Thurston Regional Planning Council rejects push to scrap equity and climate language from transportation plan

By Lorilyn Lirio

The Thurston Regional Planning Council rejected a recommendation to remove diversity, equity, inclusion and climate language from its draft transportation plan, opting instead to retain the original content.  

At its meeting on Friday, May 2, TRPC Executive Director Marc Daily explained the Transportation Policy Board’s (TPB) recommendation was a response to recent federal executive orders and internal memos warning that programs and policies referencing DEI or climate language may be scrutinized.  

One memo, from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, claimed “any policy, program, or activity premised on a prohibited classification, including discriminatory policies or practices designed to achieve diversity, equity, or inclusion (DEI) goals, presumably violates federal law.” 

Daily noted while these are executive orders and not laws, they come with potential threats of funding cuts, audits and reimbursement denials.  

The TRPC staff reviewed the plan to identify language that could run afoul of executive orders, including references to equity, climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, electric vehicles and green infrastructure. Daily said an internal memo from Duffy also flagged terms like “bicycle infrastructure” for scrutiny, but that term has not appeared in any formal executive to date.  

About 35% of TRPC’s funding currently comes from federal sources — a mix of formula funds passed through the state and some discretionary federal grants. While new certification requirements apply to certain discretionary programs like RAISE, Daily said it is still unclear whether similar conditions will apply to formula funds administered by the state.  

He warned that removing such language could jeopardize funding for local projects, particularly those focused on climate resilience and multimodal transportation. The language appears throughout the plan and reflects both legal requirements and community values. 

Despite potential funding risks, Daily defended keeping equity and climate goals in the draft plan, citing strong public support and state laws like the HEAL Act that mandate equitable outcomes. 

Daily also noted TRPC’s new status as a Transportation Management Area (TMA) means the plan will face a federal certification review in 2026–27. He said there’s no clear benefit to removing the language, especially since the executive orders are under legal challenge. 

Strong reaction

TRPC Chair Robin Vazquez called the executive orders targeting DEI and climate language “legally absurd and constitutionally ignorant.” She argued the RTP promotes equity, reflects regional values, and is not discriminatory. She called Duffy’s memo “a damn lie.” 

The chair noted public support to preserve the language and respect the culture of Thurston County, mentioning  letters from the League of Women Voters, the Thurston Climate Action Team, and local residents.  

“I believe that policy-making should always come not from a place of fear, but from a place of values. And when the community survey went out, equity and climate change was one of the top items our communities wanted to see in this regional transportation,” said Carolina Mejia of the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) in pointing to the 2021 community survey.  

Mejia stressed that removing the language from the RTP would change what the community wanted to see in the plan. She also warned of a dangerous precedent if regional values are compromised.

“How much are we willing to bend from our values before we break? Where is the drawing point? Where is that line? For me, that line is now,” she said.

Yelm Mayor Joe DePinto expressed frustration with federal interference. He supported TPB’s recommendation, citing the importance of transportation projects for future generations.  

TRPC member Carolyn Cox acknowledged the fear around losing federal funding but warned, “If we cave here, where is that going to end? It’s just going to keep coming and coming.” 

She read a letter from the Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative urging the council to reject the TPB’s recommendation to scrub DEI and climate language.

The letter stated, “We would be compromising on our deeply held values with no clarity on what to realistically expect in exchange,” and called the executive orders “a significant executive overreach that will not hold up in court.” It emphasized that removing such language “could result in eroding commitment to equity and climate mitigation” and “jeopardize our access to state-level funding.” 

The letter concluded: “We implore TRPC members to be courageous and stay the course with the draft transportation plan as written.” 

The council voted to maintain the content of the draft plan. 

TPB rebuked 

Hilary Seidel, Olympia School District representative to TRPC, criticized TPB’s handling of the RTP plan language modification. She accused the board of introducing an improperly noticed action without sufficient time for consultation or public input.  

“Shame on you,” she told the TPB. “I sincerely hope that Mayor (Andy) Ryder and the rest of the TPB think deeply about the harm that they have unnecessarily inflicted on our community.” 

During the TPB meeting, Ryder opened the conversation on the executive administration’s directive to scrap equity and climate language to remain eligible for federal funding. The discussion among board members led to the recommendation to review and revise the RTP document to ensure compliance with the executive orers. 

“You have got people scrambling in fear … the motion was never properly noticed,” Seildel added. “It never should have been voted on. You have harmed people at a time when they are already being harmed and fearful about all the other assaults on their liberties and their rights.” 

Seidel told the council to not comply with the federal demands, which she said do not represent the community.

“This is not how we protect our community,” she said.

Earlier, Olympia City Council member Robert Vanderpool, who serves on the TPB, admitted regretting voting on the item. He explained the vote was rushed and poorly vetted. 

“I believe that if we had more time to sit with this, as we traditionally would, most agenda items would have likely voted differently,” Vanderpool added.  

He later found out that the Technical Advisory Committee and the Olympia staff have not seen the document and were not notified in advance on the issue.

“It was simply a reactionary vote under pressure — reacted to fear of funding cuts without proper justification or process.” 

He argued the proposed language changes would harm critical community investments in multimodal improvements, walkability and climate initiatives.