Jim O'Donnell reappointed to MTA board as Orange County’s representative

Jim O'Donnell returned to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board with a mandate that reaches far beyond Albany politics. The Goshen resident and former Orange County legislator was reappointed by the State Senate to serve as Orange County’s representative through 2028, restoring a seat that had been empty for more than two years after Harry Porr resigned.

The appointment puts Orange County back into a 23-member board that controls some of the most consequential transit decisions in the region. Members weigh in on fare increases, service changes and capital projects, but Orange, Dutchess, Putnam and Rockland counties still share one collective vote. Westchester County, by contrast, has a full vote, a split that local officials have long described as unfair and that has fueled the “quarter-pounder” nickname for the four northern counties.

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus said the four counties “pay too much and get too little” from the MTA, a complaint that has become a familiar refrain in the Hudson Valley. O'Donnell said he was happy to be reappointed by Neuhaus, and Sen. James Skoufis, despite their political differences, said he believed O'Donnell was well-suited to represent Orange County because both men focus on accountability and public safety.

O'Donnell brings a long transportation and law-enforcement record to the post. George Pataki appointed him MTA police chief in February 1999, and a 2019 legislative resolution said he later reengineered the former Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North police departments into the MTA Police Department. The MTA Police says the department was formed in 1998 through that consolidation, and after the Sept. 11 attacks it expanded counterterrorism capabilities with canine teams and emergency services officers.

That history still matters in Orange County, where transit arguments are often about more than trains. O'Donnell oversaw the agency’s evacuation of New York City during the attacks and helped guide the police response in the months that followed, credentials that supporters see as evidence of steady leadership in a job that mixes governance with public safety. He joined Orange County Government as director of operations in 2004, became deputy county executive in 2005 and served until 2013.

For commuters on the west side of the Hudson River, the practical stakes remain high. Metro-North serves the Port Jervis Line and Pascack Valley Line, and the railroad reported about 67.4 million riders in 2024, nearly 78% of its 2019 level. Skoufis introduced legislation in 2025 to withdraw Orange County from the MTA, citing limited service and high taxpayer costs. O'Donnell’s return gives county riders a familiar voice at the table, but the real test will be whether that quarter-vote translates into better service, stronger representation and a fairer deal for Orange County.