a conflict of interest, Hammond said.

Cocker Fennessy's client list includes Sound Transit, Washington Public Ports Association and the state Department of Transportation.

The company has said it would no longer do any work for state ferries. "We wanted to make sure there was no ethical dilemma," Hammond said.

Cocker Fennessey could still work on highway projects since Moseley will have no influence over them, Hammond said.

Last fall, Gregoire paid Cocker Fennessy nearly $20,000 to "evaluate the past communications structure in the Governor's Office ... to find out what is working well and what could be strengthened."

Fennessy and her firm are also Gregoire supporters. She, Rick Cocker and their company had given about $2,900 in cash and in-kind contributions to the governor's re-election campaign as of late last year.

For the past two years, Moseley has worked as vice president of the Institute for Community Change, a nonprofit organization that helps governments and nonprofits with initiatives. The president is former Seattle Mayor Charles Royer.

Moseley is a graduate of Willamette University in Salem, Ore., and has a master's of divinity degree from the Golden Gate Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif.

"People are hungry for someone to come in and take charge," said Moseley, who was selected from 64 applicants and six finalists.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com

The information in this article, orignially published Feb. 5, 2008, was corrected Feb. 6, 2008. The spelling of Federal Way Mayor Jack Dovey's name has been corrected.