AURORA | Three District F candidates for the Regional Transportation District Board of Directors will try to keep Aurora from being the end of the line when it comes to public transportation in the metro area.

Incumbent Barbara Yamrick and challengers Tom Tobiassen and Jerry Staples seek to help RTD decide the best course to move forward in an atmosphere of skyrocketing fuel costs, declining revenue and a massive rise in the cost of completing the massive FasTracks project approved by voters in 2004.

Most pressing for the winner is finding a way to ensure District F — which includes most of Aurora and a portion of Centennial in Arapahoe County — keeps its place in line and projected timetable for completion of the local portion of the project, specifically the light rail line along the Interstate 225 Corridor.

Eight of the 15 seats on the RTD board are on the ballot in 2008. Term limits opened three spots and one incumbent chose not to run again. Four of the non-partisan races have incumbents, but Yamrick is the only one with opposition. The 25-year Aurora resident won a tight three-way race in 2004 on the same night voters in eight counties OK’d sales tax money to implement FasTracks, a plan intended to create an integrated transit network stretching as far as Golden in the west, Longmont in the north, Denver International Airport in the east and Castle Rock in the south.

At the time, the 12-year project carried an estimated $4.7 billion price tag. According to recent estimates, the cost has nearly doubled, forcing the RTD Board to consider several general alternatives: a tax increase to keep the project on schedule, building what can be afforded with the secured funding and scrapping the rest, significantly extending the completion schedule (to as late as 2034 and beyond) or seeking outside additional revenue.

Aurora’s portion of the original FasTracks plan — a 10.5-mile stretch of light rail along I-225 which would be part of a north-south bridge between the line running along I-70 from Downtown Denver to Denver International Airport and the existing line along southbound I-25 — was scheduled for completion by mid 2015. With the massive grown on the Fitzsimons campus at I-225 and Colfax Avenue, keeping that timetable is crucial. The segment is in danger, however, if changes have to be made to the plan.

Yamrick believes she’s done enough for District F voters to give her a second four-year term to work on a solution and keep Aurora from getting bumped down the list of priorities.

“In tough times of hard decisions and tight budgets, experience counts,” said Yamrick, who views increased bus service at CentrePoint, free rides for military members and a successful call-n-Ride at Heather Gardens as some of her top accomplishments as an RTD director. “I inherited FasTracks and I’ve been on the job for four years trying to crunch the numbers. Aurora won’t be taken off FasTracks if I’m there. I will fight hard and get what Aurora wants.”

The 56-year-old Tobiassen’s lived in Aurora for the past 20 years and feels he has a good grasp on what the city wants and needs in terms of FasTracks. He believes his work with large budgets and infrastructure as an Aurora Planning Commissioner and Water Advisory Committee Chair can help him become an asset to the RTD board immediately and pick up on the realities of the FasTracks project.

Tobiassen is an advocate of alternate forms of transportation. He started Bicycle Aurora, a cycling advocacy group, 10 years ago and regularly rides his bike or takes a motor scooter to his job on Buckley Air Force Base. A New York City native who grew up with trains and subways as part of his everyday life, Tobiassen is determined to help Aurora newcomers learn about and take advantage of RTD’s offerings. If elected, Tobiassen hopes to host several townhall-style meetings around the city to help new riders.

“With the cost of gas going through the roof, the value of mass transit is at an all-time high,” said Tobiassen, who advocates using the approved FasTracks funding to build top priority lines like the DIA line before looking to complete the project. “My involvement in transportation over the years and track record of being involved in the community makes me a good choice to help move it along. In contrast to my opponents, I work well with other leaders to find solutions to difficult problems.”

Staples, a retired analyst from the United States Air Force, isn’t a newcomer to campaigning for public office. The 16-year Aurora resident made an unsuccessful run at a seat on the city council in 1997. Staples has since served on a variety of military and civilian boards and became interested in running for the District F seat after he learned of the potential economic benefits Aurora could see from the completion of the I-225 light rail line.

“I believe that due to DIA and the Fitzsimons complex being such large economic engines, the I-225 FasTracks portion deserves a very high emphasis...I will do my level best to see that this emphasis is given,” said Staples, who believes the city could see a $2 billion influx when it’s done.

Staples has made it a point of riding RTD buses and light rail on many occasions and surveying drivers and passengers about how to improve service.

Another major District F issue is the parking shortage at the Nine Mile park-n-Ride location, which has caused angst among Aurora commuters. The candidates agree that a public-private partnership could make a dent in the problem there, as well as the need for nearly double the 1,800 spaces originally planned for the eight stations along the I-225 line.